Sebi

I'm using the lighter version of the Orca belt (OR-37). I sometimes do small shoots with only a MixPre-6 and some TXs so there's no need for any shoulder strap and I love it. Even with small mixers on my shoulders my neck tends to strain after a long day of booming, which never happens when booming without a mixer bag. Feels way better with only a waist strap and I don't feel like the position of the bag is affecting my movement a lot. But that's a really light bag of course. It's something different with the 788/CL-8/PSC SixPack setup that usually lives on the cart. When I have to use it only in the bag I take a combination of the Orca waist belt and a Portabrace shoulder strap (the one with the crossed straps). It could somehow work with only the waist belt but it doesn't feel right and I'd have to pull the straps tight again every other minute. On the other hand the waist belt really makes a huge difference on my shoulders as compared to only the shoulder straps and I sometimes just take the weight off my shoulders and let the bag rest on the waist belt when there are short breakes. I also like the form factor of waist belt and shoulder strap when being packed away so it's much less space than always bringing a full harness on set even though I might only need it on 1 out of 20 days. I think it's worth giving it a try. Your setup is probably lighter than my 788 bag and the heavier version of the Orca belt might also be suited better. It's anyway a matter of taste but since I tried the waist belt I'm always going for shoulder-free if possible, especially doing doc-stuff with booming at the same time.

I haven't done post work in a year now and I also don't have much experience with mechanical camera noise... but I was pretty impressed by the results I got with Izotope RX9 (I think they just released version 11 now) when doing dialogue editing on a feature last year. Some new tools have been integrated over the last years since this discussion started and I thinks it's worth trying. I found Dialogue Isolate to be pretty powerful especially when it comes to preserving the natural sound of the voice when applied resonably. I think this plugin rather looks for speech and seperates it from anything else as opposed to identifying the noise and then attenuate it from the speech (which also colorates the voice too much in my opinion). For me it usually works pretty well with NR up to 6db without much coloration. With Spectral De-Noise you could easily let the plugin learn from a few seconds of only noise and then it kind of works like a spectral expander. But if you run the reduction to hard there's audible losses of fidelity in the speech and you can hear the threshold pumping. I've also had nice results combining the two with easy to moderate settings. It doesn't do wonders and you always have to resist doing a little more reduction in order to not make it sound unnatural. But with well recorded dialogue it can make the difference between audible noise and little noise that noone will hear in the endresult. That being said, RX doesn't guarantee anything and I'm always suprised by the capabilities but also the limits of this software. I wouldn't want to rely on the possibilties of post when shooting so it might be best to do some tests beforehand. If you get people convinced to do that...

Haven't tested the two against each other but I'm guessing it's by design. The advantage of the Lemo being lighter and more compact comes with the downside of less physical shock absorption and being more sensitive to physical impact (that's probably not how you would describe it scientifically). But cable noise is common even for XLR plugs. A really important feature of shockmounts is the isolation of the cable that is attached to the mic. If the mic itself is isolated from the boom or stand but not from the cable hanging or lying around then all handling noises will be transduced into the mic. So there's usually a short cable between the mic and another fixed XLR plug that isolates the mic from the rest of the cable length. Some shockmounts have a clip to attach a connected cable so if you're running only one cable you can clip it in shortly after the XLR plug to the microphone as some kind of strain relief. Alternatively, it should also help to fix the cable with some velcro to the stand. I'm afraid with sensitive mics and without a high-pass (low-cut) filter it's likely that you get some unwanted handling noise, even if the mic is static on a tripod. The table might even conduct the steps of the person walking in the next room. So a shockmount is always good advice and will safe you troubles. It doesn't have to be cinela but of course they're worth the money and have special mounts for the lemo version. Any other will do for table interviews.

Didn't know about these but there's also "The Cable Binders" by Bubblebee. Seems to be the same thing and might be found at the same store you buy or rent your audio gear. At least that's how I stumbled across them.

I don't intend to correct you there because you're basically right. But I just wanted to add that in my experience mics from high-class manufacturers like Schoeps usually don't have a lot of tolerance in their quality checks. Of course the stereo-sets they sell have paired capsules and the matching is then probably as good as it gets. But in my experience with Schoeps you actually pick any two MK4's for example and they will match just fine. German broadcast engineers for classical music have min. 20-30 Schoeps or Neumanns in their cases and you can probably pick any combination of mics for a main mic pair. I'm not exactly sure about capsules from different generations of production. That being said, if you're about to buy a new pair then there's no reason not to buy a matched pair. But I personally wouldn't bother about the matching if I bought several mics independently or used. Maybe others disagree or made different experiences.

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at with the frequency response chart. The M2D2 is basically a USB-C sound cart or interface so whether you write the digital file on a high-end recorder, a computer or a smartphone doesn't really matter quality-wise. It's just the already converted file that will be the same everywhere you store it. Playback quality is not the reason for using a phone, I guess. Or am I not getting something here?

Yes, that's basically true for all the stereo setups that involve spaced mics. If the two mics aren't panned hard L/R and the signals correlate then there can be unwanted phasing going on created by the time difference between the two mics. That's why XY and MS are a safe option if you want to stay mono-compatible but also less interesting in stereo compared to spaced pairs. To many ears at least... since ORTF mimics the way we are hearing stereophonic by combining time difference and intensity of the incoming signals. If you're recording sounds for your podcast then DMS is probably overkill, yes. But practically I really like MS and I think it's also worth considering. I like the idea of having a "center" mic especially when being on a tour recording ambiences but also maybe sfx stuff or whatever sounds that might be used in mono. So you just point at it and record on-axis. Of course you could also just use your ORTF and point one side to the sound source and record the same thing. Maybe it's just a matter of taste. Since I'm doing mostly dialogue work it's just way more practical to add a MK8 to the boom mic and go stereo. It all depends on what you're planning to do. Just wanted to add this in case it's relevant for you.

I can't tell from your post if you already own the MSTC 74 (since you posted the picture) or intend to buy one. If you don't already own it then I would rather go for the CMC1 + MK4 setup. Putting this pair in the Cinela Albert you can basically use it for ambiences everywhere. Even without the fur these blimps are protecting the mics from light winds and sound quite transparent so no changing of your mic setup from int to ext. The main benefit I see from going CMC1 instead of MSTC is the flexibility. So you could also use them seperately for podcast interviews or whatever situation where you might need one or two cardiod mics. If you already have the MSTC and intend to use it exclusively for ambiences then I would probably stick to it. The Cinela Albert would be a nice addition but sure, two Leos, Bubblebee Windkillers or similar will handle most wind situations. For stronger winds you might need a blimp though...

Another thing I might add when also considering the 788, is the availability of devices. I can't really speak for the US but at least in my area it's quite easy to get a 2nd machine at a rental house so you can link two devices and record 16 tracks. I'm just guessing that this might apply to your area as well. I also never had any trouble with mine or any other 788s before that.

Not gonna argue with that. I‘m using the MK41 as my go-to hypercardiod as well. But since the question of other mic brands came up

To be fair, Gefell had their modular system for quite a while already with the MV200 preamp and M2x capsules. So the new line is just the next generation. But of course I see the point of service times. They're a small company and pretty far away for the majority on this forum. I had the impression though that there are indeed some people from outside Europe here who use Gefell mics, especially the M310.

Some of you might have seen it already but since I didn't find it on the forum yet I thought I might just post it. Don't know anything more than what can be found on the website. Specs look decent with RFI shield and the size of the preamp seems to be between the CMC1 and CMC6, even though the Gefell is a bit heavier. https://microtechgefell.de/mikrofon-alle#

There's a smiliar solution by DPA for their modular capsule system (like the 4018), the MMP-G preamp. Pretty small and and easy to place with DPA accessories (like a gooseneck) or even a small piece of sticky stuff and a cigarette (wasn't really used that way but would've worked...). Since it operates on 5V you can basically use it with every transmitter you're using your lavs with. It sounds way better compared to a 4097 (my opinion) but the preamp is a little more noisy than the 48V ones. But I was quite happy using it in the last production and used it a lot.

Yeah I'm aware but it works fine for me in this setup. I decided to put the 788 on top so I can hide the battery for the recorder and sixpack under the CL-8 and make it accessible from the front of the bag. When using sharkfin antennas mounted on the antenna riser of the cart, which is what I do in this setup, I didn't get any RF hits from the recorder when testing it so I stuck with it. Might be a problem though when running the receivers on the whip antennas. Had to go for bag work once every few weeks and as far as I remember I didn't have to deal with unexpected RF noise. Range was way shorter ofc with the Shure UA8 antennas compared to the shark fins on the antenna riser. Does anybody know if the harddrive makes a difference in RF spray? My 788 has been upgraded to an SSD and I could imagine that and HDD might emit some more electro-magnetic spray. But I'm just guessing. Might be. I didn't bother to find the recommended one tbh. Except for the issue that led me to open up this thread the keyboard is working just fine and I'm using it extensively with shortcuts programmed for almost every function.

It's a pretty cheap one from a brand called mediarange. Pretty simple keyboard without the num-pad extension. But it doesn't live in a bag, I use it on my cart. Since the shelf of the Mini-Cart isn't big enough for the CL-9 plus keyboard I actually used velcro and have a "transport position" and a "work position". What seemed to be a quick and dirty solution works pretty well actually.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I've tested several USB-Cables. But actually I think I found the culprit which seems to be the USB-Keyboard. On friday, when I came across the issue again I unplugged the keyboard and the CL-9 came to live. Plugging in the keyboard again didn't cause any problem. I started the setup several times without the keyboard and everything seems to work fine. Didn't have the time to check other keyboards and since the one I have is the smallest cable-version I could find, I think I will stick with it and work around the problem.

Hey everybody, I was just thinking about a small issue I come across almost everyday while shooting with my 788/CL-9 Setup. Every now and then, let's say 2 out of 5 times, the CL-9 doesn't power up when I turn on the recorder. So no LEDs, faders and knobs don't do anything. It is connected though because when I unplug the USB cable, it says that the CL-9 got disconnected. When I plug the USB in again, it usually works fine. Sometimes I have to do it twice and sometimes the CL-9 mutes all the outputs after booting. I don't think it's a flaw that only my setup has because I had the same issue last year on a different 788 with a different CL-9. Since I'm pretty sure many of you have used this same setup over the past years I thought I might reach out and ask if some of you have made this experience. Best wishes

I used to boom with the AT4053b and it worked fine with a Rycote INV-7 and the high-pass filter engaged. Without the filter the mic was picking up some really low rumble.

I think or sort of learned that most stereo recording techniques that come from the music recording such as ORTF, MS, small AB, etc... have the disadvantage of requiring a listener in a sweet spot. Since only a small amount of seats in cinemas are actually in this sweet spot, these ambiences can fall apart very quickly and the listener will locate it towards the direction of the nearest speaker. Same with music that is just played LR in a theatre setup. So yeah, I think the center channel can make sense to focus the sounds more towards the screen and blend the ambience with the dialogue. Another approach might be a spaced pair with a rather large distance between the mics to de-correlate the LR signals. It's not the prettiest stereo-image for headphones or a proper speaker-setup but it helps to widen the "sweet-area" of the listener in theatres. Unfortunately a spaced pair is not as handy for field recordings as a ORTF or MS in a single blimp...

Yes, the inputs on the ew500 series are unbalanced afaik. Same as ew100. Tip of the jack for mic-level and ring for line-level signals. The output of the ew500 Rx is balanced, however.

I've made some TA-3 patch-cables with the Sommer Cable Cicada SO-D14 which has two conductors and only has a diameter of 2.6 mm. With the Neutrik Rean TA-3 as well. Soldering was painless and the cables seem robust but I added one layer of shrink tube around the cable at the end of the connector in order to make it a little tighter. But a friend of mine works in a rental service and builds all the custom cables there from XLR down to the really small Lemo 6-Pin connectors. So I guess he might have some suggestions about the best cables for certain connectors. I'll try and find out.

When recording dialogue etc. all these boom and lav tracks have to be aligned anyway. I once did a shoot with a 788 and an additional MixPre-6 for one scene with lots of lavs and plant mics. Both were only TC synced and the tracks were phase-aligned later. No big deal. I've done some recordings (concert scenes with playback and recording at the same time) where the whole setup was basically a console with Dante and a Dante Virtual Soundcard in my laptop. Dead simple and never had any issues. Depends however wether it's easy to set up a console or if you have to move around a lot.

You access it by opening the zip on the right like you would to access inputs 3/4. But it‘s a little tricky for sure since that‘s where I hide my Tentacle. But I rarely use the control knob tbh. Headphone volume is set, gain and other settings I do mostly on the touch screen and for meta data I use the Wingman App.

Right now I'm using a MixPre-6 in a K-Tek Stingray MixPro bag with two Wisy Dual-Receivers and I really like it. It's super tight and I would definitely recommend using low-profile TA-3 and Hirose for the receivers. Otherwise there's not enough space on the bottom. In the front pouch I have my NP-F power distribution with two batteries which run at least 12 hours with both receivers in use. On the outside I have two ew500 tx as hop lines for boom and camera and a Tentacle Sync is attached on the inside of the right pouch. All in all it's 3.5 kg and I can carry it with only a hip-belt. So yeah, that's my bag for the MixPre which works fine for me. Hope I could help.

I don't really need to add anything to what's been said but the topic just reminded me of a recent video I saw on the URSA channel. Location Sound Mixer Stéphane Bucher talks about some scenes and the first scene they discuss is from "House of Gucci" and it's basically the same challenge. With the addition that the off-actor/actress was not even on set but in a hotel room. Don't know if that's any additional help to the question but I think it's interesting anyway how it was done.