Recommend a lav mic for Sennheiser G2 100 EW

D

dolphinstreet

Member
I am a bit lost at what to buy. I have the G2 EW 100 and the lav mic that came with the kit. I hate the mic - thin sound and it picks up all sort of noise way too easily.

So can you recommend a good lav mic that will fit this Sennheiser wireless system? I have a Shure mic already but it uses XLR and won't fit into the transmitter.

People have already mentioned to me - Sanken, Countryman, Tram, RøDE, Oscar Sound Tech, Sennheiser, Shure, etc. I have no idea about what to buy.

I am looking to spend less than $250 if possible. I am producing guitar lesson videos and a hypercardioid mic would be preferred, so that it doesn't pick up so much sound from my guitar amp, as I'm playing and talking.
 
You may have some difficulty finding a good lav mic, such as from one of the brands in your list, for less than $250 new. Certainly, Sennheiser makes their MKE line with termination for the EW transmitters. What about an "earset" mic? Most of these are omni, but because the element is so close to your mouth, the ratio of desired signal (you talking) vs. noise (guitar amp, background) is much better than with a traditional lav mic. And they are fairly low-profile. Some of those same manufacturers make such earset mics, most notably Countryman. But again, they are more expensive than the amount you've budgeted. There are also lower-cost earset mics and many are quite good. Check out Point Source Audio and Microphone Madness for instance.
 
Rode also has a headset mic that is cheaper than the Countryman you referenced, although still a bit over your $250 budget:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/730900-REG/Rode_HS1_P_HS1_P_Headset_Microphone_Pink.html

You'd need a MicOn-1 adapter to connect this to your Sennheiser wireless transmitters, which is an extra $18.

I recommend the Rode Lavalier ($250 plus the same MicOn-1 adapter) as a good all-round alternative to the standard ME-2 lavs that come with the G2 wireless systems.

My feeling on directional lavs is, Just Don't Do It. In addition to all the other placement and handling problems you get with lavaliers anyway, cardioid mics only add to your troubles by forcing you to be conscious of aiming the mic at the subject's mouth. And if they're active at all, they'll move in and out of the "sweet spot" for best pickup frequently. Plus, most directional mics are more sensitive to handling noise. The whole idea of a lav is that it is always fairly close to the sound source (the speaker's mouth) and that allows you to turn the gain down far enough to reduce most extraneous sound. It doesn't need to depend on directionality for this.

However, for a subject playing a guitar, a lav in the traditional position on the upper sternum will be about as close to the instrument as to the mouth, so I think the headset mic is the way to go in this case. The only downside is that it will be somewhat visible in the video, which may or may not concern you. I think they're pretty subtle and look professional, so it could work OK in an instructional video.

- Greg
 
And why is wireless being used?

dolphinstreet said:
I am a bit lost at what to buy. I have the G2 EW 100 and the lav mic that came with the kit. I hate the mic - thin sound and it picks up all sort of noise way too easily.

So can you recommend a good lav mic that will fit this Sennheiser wireless system? I have a Shure mic already but it uses XLR and won't fit into the transmitter.

People have already mentioned to me - Sanken, Countryman, Tram, RøDE, Oscar Sound Tech, Sennheiser, Shure, etc. I have no idea about what to buy.

I am looking to spend less than $250 if possible. I am producing guitar lesson videos and a hypercardioid mic would be preferred, so that it doesn't pick up so much sound from my guitar amp, as I'm playing and talking.
Click to expand...
 
gpforet said:
And why is wireless being used?
Click to expand...

I move around quite a bit when filming - up close for instructional purposes, and further back for different views, using my computer and other devices, etc. I have found a wired mic to be in the way for what I'm doing.

But now you've made me think. Perhaps I should try the wired mic a bit more and see if I can make it work.
 
The ME 2 (or ME 4) supplied with the kit is an inexpensive mic. designed to keep the price of the kit reasonable.

I would replace it with the Sennheiser MKE 2-ew which is an altogether different mic. and was the standard for London's West End.

It is vastly superior to the inexpensive ME 2.
 
PS: No matter what mic you use the amp will get picked up, so just get an omni. Otherwise your audio quality will be reduced. As a guitarist myself I suggest putting the amp behind you, the further away the better, or even better yet - put it in a different room and mic it separately - just like you would do in a recording studio. There's no need to see the amp is there? Or run out direct and turn off the speaker.
 
So the MKE-2 is good from what I'm hearing (I'm still inexperienced when it comes to mics). I just found an ebay auction with 6 used MKE-2 left.
$99.00 each. The seller mentions the mics are the "red dot" variant, but I have no idea what that means. The mics were used for theatre applications.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sennheiser-M...321?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588f14b649

I don't mind buying used. Would one of these mics be a great improvement over my crappy kit mic?

By the way, I have tried many ways to reduce the handling noise from my kit mic, but it's difficult to get rid of. Any little touch to the cord is being picked up by the mic. Very irritating. I used a SONY UWP mic earlier which was 10 times better. Never any issues with handling noise there. I regret not buying that kit, since the mic that comes with that Sony kit is vastly superior to the one that comes with the Sennheiser kit.
 
dolphinstreet said:
I am a bit lost at what to buy. I have the G2 EW 100 and the lav mic that came with the kit. I hate the mic - thin sound and it picks up all sort of noise way too easily.

So can you recommend a good lav mic that will fit this Sennheiser wireless system? I have a Shure mic already but it uses XLR and won't fit into the transmitter.

People have already mentioned to me - Sanken, Countryman, Tram, RøDE, Oscar Sound Tech, Sennheiser, Shure, etc. I have no idea about what to buy.

I am looking to spend less than $250 if possible. I am producing guitar lesson videos and a hypercardioid mic would be preferred, so that it doesn't pick up so much sound from my guitar amp, as I'm playing and talking.
Click to expand...

Oscar Sound Tech 802 comes wired for G2/3. About $112. Sounds great.

http://www.oscarsoundtech.com/services.html
 
"Would the Oscar Sound Tech 802 and Countryman EMW be better than the used MKE-2 for $99?"
> I would say so... it's a safer bet. Many used MKE-2s were used for theater work, they get gunked up with makeup. sweat and such and the production company sells them when the sound goes south. But of course, there are exceptions.
 
dolphinstreet said:
So the MKE-2 is good from what I'm hearing (I'm still inexperienced when it comes to mics). I just found an ebay auction with 6 used MKE-2 left.
$99.00 each. The seller mentions the mics are the "red dot" variant, but I have no idea what that means. The mics were used for theatre applications.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Sennheiser-M...321?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588f14b649

I don't mind buying used. Would one of these mics be a great improvement over my crappy kit mic?
Click to expand...

The "red dot" version is a padded down version of the original MKE 2 and is probably about the same as the MKE 2-ew in sensitivity.

However - if they have been used in the theatre I would NOT buy them. They are, most likely, sweated out and would have compromised sound.

Latest versions of the MKE 2 have an "umbrella" diaphragm to protect them from sweat - the old MKE 2 Red Dots did not have this. They would be quite a few years old as the Red Dot version was discontinued when the MKE 2 "Gold" (with the "umbrella" diaphragm") came out about 10 years ago. Not a good buy I'm afraid.

The current MKE 2-ew would be very much better for you.
 
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