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Microphone Suggestions

G

Gareth Ng

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I quite new to audio and currently I have a Tascam Dr 100 mk ii and Rode NTG 1. I'm not particularly happy with the set up and I'm having to boost the levels a lot which brings up a lot of background noise. My Rode SmartLav produces a much better, cleaner sound overall. So, would getting a more sensitive microphone help isolate the voice of the talent, and reduce the background noise? I was looking at the AT4073a to replace my Rode as I've heard it's much more sensitive. Any suggestions?
 
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The 4073 is a good mid price short shotgun mic. However, it requires phantom power to operate.
you will need to provide this for it to work with your recorder.
Does your tascam provide this, and have full sized xlr connectors?
If not, you may still not solve your problems with this set up. Also, are you attaching your mic to the camera? It should really be put on a boom and then operated by a boom operator on your crew.
Now, I have used an NTG-1 before, and thought it was a decent entry level mic. I suspect your placement of the mic may be a bigger problem than the mic and recorder.
 
Yes, the tascam does have phantom power and has xlrs. The mic is also boomed. I just feel that the preamps in the tascam are not strong enough for the Rode. I was also considering a ME66, any experiences with that?
 
That RODE has a super cardioid pickup pattern - First thought is it could be mic placement… If it's on the camera plane, you are picking up everything in that direction - including the background. Raise the levels and you raise the noise floor. If on a fish pole, you can point it in the direction of the talent with a lower noise floor (such as the ground) in the background.
Has the problem been consistent in multiple situations?


If you have access to a few other mics, perhaps you could test the system before dropping some $$$...
 
I also have the Tascam Dr-100MK II and was using it with the NTG-1 for a few years. I recently upgraded to the NTG-3, which is more sensitive, but I never had problems with the audio levels w/ NTG-1 on the Tascam. If you get the mic 12-18 inches from your actor's mouth, pointed towards his/her chest, your levels should be good. Double check on the back of your Tascam that the gain level switch is set to High.
If background noise is present, it will likely be heard, but the closer the mic is to the actor, the more the voice will overpower the background noise.
 
A tidy and entry level, on RED camera solution, is the WC A Box and a Sennheiser MKH 416, which will provide phantom power for the shotgun mic. The wc riser plate will also allow the wires, from the A box to be mostly hidden under the camera.

Thank you very much

fury
 
The kind of environments you shoot in would also need to be considered closely. We use the Sennheiser MKH50 for almost all of our interior work and love it, especially for medium & close-ups - we use the Rode NTG3 for outdoor situations & larger interiors. Also if you are looking for better pre-amps, the Sound Devices MixPre-D has some pretty stunning pre-amps & a great limiter.
 
YEP,

Have the MKH 50 for interiors and MKH 60 for most exteriors as well. A bit more jing as the kit grows...

Thanks
 
My first guess would be position of the mic as well. If you want to compare the two mics, they have to be placed accordingly. Did you do that? Comparing a lav with the NTG makes me guess that the position might have been the problem.
 
Thanks for the responses. I'll check my mic placement in the future. I was reading about preamps, and looking at the MP-1. What sort of sound improvements will something like that provide with a Dr100? Will they be significant enough to be worth buying?
 
The Sennheiser MKH mice are fairly high output and excelent as is the Shoeps CMIT. You won't go wrong with either.

If you want to improve your preamps there there are a few to check out but the area where the art of recording is thought to be is the mic to preamp match. Worth reading a few reviews in Sound on Sound and other publications, they rant Film and TV specific but will give you an idea to see whats possible and what suits your needs and taste. Microphones are as varied in character as lenses probably more so and worth investing in. Mics I purchase 25 years ago ware still in service day in day out and still sold new. Ive lots of vintage mice also much older and are much used too.
 
I'm no sound expert, but I have the Sennheiser MKE 600, and I've had nothing but great results. I use it with Zoom H4n recorder and/or straight through a WC A-Box XLR into camera. The levels seem a little more sensitive than Rode NTG-1, and the sound has been adequate for all my interview needs (on camera and boom).
 
Sennheiser 416 for outdoors or large rooms inside, and the Schoeps CMC641 kit (which is the CMC6 plus MK41 capsule) for indoors. Together, its around $3k...but trust me when I say audio is just as important as video. I'll still watch old black and white films with very grainy footage, and even some new stuff like Nolans The Following (which was B&W)...but don't skip on the sound. People will sit through rough video...but they won't tolerate bad audio.

Just my two cents.
 
Rome Will said:
Sennheiser 416 for outdoors or large rooms inside, and the Schoeps CMC641 kit (which is the CMC6 plus MK41 capsule) for indoors. Together, its around $3k...but trust me when I say audio is just as important as video. I'll still watch old black and white films with very grainy footage, and even some new stuff like Nolans The Following (which was B&W)...but don't skip on the sound. People will sit through rough video...but they won't tolerate bad audio.

Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
If you could do a comparison of those two mics indoors, that would be great!
 
Akin A said:
If you could do a comparison of those two mics indoors, that would be great!
Click to expand...

Next time I pull everything out I will. But honestly, you can youtube a great example...here is the link actually...

http://youtu.be/IaUSXP-a3hA

I'm not the best audio guy, as I'm still learning the mics and other audio gear...I can't seem to figure out how to get the low pass filters to work the best as the fan from my epic blows pretty hard and I keep picking it up around the house. What I can say is I can hear the difference between the two mics (the 416 picks up noise around it vs. the Schoeps which is more directional, as it's supposed to given the type of mic it is).

Hope this helps...

Also, I had a Zoom h6 but after talking to a lot of people (and they all said don't skimp on sound) I grabbed a couple Sound Device pieces of equipment...couldn't justify having a $20k camera and $1000 sound gear...especially given how important sound is in a production.
 
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But by all means, please don't stretch yourself just to say you own the gear. You're better off hiring someone to help with sound that already has those mics and recorders- and knows how to use them (something I'm learning the hard way). If you want a small recorder to help with some simple projects given your setup, than any of the mics mentioned from people here should be more than good (the Rode NTG especially).
 
Rome Will said:
Next time I pull everything out I will. But honestly, you can youtube a great example...here is the link actually...

http://youtu.be/IaUSXP-a3hA
Click to expand...
Very good video, thanks!

Rome Will said:
But by all means, please don't stretch yourself just to say you own the gear.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I looked through lots of comparisons of NTG-3 vs MKH 416 and decided to go with the NTG-3 because the difference seemed negligible. But part of me still wants the MKH 416 because of its respect.

And I still don't own a hypercardiod for indoors yet, although I'm sure I will at some point.
 
Akin A said:
And I still don't own a hypercardiod for indoors yet, although I'm sure I will at some point.
Click to expand...

Just took delivery of an Audix SCX1 hypercardioid that I haven't tested yet but it's been referred to as a poor man's Schoeps so we'll see how it does with interior interviews. I recommend checking the reviews on it as I can't get provide any feedback.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/242661-REG/Audix_SCX1_HC_SCX1_HC_Microphone.html

My next hyper will probably be the mkh50.
 
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