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TomBoisseau

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Everything posted by TomBoisseau

  1. Currently, in the Atlanta area, I'm charging $250 for my basic "kit" which includes a Sound Devices 688, 2 wireless, boom mic & boom pole, and 2 IFB's. Anything more than that is an additional charge, and services are in addition to that as well. How does that compare with you guys?
  2. I'm curious what you guys do. Do you include a certain number of timecode generators in your package rate, or do you charge extra? Thanks, Tom
  3. I have done that very same technique with a clipboard that has a storage area inside of it. I drilled a hole in the end that is pointed outward, inserted a rubber gromet, and then stuck a lav in that hole with the transmitter inside the clipboard. It's worked pretty well!
  4. If it's an incandescent light, ask them to power it off of DC. If it's true, clean DC power, that will eliminate any audio interference. Now WHERE or HOW they're going to get DC, I have no idea.
  5. Be cautious! As I remember there are two different 5 pin XLR versions with different pin spacing. They look very similar, and may seem at first able to connect to each other, but they are different and you will find, as you push them together, that it will be very difficult (pretty much impossible) to completely "seat" them.
  6. When the time comes, will it be possible for us to replace the rechargeable battery in the BP-TRX ourselves, or will the unit need to be sent back to the local manufacture's rep? Also, if we are able to replace them ourselves, do they use some "standard" rechargeable that can obtained from other sources, or are they proprietary? Thanks. Tom
  7. I do a LOT of corporate live streaming! Frankly, other than a small snake to the streaming "table", my sources are mostly wireless microphones with the receivers right next to me at FOH (the rooms I work in usually seat only about 200 people)! I will often place a hardwired podium mic, and take a playback feed from a computer, but for me there is usually not a great need for long snakes. I would think however you'd want a mixer with faders. When you get into those interactive panel discussions, it's rather difficult to do fast "active" mixing on a computer. But if that's what you want to do and you only want to address the headphone issue, I think Rick's suggestion is a good one. The other option is to use an IEM system to send you the headphone/PFL feed wirelessly! Tom
  8. Thank you Neil. That's very helpful. Tom
  9. Thanks for your input Neil. How well "recessed" is the Hirose connector on the Cable Techniques unit? It appears (from photos) that the "sideway" recess is greater with the Sound Devices adapter, which might possibly mean less strain on the connection when using in a bag and when running about. Tom
  10. I’m considering getting a Hirose adapter for my MixPre-3 II. I’m currently trying to decide between the Sound Devices MX-HIROSE and the Cable Techniques MX-POWERSLED. The The Cable Techniques looks to be more robust, however the Sound Devices unit appears to be smaller / lower profile (which I like). They both are about $100. Any words of wisdom? Thanks, Tom
  11. I was on a low budget corporate job a few months ago. We were shooting one of the executives on the sidewalks of downtown Atlanta. I was using my Sound Devices 633 in a K-Tek bag attached to my harness and wearing some Sony MDR7506 headphones. The cameraman was shooting with a small “palm sized” camera. As we were about to shoot on the sidewalk, someone came running out of the building and told us we could NOT shoot there. So we crossed the street and proceeded to try again. Someone else came running out of a different building on this side of the street and told us we could NOT shoot there. Later, we were in the parking lot of a Target store. Then client had actually contacted the Target corporate office and had received permission for us to shoot in the parking lot of this particular store. However, someone came running out of the store and said we could NOT shoot there. We indicated that we had received permission from corporate to be there, but they said that they had not been informed of such and that we would have to leave. It occurred to me... the camera was so tiny, most people probably would have not noticed it. I however, with my “big” rig, harness, and headphones, surely must have drawn attention. I wondered, If I had a “tiny” rig in a fanny pack and just a pair of ear buds, perhaps we would have gone unnoticed! To that end, I put on my Christmas list, and my wife for Christmas gave me a MixPre-3 II. So now I’d like to find an inconspicuous fanny pack just big enough for the MixPre with the 8 AA cell battery pack and 1 or 2 Sennheiser G3 ENG receivers. Any suggestions as to what might work well? Thanks, Tom
  12. Well... for me, the only work I've had recently is because of Zoom and Microsoft Teams! One of my corporate clients wants to continue to communicate with their employees, so they use Microsoft teams. But they're doing it a little differently. They have each presenter call into their own individual "Teams" meeting. The only other person on these individual meetings is "us", in the control room. This allows us (from their control room) to crop and grab almost a full screen iso shot of each presenter that they can switch to at any time and not be at the mercy of "Teams" auto switching. Then we sent it back out to their employees on yet another separate "Teams" meeting. The dilemma is the audio, for which they've been hiring me. Because they have set up all the presenters into different "meetings", and because the employees log into still another meeting to watch and listen, I have to get audio out of all the various meetings (multiple computers) and feed them to the others via multiple mix minuses. Not all of these "meetings" are sent out live. Some are edited and sent out later, which allows them to switch to other presenters for reactions shots, something that's not so easily done with multiple people logged into single meeting. Of course none of this is "location sound", but I'm sure grateful to have the work! Tom
  13. I have used a Sennheiser 100 G3 transmitter on the camera and an G3 ENG receiver in my bag with good results. Of course it's just mono, but it's a very cost effective solution and reasonably small. Tom
  14. Well... it's expensive, but it works with any Bluetooth enabled phone and you don't have to worry about having any specialized cables or specialized adapters. I own one and use it occationally. I like it! Both XLR and mini plug inputs and outputs. The JK Audio Daptor Three. https://www.jkaudio.com/daptor3.htm
  15. No. Standard RG58 will NOT be adequate, especially for a 50m run! Even the heavy stuff that's about as big a round as a garden hose would be questionable at that distance. Unless you can somehow digitize it all and then "decode it at your end (I've never heard of that being done) you're not going to be able to send an RF signal work and have it "well" at that sort of distance. Tom
  16. Of course you'd still need the proper "adaptor cable", but many years ago both Shure and Electrovoice offered a "line level" stick microphone. They required a battery and essentially had a mic pre built into the handle. The EV mic was a model RE34. I have one! It can be quite handy especially for testing purposes. The Shure was a model SM82 and they may have had another one as well, I can't remember. I'm not really suggesting that OP consider using one of the above, just pointing out that such items do, or at least did, exist. Tom
  17. Ah! I remember those. My brother (a former sound guy) used to have a pair of A7's in his living room for his stereo speakers.
  18. Well, I have two "favorites". Here is the first; I'll share the second one latter. I love this little guy. I purchased this Etek MA400 powered mixer used off of ebay well after the product had been discontinued. they still show up every now and then. It was intended to resemble the "laptop" computers" from the late 1980's. Frankly some of the laptops back then really were this big (and almost as heavy). It has 6 XLR mic inputs as well as stereo RCA inputs and outputs. I actually played a very small gig with this unit, and it did okay. It has a 2 channel x 190 watt amplifier (although I question that rating) a selection of 100 different effects, 3 aux sends, and is switchable 120/240 volts. While it survived the 2 time I used it, from reports I've read elsewhere, it appears it had a father high failure rate (note the speaker outputs are labeled "minimum 8 ohm"). While admittedly it's been nearly 20 years since I've used it, I think the design is so unique and almost "symbolic" of the future and of marketing, I doubt I'll ever part with it! Tom
  19. We used this very technique about 10 years ago for a couple seasons of "Swift Justice With Nancy Grace", however we used a Countryman B6, which fits quite nicely under a button, and we pointed the element down to minimize air blasts. We secured the mic under the button using "Joe's Sticky Stuff". Given her outfit (at the time it was similar to the blue Delta flight attendant outfits with the "vests" that they used to wear) and the fact that they continued to heavy starch her shirt, it was the only thing we could come up with that worked. Tom
  20. I have a couple different versions of the RF Explorer. Personally I've found that the center of frequencies that appear in it's "scan" can be off by as much as 5Mhz. For that reason I don't trust the specific frequency numbers that it displays. However it is helpful for showing "relative" frequencies especially when you see two on top of each other, but only one is coming from you! I'd rather trust the scan on the Lectro receiver, in spite of the limited info that it provides. Tom
  21. I suppose I'm that last to know, but I was shocked today when browsing Sound Devices website that the 688 has been discontinued... (they've put it in the "legacy" category) but they still have the 664! Amazing! And the 664 now sells for $5000! Was that bumped up? I thought is was a fair bit less. Why would you buy a 664 when for only another grand you can get (they still are available on some sites) a 688? I was thinking about picking up a second 688. For my needs, the 688 is more than adequate, although I will admit I'd love to (although I don't need it) the Dante capabilities of the new Scorpio and the 888. Tom
  22. I've had some varying good results, assuming I'm running the FOH PA on a decent digital console and recording through the same, by putting the ambient mics on a compressor with a sidechain being that of the talent's main microphone(s). This way, the audience response quickly and "automatically" opens up the moment the talent pauses for a reaction, and quickly is pushed down when the talent begins talking again thereby also greatly reducing the "hollowness" normally associated with recording and a live PA. Tom
  23. Frankly, there are a number of applications I'd love to use the 688 / CL12 for, but I'm fearful that it will lock up on me or have the dreaded "power issue". For instance, I do regular live events for CSPAN where I'm recording continuously for 3 hours or more! There is no opportunity for a "take 2". I have another "live event" client that tends to run even longer. Sadly, it seems I can not trust this combo for anything that does not permit a second take. So sad. I agree with the poster above. THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED!! I'm tired of excuses and "work a rounds". For what we pay for this gear, it should be far more reliable than this! Tom
  24. I still have a few clients that prefer "record run". I usually use my G3's to feed timecode wirelessly to the my Sound Devices. Tom
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