Problems with Mono audio

[TheDingo]

Overall it's pretty good, but the one of speaker bass seems to be gone!

When I listened to the original audio files it was very obvious that the two mics sounded nothing alike. One was much quieter and very flat ( they way audio sounds when a mic is too far away from the person speaking and this always kills off the lower frequencies when recording ) and the other one was slightly distorting from being too loud and it was picking up a lot of reverb from the room.

Also any ideas why one mic was picking up too much reverb I was told they used the same sennheiser wireless setup, could it be one was omini and the other directional?

I would guess that either they used different mics, had the people positioned very differently relative to the surrounding walls, or that the mics were slightly defective.

For these type of indoor interviews in office environments I like to use either cardioid or hyper-cardioid "pencil" mics boomed from above because they pretty much eliminate background noise and reverb from the room. With LAV mics you have to be very careful about how you place the mic to get good sound because they are omni mics that can pickup everything going on in the room.

 

[Ken1212]

When I listened to the original audio files it was very obvious that the two mics sounded nothing alike. One was much quieter and very flat ( they way audio sounds when a mic is too far away from the person speaking and this always kills off the lower frequencies when recording ) and the other one was slightly distorting from being too loud and it was picking up a lot of reverb from the room.



I would guess that either they used different mics, had the people positioned very differently relative to the surrounding walls, or that the mics were slightly defective.

For these type of indoor interviews in office environments I like to use either cardioid or hyper-cardioid "pencil" mics boomed from above because they pretty much eliminate background noise and reverb from the room. With LAV mics you have to be very careful about how you place the mic to get good sound because they are omni mics that can pickup everything going on in the room.

So this is what I found, one person was wearing a shirt with a tight curved neckline, the video composition is medium to waist but after zooming in I noticed the mic was pointing to the other speaker to the side, I am not sure if it's an omnidirectional lav. When saying you like to use a Hypercardioid, would the Sennheiser 416 be a good choice for such settings since it's a Hypercardioid?

 

[dcoughla]

So this is what I found, one person was wearing a shirt with a tight curved neckline, the video composition is medium to waist but after zooming in I noticed the mic was pointing to the other speaker to the side, I am not sure if it's an omnidirectional lav. When saying you like to use a Hypercardioid, would the Sennheiser 416 be a good choice for such settings since it's a Hypercardioid?

In a really boomy environment, a Cardioid is likely going to be the better choice over a Hypercardioid. While a Hypercardioid has a tighter pickup pattern in front, it allows sound from the rear, whereas a Cardioid is slightly more open in front, but rejects most of the rear. Since the mic placement is likely overhead, the rear will be close to a hard reflective surface (the ceiling) and capturing a lot of the room tone that you probably want to reject.

In a fully treated environment a hyper cardioid is likely the preferred choice as most people prefer dialogue from those mics (usually sounds more focused and intelligible), and you don't have to worry as much about rear reflections.

You may find this comparison video useful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1WOtGJk4YE

 

[TheDingo]

When saying you like to use a Hypercardioid, would the Sennheiser 416 be a good choice for such settings since it's a Hypercardioid?

I was referring to smaller "pencil" mics like the Audio Technica AT4051b or AT4053b mics that have a very small or no rear lobe in their polar pattern. These mics can be fairly close to a wall or ceiling and they won't pick up much reflected sound.

I also own a Sanken CS-1 mini shotgun cardioid mic that is specifically made for indoor use. Unlike standard interference-tube shotgun mics it uses 3 internal mic capsules that are processed in a way to give the mic no rear-lobe at all. You can have it very close to the ceiling and not pick up reflected sound.

Even very low cost cardioid "pencil" mics like the Takstar CM63 ( about $60 on eBay ) produce good results when used to record indoor dialog because they have no rear lobe in their polar pattern.

 

[Ken1212]

I was referring to smaller "pencil" mics like the Audio Technica AT4051b or AT4053b mics that have a very small or no rear lobe in their polar pattern. These mics can be fairly close to a wall or ceiling and they won't pick up much reflected sound.

I also own a Sanken CS-1 mini shotgun cardioid mic that is specifically made for indoor use. Unlike standard interference-tube shotgun mics it uses 3 internal mic capsules that are processed in a way to give the mic no rear-lobe at all. You can have it very close to the ceiling and not pick up reflected sound.

Even very low cost cardioid "pencil" mics like the Takstar CM63 ( about $60 on eBay ) produce good results when used to record indoor dialog because they have no rear lobe in their polar pattern.

Good to know, I personally have been using sony ECM-77B and ECM-88B, just had a two person interview recently at a 600 SF hotel meeting room and sound was great, did not run into these issues.

 

[IronFilm]

I was referring to smaller "pencil" mics like the Audio Technica AT4051b or AT4053b mics that have a very small or no rear lobe in their polar pattern. These mics can be fairly close to a wall or ceiling and they won't pick up much reflected sound.

I also own a Sanken CS-1 mini shotgun cardioid mic that is specifically made for indoor use. Unlike standard interference-tube shotgun mics it uses 3 internal mic capsules that are processed in a way to give the mic no rear-lobe at all. You can have it very close to the ceiling and not pick up reflected sound.

Even very low cost cardioid "pencil" mics like the Takstar CM63 ( about $60 on eBay ) produce good results when used to record indoor dialog because they have no rear lobe in their polar pattern.

Heh, I happen to own that Takstar plus the CS1 and even its "big brother" the CS3e (a similar ish design), I really should do an indoor shootout between them and a "bad" choice such as say a 416 & a NTG2

I've already done a more general shotgun shoot out, which as soon as I find time to edit it, I'll put up on my YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/SoundSpeeding