Rode Reporter

[egproductions]

I have a 416 and a Rode Reporter. I understand the 416 is not ideal for interiors because it doesn't really reject rear reflections too well. What about using the Rode reporter indoors? It's an omnidirectional so I'm thinking it probably wouldn't be good but wanted to ask the experts before I rule it out. It would be attached to a static boom arm.

 

[Alex H.]

Categorically wrong application for the Reporter. It's a dynamic mic and requires close proximity, closer than can be obtained with a boom.

I understand the 416 is not ideal for interiors because it doesn't really reject rear reflections too well.

There are two things here that are incorrect:

1) A shotgun mic isn't necessarily a poor choice indoors, but can often be a poor choice in highly reflective rooms (lots of hard surfaces, like wood or tile floors and hard drywall, and nothing to diffuse or absorb reflections). Shotguns can perform just fine for interiors where reflections aren't a concern.

2) The "why" of shotguns not working well for interiors isn't about not rejecting "rear" reflections. In reflective environments, a hypercardioid is often the better choice, and if you look at the polar pattern of a hyper you'll see a rear lobe of response.

The response pattern of a shotgun is shaped by the interference tube design, which uses the principle of phase cancellation to reject sounds from the sides and most sound from the rear. In situations with lots of reflections, those reflections are already out of phase with the direct sound, so the interference tube just serves to make things muddy and unpleasant.