Richard Thomas Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Just wondering how many of you own/use directional lav mics? I'd expect they might get better results in more hostile environments. I've found a hardwired Crown GLM-200 (hypercardioid, similar shape to a Tram) in the cupboard, which I used to use for instrument amplification. It's a bit awkward to mount on a person so that the diaphragm is pointing towards the speaker but it sounds good (not as nice as DPA's though). Wondering whether it's got a place in the kit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Unless the intention is to help control feedback when feeding a voice through speakers, I've never known directional lavs to be a good choice. Fidelity suffers, wind sensitivity increases and microphonics increase with directional lavs. Microphonic problems also increase when the mic is place on someone's chest, like lavs for film/video usually need to be. Crown developed some directional head-worn mics for live stage performers (developed at the request of Garth Brooks, who made the mics famous). However, these mics had to be positioned directly in front of the mouth, and directly away from the speakers to be affective. While this worked well to get a loud speaker volume without feedback, it is not a good choice for recording the natural sound of a voice. For what might occasionally be a small amount of improvement in reducing ambient noise, there is usually much more given up, which is why 99.9% of lavs used for film/video voice recording are omnidirectional. GT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VM Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 A few months ago in a very noisy environment I try the DPA cardioid lav mounted a the chest of a speaker. 10 minutes later I went back to the cos 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Thomas Posted March 3, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Looks like that's a 'no' then, thanks for the feedback though- good to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 I have a hyper-cardioid Sennheiser lav in my inventory. ME-105 I believe. I bought it maybe 15 years ago, it's been used 3 or 4 times total. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crussell Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 I have an ME-104. Better feedback rejection in live sound situations at the expense of being more sensitive to plosives. I never use it outside of sound reinforcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 Yep, I use a Countryman B2 for difficult PA situations where I have people having a roundtable discussion, and (by client request) we can't use traditional cardioid mics on floorstands or deskstands. But they're clipped on the outside of the shirt or coat, plus they have an integrated windscreen. I think it's fair to say this is a speciality mic; I wouldn't pick them for normal dialogue in a controlled situation. In certain circumstances, they work very well, but their directional nature makes them very susceptible to wind noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S Harber Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 I tried out a Sennheiser MKE104 which is a directional lav that was bought to plant/resolve PA concerns. It's basically a a MKE 2 with some porting that allows some directionality to it. The sound was less than stellar and I've tried to incorporate it into some setups through the years but always have found it lacking as opposed to a CUB or other choices. Scott Harber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed White Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 I'm thinking of mounting DPA 4081s to the facial capture camera boom on a MoCap feature I have coming up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VASI Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 A few months ago in a very noisy environment I try the DPA cardioid lav mounted a the chest of a speaker. 10 minutes later I went back to the cos 11. Which model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VM Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 4080 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 If anybody wants it, here's a list of most of the cardioid or supercardioid lavs that are out there that I made notes on -- I think most are still current products: Audio-Technica AT831 Audio-Technica AT898 Countryman B2 DPA 4080 / 4081 ElectroVoice RE92 Sennheiser ME4 Sennheiser ME104 / ME105 Shure WL51 Shure WL91 Shure MX150 Shure MX185 Sony ECM66 Out of these, I've only used the Countryman B2 and the Sennheiser ME4. I know Lectrosonics used to offer a cardioid lav, but I don't see it in their current catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Goldberger Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Sorry to revive an old thread, but does anyone know how if the DPA 4080 and 4081 models can be wired for Zaxcom transmitters? e. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted June 24, 2014 Report Share Posted June 24, 2014 Zaxcom actually does a lot of their demos with various DPA's, so they certainly know... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Sorry to revive an old thread, but does anyone know how if the DPA 4080 and 4081 models can be wired for Zaxcom transmitters? . The same as shown in the Zaxcom manuals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I asked DPA at NAB this year, they said no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I asked DPA at NAB this year, they said no. I have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundslikejustin Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 A 4080 or 4081? And it works? Sometimes even <hat> is wrong, it seems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Goldberger Posted June 25, 2014 Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 I have one. You like? I'm thinking about picking up a pair for car rigs. E. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ty Ford Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Yes, cardioid lav. Here's my take on the Countryman b2D with samples. Regards, Ty Ford Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Wilkinson Posted July 8, 2014 Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Yes, cardioid lav. Here's my take on the Countryman b2D with samples. Regards, Ty Ford Awesome video Ty, thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.