Some basic gear recommendations, please (need a boom pole, headphones)

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Nickpickles

Active member
My current kit:
-Marantz PMD661 recorder
-Rode NTG-2 mic
-Rode PG2 grip
-Rode WS6 muff

Some background: I've been recording music for around a decade and that has shifted into starting to do more audio essay pieces. I bought a Marantz PMD620 (which I am now selling, great piece but I want visible meters) and the Rode gear and went out in the field and had lots of fun. After working a boom for an indie film the last few weeks (where they had an NTG-2 in a Rode blimp into a Sound Devices 702, really nice machine) I bought a PMD661 for the XLR ins, upgrade in preamps, and visible meters when it's on a strap.

Now I'm thinking about putting together a barebones kit for a documentary piece I'd like to do, and perhaps some freelancing for other indies. I'm a student so budget is an issue, which kicks out lavaliers at this point (but I can rent them if need be). I do need a boompole and headphones that won't bleed. I have a set of AKG K44's but they bleed out something bad and make plenty of noise when my head moves. The crew I was on used Sennheiser HD280 Pros which were fantastic, and at $100 I can swing it. Anything else I should be looking at in this price range? What boompoles are good in the $125-175 range? I've seen some carbon ones at B&H but the reviews were mediocre. Is the Rode aluminum one decent? I'm not too concerned with an XLR-through, but it wouldn't hurt.

I love the NTG-2. Would it be worth my while to pick up a cardroid mic for situations where the hyper is not needed? If so, what's good for under $300? I'm looking for versatility above all.

Thanks
 
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The NTG-2 is an interference tube shotgun, not a hyper. Though the Rode is better behaved in a reflective environment than many 'guns, it's still not optimal where there are a lot of short-term reflections to contend with, so having a true hyper in your kit to cover such situations, as often found in a typical location interior, wouldn't be a bad idea. Also consider acquiring an omni or cardioid dynamic handheld reporter's 'stick mic' to have on hand for stand-ups and those field interview situations. As for small-diaphragm cardioid condenser mics, there's a gajillion of them on the market - I have a pair of the now discontinued Audio Technica AT3031 that are really nice and weren't too expensive. While the 3031s are no longer marketed, AT now offers the 4021 which is just a hair over your stated budget or the 2021 which is well within your budget or if you shop around you might find some 3031 'new, old-stock' still offered. Another possibility would be getting a mic with interchangeable capsules such as the Oktava or the AKG Blueline series with both hypercardioid and cardioid capsules. Both those options would be close to your budget.

As you budget, keep in mind that if you think you might need to record stereo you'll need pairs of mics. So stereo using X/Y or A/B configurations with the small diaphram cardioid would require a pair of them. Or combine one cardioid with a figure 8 for MS stereo. It would exceed your budget several times over but if you want a kit that would cover 90% of the situations you might encounter, something like the AKG Blueline with 2 SE300-B power supplies, 2 CK91 cardioid capsules, 1 ck93 hypercardioid capsule, and 1 CK94 figure-8 capsule, plus the aformentioned stick mic and your Rode, would give you tremendous flexibility to handle a wide variety of mono and stereo recording situations.

Sony MDR-7506 headphones are also in the $100 range and are one of the industry standard 'cans for location recording.
 
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I am not so sure about the rode boom pole. I am not sure where you are you could check craigslist.

I think K-tek is reasonably respected on this board and you get an aluminum one in your range, I believe.

You may want to look at a carbon boom pole by Falcon. Check this thread http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...-carbon-fiber-booms-have-now-gone-up-in-price

Search Avantone CK-1 for mics. There has been little discussed about them but what little I have read has been good.

Good luck!
 
prexdealer said:
I am not so sure about the rode boom pole. I am not sure where you are you could check craigslist.

I think K-tek is reasonably respected on this board and you get an aluminum one in your range, I believe.

You may want to look at a carbon boom pole by Falcon. Check this thread http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...-carbon-fiber-booms-have-now-gone-up-in-price

Search Avantone CK-1 for mics. There has been little discussed about them but what little I have read has been good.

Good luck!
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I bought the Lux Falcon a while back. I've only used it recently, and since I'm not doing 'pro' daily use, it seems to be adequate. I give a report in 6 months to see how it holds up with my occasional use.

It is light, and I was able to 'boom' a full day's (8 hours) shoot with it, without feeling to fatigued. The next shooting day, I had someone else boom, and the guy did not have any problems... he was taller than I am, so he was better able to keep the mic a bit
better in position... His problem was 'not rolling the sound' before the mark... which precipitated a 'discussion' about the point of a mark...

The Oktava MK-012 has some following and is around $300 'new' from The Sound Room. Ebay has some offerings, but there it is buyer beware for chinese copies... or just plain defective devices... I was 'lucky' in that sense...
 
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Thanks for the help! I'm seriously eying the Lux Falcon. And as for mics- after some research it looks like it's the 3031/4021 vs the Oktava. The only downside I see for the Oktava is that I'd have to buy another shockmount and there are limited windscreens for it and the only decent indoor one looks to be $150.
 
Nickpickles said:
Thanks for the help! I'm seriously eying the Lux Falcon. And as for mics- after some research it looks like it's the 3031/4021 vs the Oktava. The only downside I see for the Oktava is that I'd have to buy another shockmount and there are limited windscreens for it and the only decent indoor one looks to be $150.
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Remember hypercardioids and cardioids are different critters. For indoors dialog booming you want a hypercardioid, not the cardioid 3031 or 4021. I mentoioned those since you had said in your post you were considering getting a cardioid - they do have their uses, a stereo pair for recording a music performance, for example, and would be part of a complete kit - but a boom mic for dialog would rarely be one of their primary uses.
 
I just saw that and read through- looks like the Oktava. Still getting my mind out of the studio and into the field. Anything similar to the Oktava but more prevalent in the used market? (there's tons of Oktava knock-offs and I'd rather not chance it).

Ever use the Studio Projects C4? I'm also looking at used 4053b's and Audix SCX-HC's.
 
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Nickpickles said:
I just saw that and read through- looks like the Oktava. Still getting my mind out of the studio and into the field. Anything similar to the Oktava but more prevalent in the used market? (there's tons of Oktava knock-offs and I'd rather not chance it).

Ever use the Studio Projects C4? I'm also looking at used 4053b's and Audix SCX-HC's.
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Also look at AKG's Blueline SE300B power module with the CK93 hypercardioid capsule
 
Nickpickles said:
Anything else I should be looking at in this price range? What boompoles are good in the $125-175 range? I've seen some carbon ones at B&H but the reviews were mediocre. Is the Rode aluminum one decent? I'm not too concerned with an XLR-through, but it wouldn't hurt.
Click to expand...

If you can swing $250 you could get a Ktek 144CC, I used it for a while before I upgraded to a 153CCR. It is aluminum but it worked well for what I needed til the upgrade.
 
I would personally recommend the Sony MD-7506 headphones over the Sennheiser HD280s. I've used/listened to both quite a bit. The Sonys pack up smaller, have held up amazingly well for me, and are more comfortable over a longer period of time. I also find them to sound a little less bright so they are not as fatiguing to the ears.

Some of these things, like fit/comfort and sound are subjective, so others may feel the opposite way between these 'phones. I just wanted to point out that the Sonys are every bit as good as the Sennys and are also an industry standard item.
 
How are the Sonys vs the Sennheisers in terms of isolation? The HD280's I used really blocked out external noises well.

Also: thank you everyone. I ended up getting a used AKG blue line with CK 91 and 93 capsules and a Lux 9ft carbon pole. Excited to put them to use!
 
I use the Sony cans. They block out noise about as well as these kinds of headphones can. They are $99 most places right now. It's the industry standard so I would go with the Sony set. Every place on the web you ask about a headset for monitoring your audio recording the Sony set wins out.
 
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