GNinja

haha I bought 4 wasabi powers from amazon.com cause all my friends say they are solid so I'll try them out. Also, kinda going off topic, but whats the advantages of using an NP-1 battery vs a Sony NP-F L series batteries? I saw Hawk-woods makes something that's an 4pin-hirose that can be plugged into a SD 633 and powered by L series batteries instead of NP-1. Also, does anyone make an L-series batt adaptor like this: http://www.hawkwoods.com/Prods/details.php?id=84 in North America?

Anyone have any experience with Wasabi Power batteries?

Canada its up by 20%...

I agree with alot of whats said here. It would still be nice to hear a comparison between the aspen mics to other mics like the OST, the sennheiser ME2, maybe even the Tram, Sankens, and Countryman for fun. The two video links reviewing the mics just doesn't suffice for me. I'm just wondering if it's worth it to get for the projects I have right now. If it's equivalent or better than the Sennheiser ME2, then yea, I see value in the aspen mic products. That's pretty much why i started this thread. Again, comparing between the more expensive lavs would be for fun and educational.

Thanks muntus! I look forward to those results you find. I was looking at Oscar Soundtech lavs as well.

Does anyone know how good the URSA records audio?

I just came across this company. Has anyone ever heard of them, used their products, or have any comparisons to other mics? Here is their website: http://aspenmics.com/ Interesting for the price and warranty. Thoughts?

Thanks for all the great replies! Constantin, I actually liked the MKE600 for what it is alot... so much that I preordered it before listening to it after hearing alot of great reviews at convention shows. So happy my risk panned out... but yeah, if it wasn't for the battery blowing up I wouldn't have considered buying another mic like the MKH 8060. And you are right, the MKH 8060 does handle both outdoor and indoor well, especially with the MM-1 Preamp. I am thinking of sending the MKE600 for repair and hopefully it's cost effective rather than buying a brand new one, which segways to RP Sharman's advice: I really do like to own a second mic as a backup, which the MKE600 was suppose to be. Technically it still works if I send phantom power either from an MM-1 or my Roland R-44 but trying to use battery power makes a bad beep sound. I'm guessing the acid has gone somewhere I can't clean myself. But I digress. All these advices help me alot basing on what to invest in next, either another mic or a Sound Device 633. Seems like I can save the money for the latter.

Thanks for the response. By the way, for josefrias and syncsound, the rates you posted, are these for non-union gigs only? If so, are these rates based off of union rates? How are these numbers broken down? I'm from Canada so if there are any Canadian sound guys here that know or have a link to information regarding rates and how they break down, that would be great, otherwise, other country breakdown is a good place to start as well. If my former two questions are too personal, you don't have to share them either, I'm just curious as to the trends of union vs non-union pay grades. Thanks!

I've read somewhere here that there is an art or technical aspect of finding an interior microphone for your outdoor microphone. I currently own a Sennheiser MKH8060 because my MKE600 mic kinda konked out (stupid battery exploded inside the mic and now it's giving off buzzing noise when I try to use battery power...). I use it for both indoor and outdoor and to me, both sides are acceptable except for some indoor scenes where I do get alot of room reverb. Would getting a hypercardiod/cardiod mic be better and if so, how do you choose a matching mic that works well with my microphone? What are the technical aspects I should be looking at to find a matching microphone? As in, is there a way to measure by looking at specs and choosing that way? The one I am looking at is the Neumann KM145/150. I see it pop up in a few recommended microphones for indoors. Good or bad choice? The other ones are to find a microphone built by the same company, so maybe the sennheiser MKH 8040? MKH-50? Any other recommendations or advice? Even if I shouldn't buy, it's good to know how to build up my gear down the road and building towards it is a good goal for me. Thanks in advance!

First time posting. Learning lots just by going through these discussions. Thanks for sharing the rates too as it helps me restructure mine. I started out a couple years ago and still figuring things out. In regards to rates, has anyone done non-profit gigs before? would the rates be the same as commercial and films?