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Yesterday the second Fethead arrived as well, and I will be able to test them soon. I'll add a picture with the VP88 microphone. I asked just in case from Triton Audio, if it is OK using two Fetheads in the same chain? (for the future tests with shotgun) Max answered me: "We haven’t tested this, but it will probably work. You can’t break anything. The impedances are not optimal when stacking FetHead Phantoms, so you will likely not get a double amount of gain."

Dan, I have an old Petrol harness that I really never got on with (though I like a lot of what Petrol/ORCA/Ofer do). It's in really good shape. I don't recall how many different models Petrol made; I can dig it up and post a few pix if you'd like. I'll let it go really cheap. Perhaps... Or maybe you have an inexpensive yet cool guitar doodad sitting around unused? Seriously, I'd rather my Petrol harness gets used... Also, I met Larry Nolan, Mr. Versa-Flex, at one of our NAB mixer mixers years ago. At the time, he/they were into custom orders. Perhaps they still are?

You might be right about the wider harness still hurting the shoulders, but somehow I feel that will make all of the difference. I remember wearing the petrol harness with a 35 pound bag and being fine! Also I kind of feel like my shoulders would be more sore if the bag were lower, because the angle would be pulling the muscles further downward. But then again I have not tried anything except the Petrol and the old Versaflex. Yep, that Stingray harness looks amazing. That's probably what I'll go for. Question - does your K tech harness allow you to set the bag up high? The Orca looks very good also, as does the Versaflex short harness.

Thanks! Any noticeable improvement in reception quality? Not range per se but more consistent clean reception within the normal range? I’m using PR75a receivers which are just not as good of a receiver as a PR216 yet they work pretty well usually except with a few focus pullers and a particular script sup who have ALOT of wireless video gack near them. Not that the VRX1 is available in 72-76 but I’m still curious how it stands up to heavy interference.

All of it was borrowed, so yeah, maintenance / cable could have been an issue. Yes, it was a BST75 216. Antenna was "Miracle Whip" — a Remote Audio-modified SNA600a. I haven't used it before so I have no point of reference. It's another suspect point for me, but the person I borrowed from swears by it. Like I said, I don't fully trust the result I got, but I do trust the A/B vs. the Comtek because they were running off the same transmitter. Hopefully I'll be able to say something more helpful after a followup.

Maybe theese pictures can be of inspiration for someone. I tried a bit of waist rigs. The military style deputy bag that a lot of us rocked had a removable strap. I used it for some time, and was nice to not have any strain on the shoulders, but the bag also made a funny shape and not so fit, plus it felt kind of too narrow in the back so you had to lower it to get appropiate support. I ended up getting a thicker waistbelt from Kinesis, but I havent used it much as I found a proper harness with boomhanger to help in docu style work. The way it was attached was simply by using the same loops. A more flexible way would be to use carbiners/frog hooks. The last experimental aliexpress bag (thanks Rado for your search of the perfect bag) is like an oversized fannypack, it sits better than the deputy bag, but also the waistbelt becomes a bit too narrow on its own to support all the weight. I found a good compromise was a leightweight strut harness that I had laying around. Maybe some fabric to thicken the belt a bit would also be an idea. Still on the search for the perfect fit, the main problem with just a belt is how to get it to be firmly in pöace and not too low down in my opinion.

What transmitter antenna are you using, and is the transmitter a BST 75 216? Good antenna to Tx cable?

Could not resist!

Forums like JWS are a goldmine of information for professionals and I regularly browse topics from past years. On social media, it’s very difficult to find archived content. And here we are not tracked or overwhelmed by irrelevant posts. Thank you Jeff and all fellow colleagues.

I've been using the harness from Ktek KSHRN for a long time and it's great. For a fully loaded bag, I can't imagine without it. So I use Orca bags. But it works great. So it's a lot slower to get into the whole thing. But I do it a bit the other way around than it's probably intended, I leave the top and two side carabiners on all the time and when I'm resting I don't have the harness on, but clipped to the bag and then I just get dressed and fasten the remaining two carabiners. Unfortunately, I didn't compare the harness from Orca, it has two carabiners less, so it will probably be faster, but to hold it as well as the Ktek?

I've used both the ORCA and the K-Tek.. Stuck with the K-Tek because it sucked less than the ORCA... I wanted to like the ORCA but it just folds up when you tighten up the straps. The K-Tek does somewhat maintain it's shape along the wide low back section.. Probably because of the stiffer foam pad. My bag is pretty light.. 833/SL2, Zax CL and Battery.. in a Ktek Jr bag.. I think it's 11ish lbs. I wouldn't go with anything beyond that amount of gear using a waist belt.

Petrol was merged into Sachtler, so you can still find a few of their legacy products under that brand. They still make the original Petrol bags, which I like because they aren't as rigid and heavy as KTek and Orca. I have no idea if that includes the harness ... probably not would be my guess. I use a short-bag Versa-Flex (BHS3) because I have the same preference you do: High on my body and strapped tight. I find this position gives me the greatest range of motion, and I can run with it if necessary. I kind of doubt it will save your shoulders. It's a pretty basic design. I also suspect that having it pulled tight may be part of the issue with shoulders ... with the bag up high, it will pull your shoulders forward more than wearing it lower, and that can take its toll. I'm also too lazy to loosen the shoulders when I wear it over rain gear, and I find my shoulders hurt more in that situation because the added layers make for a tighter fit.

I still use my petrol harness for my petrol football bag. I like it. The Versa-Flex guys were jealous of it when I picked it up in, maybe, 2006. I use it weekly and it is still in great shape. My bag weights about 12 pounds and I can wear it for 4hrs without a break on reality shows. I have seen the Orca harness on sets where I am shooting. It looks nice and looks like it offers lower back support. If I ever decided to change harnesses I thought I would go for the orca. Let us know what you think if you get to try one. Ha, 160 lbs. I haven't weighed that since I was in high school back in... never you mind how long ago that was.

I used to have a brilliant Petrol harness. It is gone, and in its place is my old Versaflex harness. Today my shoulders just about died. I miss my petrol harness. So of course they don't make it anymore. I see some nice looking ones from Orca and Portabrace and Versaflex. I have a heavy bag that I almost never wore because it had been years since I worked an actual run and gun gig. I took out some rx and made the bag as light as possible, but it's still a beast. My back and feet are fine, it's just the harness digs into my shoulders. I'm quite intrigued by the short bag version from Versaflex. I like wearing the bag tight and high up so the bottom is at my belt line. Also I guess I have a fairly small frame - I think I'm a normal 160 pound 5'10"er - so there's always a foot or more of extra strap after tightening! Thanks JWers! Dan Izen

Sometimes I wonder how long this site will be active, and thank my lucky stars that I was able to get in early! Despite the like button, this is one of the greatest (and only) places I visit online. Thank you Jeff and thank you donators!

I think web forums are the future This site is way better than any social media ... but I guess that's why I'm here and not there.

Sounds way better than Comtek. Range is comparable ... Comtek may technically go farther, but not in a way you'd want to listen to ... Comtek audio will disappear into white static noise, whereas the VRX1 will simply cut out once the noise floor gets high enough. In terms of distance where you'd get listenable audio, they were comparable. VRX1 seemed to drop out a bit less as long as it had adequate SNR, and it wasn't nearly as susceptible RF distortion on the peaks. I'm quite confused about how both the VRX1 and Comteks performed vs. the UHF IFBs I tested ... 216MHz (both VRX1 and Comtek) had noticeably less range in my test and I can't figure out why. I feel like I need to test a different antenna to be sure. I feel like I've had way better range from Comteks in the past, so I don't trust my test at the moment.

If the 8000 series mics are too hot for your preamp then the MKH 60 might fit the bill, it's hotter than a 416 but at 40mV/Pa it's not too sensitive and the pad brings it down to 12.5mV/Pa with a max input of 134dBSPL. I really like those mics as good allrounder. BTW, here's a useful table that helps determining whether a mic is too hot for a micpre.

Anyone try one of these yet? If so, what’s your opinion? Obviously curious how it stands up to a standard Comtek.

I haven't managed to thank everyone personally but the last few days have seen an amazing amount of support donations from our members. Maybe my birthday, April 18th, triggered this, I don't know, but it is so appreciated! We have such a great group of sound people here who participate regularly on site and so many of our veteran members have generously offered so much good advice and help to many of our newer members. It is amazing that we can keep this all going considering how much "competition" there is from so many social media websites. I am aware that the legacy forum format is showing its age a bit but it seems to be still working quite well. So pleased that there is room in your lives for JWSOUNDGRIOUP. Thank you, again, from the bottom of my heart for all the generous support donations.

Inspiration coming from everywhere. Haha

Very cool! I'm not a 788 user, but I know some who are. I'll send them to this thread once the software is available. Thanks for your time and effort to put this together.

De-noising is primarily a post activity, but I am very happy with the SDNX plug-in on my 888. It's great for consistent hums and drones, but it's not so effective with clicks/scratches. I use about -3db of noise reduction on the mix track and leave the ISOs unprocessed. Most of my work doesn't go through audio post, so doing some noise reduction on the delivered files can be a big deal for those who notice.

Hey Olle, thanks for the lead on Hush, I'll give it a try and report back. Supertone's Clear, totally! It's been a great addition to the kit (h/t to Jeremiah Moore for cluing me to it). Between that, RX (yep yep, @Sebi), and a few others it seems one can do a pretty decent job removing the camera's motor whir. Glad to hear about any other new additions. It's been a wonder seeing the recent sound isolation developments.

LOL