The Tascam DR-10L is a documentary lifesaver

I have never used "the stock Tascam mic" which is most likely a re-branded Chinese made mic. IMO, the Sennheiser ME2 (and the ME4 cardioid) are not very good, except when there is nothing else. I keep a couple on-hand for spares and suicide missions.
I have not used the updated ME2-II.
 
scorsesefan said:
Anyone find it worth it to swap out the stock Tascam mic for an ME2 or ME4?
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Switch out the stock mic, which sounds mid-range honk and hollow, with the OST 801 or 802, depending on above wardrobe or below. $95.00 and sounds LEAGUES better.
I'm SUPER impressed with the OSTs, they sound as good or better than the $300.00 Trams and almost as good as a high end mic like a Countryman, Sanken or DPA, although not as good
but better than anything under $300.00. I have four of them for the price of one Countryman B6.
 
Thanks, Dan. Where are you finding the OSTs for $95? I went to prosound here in ny and they want $110+$40 for the Sennheiser terminal. BTW thanks again for the Tascam dr-10 recommendation -- it's been nothing short of a revelation for a one man bander like myself...
 
Rick R said:
I have never used "the stock Tascam mic" which is most likely a re-branded Chinese made mic. IMO, the Sennheiser ME2 (and the ME4 cardioid) are not very good, except when there is nothing else. I keep a couple on-hand for spares and suicide missions.
I have not used the updated ME2-II.
Click to expand...
lOl suicide missions....
 
You have to buy them direct from OST to get that price. Their website is not so friendly. You won't find a way to order on their website. Contact them and they will send you a price sheet and then order by phone or email.

A side note for those of you that may buy used on ebay and want to change the connector. I bought 4 OSTs from Trew Audio that were on consignment ($50 each made it seem worth it). They had Lectrosonic connectors on them and I switched to TRS. The cable had a shield and a white wire. Inside the white wire was red and green copper strands. I asked OST how to wire it and received no response. After dinking with it for a while, I figured out the red and green was colored varnish. So the two conductors were inside one insulator. I'd not seen that before. A lot of heat and solder from the iron burned off the varnish. Red to tip. Green and shield to ring and sleeve. Seven tiny strands each. Wiring not for the faint-hearted and not worth the $200 savings.
 
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The OST mics are good. To purchase, you need to request a price sheet which will ave the ordering info. I have not been in contact with OST in a while, but previously, responses to a query was usually within a few hours.
The $95 price is likely without a connector and accessories. However if you have leftover clips, windsrceens and such from a Tram TR5, they will fit the OST 801/802.
FWIW, OST is in central NJ.
 
He's been very reponsive with me and gets the mics wired up and shipped quickly. Mine were $95.00 with a 3.5 mm connector for Sennheiser which also works on the Tascam and my Røde Video Wireless too. Might have paid $10.00 or $20.00 for shipping?
 
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Thanks, guys. I contacted them today and they got back to me within a few minutes. The price for the 802+sennheiser connector+accessories/box was $125 incl shipping. Not bad. Going to order from them tomorrow. Hoping it's a big improvement over the Tascam stock mic and the ME2...
 
scorsesefan said:
Thanks, guys. I contacted them today and they got back to me within a few minutes. The price for the 802+sennheiser connector+accessories/box was $125 incl shipping. Not bad. Going to order from them tomorrow. Hoping it's a big improvement over the Tascam stock mic and the ME2...
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You will be thrilled, guaranteed. The stock Tascam mic is terrible sounding and I have yet to use any Sennheiser lav that I thought was actually good, even their higher end ones.

My Countryman B6 is so old and I have used it so much that the plastic jacket is actually shedding off of the wire. I am contacting Countryman today to see if anything can be done but
if it's expensive to repair, I will just replace it with an OST with the phantom power supply. I used to be hot on the Countryman when I had the mic element out in the open because it is
so tiny, but now that I dont use or mess with vampire clips or mic clips anymore and I hide the lav on every shoot using Rycote Overcovers, the tiny size of the B6 isn't a huge advantage anymore.
The larger Tram sized head on the OST is just as easy to hide with an Overcoat as the B6 head.
 
Thanks. Voice is such an important part of what I do I can't believe it didn't occur to me to ditch these stock mics...
 
"He's been very responsive with me and gets the mics wired up and shipped quickly"
Is that still Dave from OST? If so, Regards. OST's customer service has always been top shelf in my experience. Most would agree.
As I stated, the Sennheiser ME2 is a POS IMO.... not to be confused with the MKE2 which is very good.
 
puredrifting said:
You will be thrilled, guaranteed. The stock Tascam mic is terrible sounding and I have yet to use any Sennheiser lav that I thought was actually good, even their higher end ones.
Click to expand...

What is your mic recommendation here for the DR10L? Does it have a threaded 3.5mm pin? I want that feature because it gets pulled on.
 
Rick R said:
"He's been very responsive with me and gets the mics wired up and shipped quickly"
Is that still Dave from OST? If so, Regards. OST's customer service has always been top shelf in my experience. Most would agree.
As I stated, the Sennheiser ME2 is a POS IMO.... not to be confused with the MKE2 which is very good.
Click to expand...

Yep, Dave's the man. Nice guy too.
 
Tom Roper said:
What is your mic recommendation here for the DR10L? Does it have a threaded 3.5mm pin? I want that feature because it gets pulled on.
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Oscar SoundTech 801 or 802 http://oscarsoundtech.com/
Read the directions and email Dave for the current price list.
Yes, you can order with a threaded 3.5mm plug. Yes, it works great.
I also use the same mics on my Røde Video wireless and my friends Sennheiser G3s.
Very handy to have mics that can work on a variety of devices.

Frankly, the Sankens and DPAs are slightly better than the OSTs IMHO. You can read my review I did many years ago here before I knew about the OSTs
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/lavs_brockett.html
The Sankens and DPAs cost five to six times as much. I don't know why anyone wouldn't buy the OSTs unless you are a pro sound mixer and want to spend $500.00
to $700.00 per lav?
 
Rick R said:
"He's been very responsive with me and gets the mics wired up and shipped quickly"
Is that still Dave from OST? If so, Regards. OST's customer service has always been top shelf in my experience. Most would agree.
As I stated, the Sennheiser ME2 is a POS IMO.... not to be confused with the MKE2 which is very good.
Click to expand...
Yes, Dave.
 
puredrifting said:
Oscar SoundTech 801 or 802 http://oscarsoundtech.com/
Read the directions and email Dave for the current price list.
Yes, you can order with a threaded 3.5mm plug. Yes, it works great.
I also use the same mics on my Røde Video wireless and my friends Sennheiser G3s.
Very handy to have mics that can work on a variety of devices.

Frankly, the Sankens and DPAs are slightly better than the OSTs IMHO. You can read my review I did many years ago here before I knew about the OSTs
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/lavs_brockett.html
The Sankens and DPAs cost five to six times as much. I don't know why anyone wouldn't buy the OSTs unless you are a pro sound mixer and want to spend $500.00
to $700.00 per lav?
Click to expand...

Thanks for link. Yes I like giving my money away so I'll buy the OST and send you the difference. Please PM me your Paypal acct and password. :happy: Thanks!
 
Received the 802 this morning. 1 day shipping to NYC! Quick test and I'm very impressed. Low self noise and rich voice. Can't wait to get this in the field. I can't believe I have been using the stock Tascam mic for this long :/ The moral of the story is listen to Dan's post suggestions right away...Sent greetings from Rick and the rest of the DVXusers...
 
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