Wireless Mics setup help and rentals?

R

RGB Productions

New member
I'm just starting to begin my videography business. I don't have much audio equipment at the moment. I'm using a DVX100B with a wired Shure mic and a wireless NADU 151 VR/HT.

My Shure mic has worked great for all the interviews I've done for school projects and such. I recently graduated in May so and now I'm thinking about being serious.

I've done a lot of research and looked through the Stickies on audio but I'm still confuzzled on a couple of things.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350244598899&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I have found these. And nobody kill me because I know Azdens are considered evil spawn. But I have found through a lot of research that a lot of mics are better than no mics. :grin: So I'm considering purchasing these for backups.

Now here comes my problem if i do purchase these do I need to buy receivers for all of them. Or do I buy a mixer. Or do I buy a Digital recorder. I was going through the posts and I like the Zoom H-2. But is there something better than this.

My budget is heh well maybe about $400. And that's for everything rentals, digital recorders, and mics.

I have an engagement party I'm filming soon and I was going to rent another DVX100B and a Sennheiser G2. I don't know where to rent a G3.

That puts it at 2 cameras 4 XLR inputs. And possibly 1 digital recorder.

Now if I buy these extra mics how am I supposed to hook everything together. I have no idea how to go about that. Can I only have 4 mics for the camera and 1 for the recorder? Or is there another way to go about it. I have no clue how to hook everything together. Also any suggestions on headphones?

Please help. I hope this question hasn't already been asked.
 
You HAVE to have receivers - without them a mixer or digital recorder can't hear the mics. The mating receivers for these transmitters are the WR-PRO single channel receiver and the WR22-PRO dual channel receiver. You need a receiver or a dedicated channel in a dual channel receiver for each transmitter in concurrent use. These particular transmitters can only be set to operate on one or the other of two available channels. Since each transmitter/receiver pair on the set must have its own dedicated channel, you won't be able to use all five at once even if you do go and buy five receivers - at most you'd be able to use two of them. Multiple transmitters on the same frequency interfere with each other. So even if you bought 5 channels worth of receivers, at best you'll have two units to use at any one time plus 3 spares. (NOT advised). Buying cheap is the most expensive option you can take. When you don't have money to throw away in the budget, you can't afford bargains.
 
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I understand it a lot better now. I really like what you said about buying cheap being the most expensive option. In that case what would you recommend. I have only had 2 jobs so far and my income is based on Wal-Mart cashiering. Which doesn't pay much at all. The best I can do is rent a Sennheiser. Right now buying is out of the question. To mic an engagement party what would you suggest on my limited budget.

Is my digital recorder I'm thinking of purchasing the Zoom H-2 going to hook up to basically any mic even my wired Shure. BTW any headphones suggestions? Or rental company suggestions?
 
RGB Productions said:
I understand it a lot better now. I really like what you said about buying cheap being the most expensive option. In that case what would you recommend. I have only had 2 jobs so far and my income is based on Wal-Mart cashiering. Which doesn't pay much at all. The best I can do is rent a Sennheiser. Right now buying is out of the question. To mic an engagement party what would you suggest on my limited budget.

Is my digital recorder I'm thinking of purchasing the Zoom H-2 going to hook up to basically any mic even my wired Shure. BTW any headphones suggestions? Or rental company suggestions?
Click to expand...

Headphones: Sony MDR-7506 are industry standards and won't break the bank at about $100 a pair.

There are a number of mics that won't work or won't work well with the H2. Professional mics use balanced wiring and have XLR connectors. Many, if not most, require 48v phantom power. The H2 has neither the required XLR connectors nor the power for the mics. The Zooms are nifty little recorders but I'm not sure I'd want to hang my reputation on one. But that's just me.

For your paying jobs, rent gear worthy of professional use rather than buying marginal gear. You can't afford to risk a gear failure in mid-job. One of the things you're being paid for is your ability to deliver the product regardless of what bad luck the Fates may hand you. The fact of the matter is, with audio gear that flexibility and that level of reliability doesn't come cheap.

Rental shops: You haven't said where you are so it's hard to say. Professional shops like Trew Audio, Coffey Sound, Gotham Sound, Location Audio will Fedex rental gear.
 
To buy wireless, you're basically looking at $500/channel, plus the cost of a good lav, so as you say, out of the question.

For this particular shoot, I don't really see the need for another recorder, or a ton of mics. You're got 4 channels of on-camera sound, and I assume the cameras are roaming about the party, most of the time, so you probably just need a decent mic on each cam. That still leaves you 2 free channels for either wireless or handhelds if neccecary. As long as you do something (ie clap your hands) to sync the 2 cams, you should be fine.

As for headphones, Sony MDR7506 or Sennheiser HD280.

If/when you need a recorder, I'd suggest you look at something with XLR inputs, such as the Zoom H4n or the offerings from Edirol, Marantz, etc.


Slightly OT Rant: Unless you plan to go into sound full-time, buying a ton of sound gear is a pretty big waste of money for an up and coming director or shooter. It's one thing to grab an NTG-2, a boom, and a G2 set or two, having the basic gear is a good idea, but dropping several grand on sound gear only to end up hiring someone who will bring their own gear isn't the best use of limited resources. Renting gear gives access to top of the line kit at a far more affordable rate.
 
I would say your budget is far too low to get anything usable for a video business - I would also say it's too low for an amateur hobby.

The best bet is definitely to hire in until you can afford reasonable kit.
 
The option I have found to get around budget concerns for my wedding business is to use a Sony Digital Audio recorder and the Alesis ProTrack recorder. I connect a lapel microphone to the Sony Recorder and put it in the groom's pocket. The Alesis ProTrack records directly to an iPod and has XLR and 1/4 inch connections and phantom power. It also has two built-in microphones that can be used if you don't have a microphone to connect. This setup requires a lot of synching in post-production, but I and all of my clients have been satisfied with the results.

I've posted about the Alesis before and the general consensus on the forum was that the Zoom has better audio quality. However, for me, the Alesis is a more versatile recorder that gives more than satisfactory results.
 
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