Sound Advice using Sennheiser G3 to Tascam DR-100

A

ANTshooter

Active member
Hey, i'm sure a lot of people out here have the same audio combination (G3 to DR-100). does anybody have any recommendations on how to optimize the sound recorded with the stock lav? the G3's connected via XLR with the following settings:

Receiver (AF-Out): -6db
Transmitter (lav): -3db
DR-100: Low Gain, Input level at 10

I find the audio to be pretty low, decent but a bit low. If I turn it up to Medium/High gain, obviously it gets pretty noisy, so I'm trying to avoid that. Turning up either the transmitter or receiver pretty much does the same thing.

Any advice? Maybe to improve the settings on the G3 or the Tascam?
 
Start with the mic on the talent and connected to the transmitter, have the talent speak in their loudest part of the scene and adjust the transmitter gain until you're getting 2/3 deflection on the meter. The will have to be adjusted based on the talent's volume and mic placement so there is no fixed setting you can use.

Set the receiver to 0db, the DR-100 to mid gain, and adjust the DR-100 level control until you're getting about -12 to -9 on the meter. You're set.

Now, the only adjust you'll make is when moving the mic or putting it on other talent and then you'll be using the transmitter gain control to again get 2/3 deflection when the talent speaks (or yells) at the loudest part in the scene.
 
Thanks for the quick reply.

Sure, I know you have to adjust the transmitter based on the talent's volume. But I'll follow your suggestion of keeping the receiver to an ideal setting of 0db at all times (or most times) so that the only adjustments to be made is on the transmitter and the DR-100. But I guess my main complaint is there's a lot of background hiss. Although I was aiming for max deflection at -6db. But I can't imagine that hiss to get much better if i were aiming for -12 to -9. Just monitoring the sound and I know I'm gonna have to run that through soundtrack pro's noise reduction (i have very limited audio post skills). Another point that bothers me is that the audio doesn't sound as warm and pleasant as I was hoping for. Is this a limitation on the stock lav? I've had the G3 for a while but I've always been fairly happy with it. It wasn't until I started recording through the DR-100 that I realized I paid for all this audio equipment and I'm still not quite happy with the quality.
 
What does the environment sound like? I have 4 channels of G3 and have no problems with noise. Set everything as described, then unplug the mic and see what the recording sounds like. Also, make sure you have the DR-100 set for XLR on the front panel.
 
the scenes were inside a house. no running air conditioners, fans, etc... the noise was a continuous hiss, not necessarily humming, somewhat like static. it's gets worse when i turn up the gain, which is why i had the setting to low in the first place. i wish i still had the audio file so i could upload a sample. then again, I always hear it while monitoring through the tascam so perhaps the preamps are flawed on my unit?
 
I have the DR-100, as well as the 680. The DR-100 headphone amp is a bit noisy, but I've found the preamps just fine with the G3. As a reference point, with most talent when using the ME-2 mic (which I have replaced on all my g3 with the OST801s) I'm typically running the transmitter gain around -20 or so for most talent when mics in the upper chest (between nipple and neck) area. If you're having to push the transmitter higher (smaller - number), then it may be your mic which flawed. I have never needed to set the transmitter higher than -12 or so and that's with actors who whisper.

ANTshooter said:
the scenes were inside a house. no running air conditioners, fans, etc... the noise was a continuous hiss, not necessarily humming, somewhat like static. it's gets worse when i turn up the gain, which is why i had the setting to low in the first place. i wish i still had the audio file so i could upload a sample. then again, I always hear it while monitoring through the tascam so perhaps the preamps are flawed on my unit?
Click to expand...
 
ANTshooter said:
Hey, i'm sure a lot of people out here have the same audio combination (G3 to DR-100). does anybody have any recommendations on how to optimize the sound recorded with the stock lav? the G3's connected via XLR with the following settings:
Receiver (AF-Out): -6db
Transmitter (lav): -3db
DR-100: Low Gain, Input level at 10
I find the audio to be pretty low, decent but a bit low. If I turn it up to Medium/High gain, obviously it gets pretty noisy, so I'm trying to avoid that. Turning up either the transmitter or receiver pretty much does the same thing.
Any advice? Maybe to improve the settings on the G3 or the Tascam?
Click to expand...
I am normally setting the my G2/3s transmitter's sensitivity (typically with a Tram or a gray band B6) @ -10 to -30, depending on the wearer. The receiver's AF is usually @ -12dB for a mic level input.
In fact I don't ever recall setting the transmitter sensitivity over -10dB with any lav mic or wearer w/o getting some audible distortion.
 
ANTshooter said:
But I guess my main complaint is there's a lot of background hiss. Although I was aiming for max deflection at -6db. But I can't imagine that hiss to get much better if i were aiming for -12 to -9.
Click to expand...

Hiss that comes from the signal chain has little to do with the final, recorded level. What really matters is gain staging, which is the adjustment of the gain (volume/signal level) at each stop along the way to make sure that you have the best signal:noise ratio possible. A lot of that has been covered by others here. In general terms, your first gain stage is the transmitter's sensitivity; the second gain stage is the receiver's AF Out; the third stage is the input gain on the DR100; and the fourth stage would be a master recording level control.

The pre-amps in most hand-held recorders are not the best around and can get pretty noisy, especially if pushed past 75%. The goal is to get, after an appropriate level on the transmitter, the receiver's output level to a point where the input gain on the recorder doesn't need to do too much. That minimizes or eliminates any noise (hiss" introduced by the pre-amp.

For what it's worth, I'm not a huge fan of the stock lavs that come with the Sennheiser systems. It may be beneficial, more than just in terms of your original question, to upgrade to something better.
 
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