jonathan chiles Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 I have a possible job on the horizon requiring MS stereo and am wondering if the Sennheiser 418 stereo shotgun would be a good mic to rent? It fits in my suspensions and rycotes which is a bonus, I'm just wondering about the quality of the S channel capsule, I seem to remember hearing it was a little on the noisy side? I would love to get a Schoeps MK8 capsule or a MKH30 for a MS setup but would need a larger Rycote for those and also have heard that handling noise can be a real problem with a Schoeps MS rig? Jon C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 " if the Sennheiser 418 stereo shotgun would be a good mic to rent? " it wouldn't be a bad mic to rent... the rule: Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. guess there are a lot of choices (in any price range) because different folks have different, subjective, opinions... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engaudio Posted September 27, 2009 Report Share Posted September 27, 2009 The first question really is, what do you plan to record in stereo? If it's nature sounds then forget about using the sennheiser 418 , it's usually fine if you're in the city where the ambient noise covers the self-noise of the mic. Secondly, a lot of people use the mkh30 in a standard mono rycote.(just clip it on top of your mkh50/60) It's not essential to use the stereo rycote blimp but it will help in high winds... Grant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan chiles Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Hey Grant, so you're saying that for quiet sources the Side chanel on the MKH418 is too noisy? Perhaps equivalent to one of those Ambient Emesser Figure 8 mics? I should go into my rental house and listen for myself ofcourse. As I already own 2 schoeps bodies I am considering buying an MK8 cap to give me MS (with an MK41) Is there an easy way to clip 2 Schoeps cmc bodies together inside a standard Rycote? The shoot I have coming up will be in urban areas and I'm not forseeing any incredibly quiet sources. However perhaps the Schoeps MK41/MK8 combo is about the best quality MS image for any source and worth the investment? The handling noise issue with the MK8 is of some concern to me however Jon C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 " for quiet sources the Side chanel on the MKH418 is too noisy? " compared to other choices, the MKH418 has more self-noise... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Wielage Posted September 29, 2009 Report Share Posted September 29, 2009 I'm using a Rycote M/S mount with a Sennheiser MKH30 and MKH40 (and have also tried a 50 for the latter), and the results have been great. It's bulkier than an MKH418, and more costly, but I think it's more flexible and sounds better overall. (I would expect a similar Schoeps set up would be a step beyond it.) This is strictly for SFX and an ambience. As far as I know, Rycote doesn't have the Lyre mounts for this M/S set-up yet, but I think they're working on it. Do a Google search on the MKH418 and read the reviews out there to get an idea on its limitations. And rent one before you buy it. To Jon C: the Rycote brochure <b>at this link</b> shows what looks like a very compact Schoeps M/S setup on page 15 (actually both M/S and X/Y). --Marc W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek H Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 How does the Sanken CSS-5 compare to the 418 in self noise? Anyone used this mic? Good for nature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomboom Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 What I've heard so far (two times) is that the CSS-5 is a little noisy. Let's hope they release a CSS-5e soon... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickreich Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 How does the Sanken CSS-5 compare to the 418 in self noise? Anyone used this mic? Good for nature? I own a CSS-5 - and do a lot of Ambience recording with it. I've seen list posts say the self-noise is too high for quiet ambiences, and I'm sure that directly compared with a Schoeps MS pair it is noisier, however for practical OUTDOOR work I've not found it to be an issue. Forest ambiences in light breeze etc. Definitely OK for urban work. May well be a bit noisy for a Foley stage or similar. A CSS-5 isn't really a MS mic (though it's impossible to find info from Sanken on the actual method they matrix the capsules) - certainly doesn't output un-decoded MS. It outputs L-R at two switchable 'widths'. The "Wide" setting is said to be a touch noisier than the "Normal" setting, but in experiments I've never quite convinced myself either way. Maybe mine's a good one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Visser Posted October 23, 2009 Report Share Posted October 23, 2009 The only time I would use a 418 is if there was a rider on the equipment spec that required an M-S rig and everyone else (who didn't write the rider) sort of agrees that they are really more reliant on the mono shotgun. A supercardioid or hypercardioid is not really the best match for M-S... it presents sort of an odd match when mixing in post. A cardioid, wide cardioid, and even an omni is not out of the question for nature ambience or music recordings, but obviously less useful for many typical production setups. I would probably grab an MKH40/30 combo as my first choice. (Don't you wish Sennheiser made an 8030 already?!?!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan chiles Posted October 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Thanks for all the comments and suggestions folks. I gave in and got myself a Schoeps MK8 capsule. Looking forward to doing some MS music recording for a doc next month, I'll write back with my experiences. I am getting some Rycote double clips to mount the extra mic on top of my cmc5/41 in a standard Rycote windshield. Jon C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathan chiles Posted November 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 So this is my MS setup. I had a chance to do some ambiences with it las week and they came out beautifully. I still need to rig some cutdown XLR plugs and thin balanced cable to prevent handling noise being transferred to the fig 8 mic but the 2 Schoeps worked fine inside the mono Rycote, although the windjammer is obviously needed if the breeze picks up. Also the lyre suspension does a good job of isolating both mics (held together with Rycote double clips) Jon Chiles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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