Marc Wielage Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 Here's an 8-minute video from a guy named D.J. Clark testing various mics on a rooftop in China, including a $1 lavalier: What concerns me is that morons will watch this and assume that instead of paying $350 for a Sanken COS-11 or a DPA lav, they can get by with a $1 knock-off just as well. The good news is, Mr. Clark does at least promote the concept that often, microphone position makes the biggest difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resonate Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 Well, you cannot help a moron, except for pointing him in the right direction. Of course, at first when you point your finger at the moon, the moron will look at the finger as for the microphones, the most important thing is how the signal recorded thru them (and the whole chain counts here, mic->preamp->recorder) will respond to post production processes (eq, compression, etc) I find that the best microphones are very flexible in that matter. Just bought some osc tech mics though, i wonder how they will stack up in post compared to dpa's I'm so used to. Any comments on that? Thanks for the video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted July 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 I've compared Oscar Sound Tech mics to Countryman, Sennheiser, Tram, and Sanken mics, and I think they're OK. But like the guy says, "you get what you pay for." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azw Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 A $1 mic might come in useful for something crazy and disposable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominiquegreffard Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 In my experience the ost tl-40 handle normal levels fine but it gets ugly when level goes up to screaming or so. So basically ok for interviews but bad for fiction work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 azw: " A $1 mic might come in useful for something crazy and disposable. " might even be a really good value for the price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 The most telling segment (and I quote):"…In this test I have two microphones running. One a tie clip here and one a shotgun microphone overhead. Now, this is the ideal setup and what they often use in professional documentary recording. They have this more full sound, as they say, with this combination of two sounds." Really bad for prospective sound mixers to watch misleading videos such as this. While I have mixed in a boom with lavs for documentaries (in post, I hasten to add), this technique can be used to add a bit of ambiance, not to get this amateur's "more full sound" as he calls it -- which, of course, is a home-grown recipe for bad sound, replete with phase issues. Warning to new mixers, don't try this at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkautzsch Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 Trying not to hijack. Exception to the Rule, It Depends, Don't Try This at Work, and all the Usual Disclaimers. While I have mixed in a boom with lavs for documentaries (in post, I hasten to add), this technique can be used to add a bit of ambiance, not to get this amateur's "more full sound" as he calls it -- which, of course, is a home-grown recipe for bad sound, replete with phase issues. A few days ago, I used the (C-standed) boom for main pickup of an interview. The office we were shooting had a rather strange reverberation. Cos-11 on its own sounded terribly roomy. But it was great to add a bit of ambience to the very dry sound from the KMR 81. Whatever works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 <<A $1 mic might come in useful for something crazy and disposable. >> and most probably - sound as disposable as the mic is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundtrane Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 <<D.J. Clark>> like Tom Cruise's character name in his next (terrible) sci-fi film... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted July 3, 2014 Report Share Posted July 3, 2014 maybe, maybe not... I have heard reputable reports that the actual elements in some well known, popular, and pricy lav mics are purchased OEM from overseas at a couple bucks each. sorry, no names on location... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikewest Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Trams and Sonotrim elements are Swiss Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Spaeth Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 In my experience the ost tl-40 handle normal levels fine but it gets ugly when level goes up to screaming or so. So basically ok for interviews but bad for fiction work. I think OST can make them with various sensitivities. Ask Dave at OST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dominiquegreffard Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 I think OST can make them with various sensitivities. Ask Dave at OST. Good to know christian, i didn t know that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Silberberg Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 $1 lav mic, my op. : I suppose I could save money outfitting myself with $1 microphones and work with them to get decent tracks, but I don't see any competitive advantage there that I can offer to the producers who hire me. Professional gear is built to provide confidence, and I'm trying to maintain my own confidence as well. I'm always trying to prepare for the "what ifs" like "what if the cheap lav wire breaks in the middle of an important shot..." Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim M Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 I used the Oscarsoundtech exclusively for a couple month reality show and now I'm exclusively (day to day) using Sanken COS-11's I know this has been discussed to death but one main difference I see in the two is that first I prefer the sound of the TL-40's when they work properly to the sound of a sanken, they are crisp clear and don't need much crap in reality post to help them out. But the Sankens are a clear winner in durability, I've not known of one to completely lose it's "sound" even when you can tell it is going bad due to salt or sweat or something. The TL-40's can go out (obvious loss of clarity) randomly due to their cheaper nature probably....the other main issue I've found is that the Sankens are extraordinary at cutting down on rustling in comparison to the TL-40's. Using the same techniques practically the rustle on a TL-40 takes a lot more fixing most likely due to their freq response/ more intelligent construction than a Sanken...this makes for way less stressful days...unless I got drastically better at micing techniques overnight. Also I am actually using mounts and vamp clips that were designed for the sanken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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