Stickman

I have been working on Top Shot for 4 seasons now. If I have learned anything about microphones and recording gun fire it's that professional mics have no problem with most weapons spl levels! Either that or I have been very lucky. On season 1 all I used was a couple sm57's recording directly to the decks used for robocams. Originally they did not want me to do any recording as they did not have a budget AND I would have never used any of my pricier mics!! On season 4 they did have a budget and I used stereo pairs of: Senn mkh70,60,50,8050 AKG 414, D112 Shure sm91 They gave me time with every weapon and I worked very closely with the post department to ensure the sounds used are accurately representing each weapon. Placement was from 4ft from the weapon to 10ft in front of the firing line, 50ft and 100ft in front of the firing line. We also would face the mic towards and away from the weapon. I have used almost every mic I own since we started on season one and I have yet to blow out a mic. The cast are all on cos-11's and they have no problem with any weapon so far. I did blow a mic pre but it was my fault. If I could offer any advice it would be to use a lot of mics and play around!! Lots of fun!

I have been using a UH400a as part of my system for a while and it works great! I have been using the Ipower rechargeable 9v in my UH400 TX and am getting about 6 hours of life WITH phantom power! I just picked up a couple HM TX for my current job and I love them as well.

If you use the Zaxcom stereo links I would recommend line level. These camera trims are not consistant at all. I have had good luck so far going line level. I have not used lectro on this camera but I would imagine the outcome would be the same. Fernando

You might want to consider a plant Mic. In many cases when I am limited on tracks or radio Mic's I will talk to art dept. and see where I can plant Mic's. Wire up your 3 primary talent and use a plant track. Depending on the scene you can everything you need with what you have. Fernando

The issues were all internal. I have 3 units that had shorts in the power. The unit would drain the batteries in about 20 min and they would not transmit anything. The units would also get very hot very quickly. I was told by the folks at zaxcom that the short was due to not allowing the paint to dry before they shipped. I feel like that may be part of the issue that I'm having with one unit now. The other issue was that the TX would not receive input on the left channel. Turns out it was a cold solder point. I sent it in twice and it was corrected. Like I said before when these things work they work great and sound great. I do use these all the time on MY shoots. I own a rental house in Las Vegas and I do not send out the Zaxcom unless they are specifically requested and I always feel a bit nervous when they do go out. One really interesting issue with them is the mute function in the rx. when the rx does not have adequate rf levels it mutes. when the signal is intermittent the mute turn on and off. It sounds very weird and at first I had no idea what it was.

I think you are misunderstanding me. I have had to send units out for repair because units do get abused and go down. I have NEVER had to send out a lectro because it didn't work out of the box. I know some guys that have had that issue but I have not.Out of my 6 zax tx I have had to send 3 of them back out of the box and have never been able to get through a shoot with out some kind of performance issue (not due to abuse). When I have had to deal with the service I have had bad luck in that area as well. where when it comes to service on the lectro side they take a while but are honest about it and get the gear back to me in the time they specify. That has not been the case with zax. I have had to send 2 units back the same day because they didn't fix the problem. Please keep in mind the problems I have had are problems like the left channel not transmitting, the units getting hot to the touch and draining fresh batteries in less than 20 min. Very real issues. I agree with Pascal. I love the idea of the zaxcoms and I do use them when they work. It's just a bummer that every time there is an issue the service takes forever and they always seem to blame something other than themselves. Needing to take a set of lectros to make sure I'm covered if my zax go down sucks as well.

Im not here to slam anyone's products . All I am saying is I have had nothing but issues with my 6 zaxcom units. I will say that I have NEVER had to send any of the over 30 lectros in my inventory back due to poor performance. So you do the math. I know people love their gear and I am no different but the facts are facts. Take it for what its worth!

I tested a couple of my 442's with various zaxcom units and did not encounter the same problem. I will say that the service I have received from Zaxcom has been poor at best. I have purchased 6 units over the last year and have had to send in 4 of my 6 tx and am getting ready to send in yet another tx and an rx this week. I love my zaxcom when they work but have encountered more trouble with them than it's really worth.

I use the O1v with an R.M.E. fireface and it runs metacorder flawlessly. I have been using this system for about 2 years and I love it. I have played with mlan but would rather use an adat card in the O1v with a fireface.