Alex Mitchell

Awesome thread. Thanks for posting this!

Anything to keep me from aching after an 18 hour day doing the one-man sound department gigs. Keep us posted!

You could use my pic, but I don't always look too employable...

Hey JWS members! I'm looking to sell my Sound Devices 744T and 552, but I've never sold anything like this online before. Can anyone give me some advice about how to do a transaction like this properly?

Wow, this thread makes me kind of ashamed of my bag. Here's my bag. Still upgrading pieces as I go, which adds weight. I think I'll probably ditch the 744t/552 combo soon in favour of a Nomad, because it obviously would provide me with a lot of awesome options. Notes: 1. My Sennheiser G3 pouches. I didn't really have a lot of money when I started out, so I had to make do with these puppies. When I got my Lectros I relegated one of the Senns to the other side of the bag, where it serves as my mono camera hop. Works fine for what it is. There are rare occasions where I have both Senns in to use all five channels on the 552. 2. A lot of crap goes in here. All the wireless mics, extra Li-Ion NP-1, cables, and other misc things. In the pouch in front of that I put transmitters when they're not in use. 3. This is where my SRa will go when I get it eventually. Serves as a nice nook for my double sided tape, 5-pin Lemo -> 1/4" cable, pens, and pen light. 4. My Comtek and Senn wireless output pouch. Senn is fed by the 552's mono mic output, and the Comtek is fed by one of the XLR main outs. Thinking of getting the cabling to send the tape output to it though. And yeah, that's that! Like I said, I think I'll eventually ditch this setup and get a Nomad with a bunch of SRa receivers, kind of like the other guys in this thread. This bag is ~25 lbs, which isn't the greatest when you mostly work indies. >18 hour days are the worst, even if you do work out to keep your back healthy.

As an owner of an FP33, don't get an FP33.

You'll be fine. I have had lavs on actors before with gunshots and things turned out alright. I even boomed a gunshot once from not too far away (from behind the blast radius, mind) and that went okay too. If you look at some of the videos they did on the sound for "Inception," you see them taping lavs to the barrels of guns to get a certain kind of sound. It was pretty neat. I believe that these mics are a little more durable than we think.

Man, if I had known about these I might not have bought Comteks. I'm in the process of upgrading my kit with Lectro gear so I'll have some G3 transmitters left over and it looks like they were made for each other. Hindsight is always 20/20. These are really better than the Comteks though guys?

Hey Everyone! I was wondering if you guys could fill me in on some of the ways that you use your high-pass filters? Some people that I have talked to say that they never turn theirs off, while others have said that they never really use them so I never really know what to think. Here's what I think I know about them so far: - If I'm using a filtration I should always do it as close to the source as possible. Filtering in the mixer is better than post, and filtering on the mic itself is better than on the mixer. - Don't combine high-pass filters on the mics, mixer, or post. - Use if you're hearing handling noise from the pole, wind noise that your windscreen can't stop, or other low-frequency background noise from the environment. - The human voice has a low-end range of around 80Hz, so filtering around or below there doesn't effect dialogue too much. Am I totally off? Is there anything super important I'm forgetting?

Thanks again for all the advice guys! I've decided to pick up all this gear in chunks, and I just pulled the trigger on a bunch of it. My package now includes: (2) Lectro 411a Receivers (2) Lectro SMQV Transmitters (2 more) Sanken COS-11D Mics w/ Accessories Comtek M216-P7 Transmitter (2) Comtek PR216 Receivers Denecke SB-3 TC Generator Denecke TS-2sb TC Slate BDS Power Distro w/ NP-1 Style Li-Ion Batteries Rycote Modular Windshield Kit 4 Petrol 601 Bag I'm holding off on the other two wireless sets because I think I can get by with my Senn G3s for a little bit longer, and they're a huge expense. I got the Comteks because once I get the next two sets of Lectro wireless I'd love to re-purpose my G3s as camera hops and still use the Comteks for a director feed. Also, I figure I need to do a lot more research into the usability, cost, and functionality of a few more recorders before I sink a large wad of cash into them. Anyway, you guys were a big help and I super appreciate having you all as a resource. :-)

Thanks kitten.

Thanks for the suggestions John! I tried looking for a thread on 411 vs. SR before, but just scrolling through the list I finally found the one you were talking about and read it from top to bottom. It sounds like the 411 receivers are the way to go, though it also seems like the SRs aren't the worst thing on earth. I'll have to see if AC is right and Scott has some for sale, because I'd love to move on from my Senn G3s. Is there much of a difference between the 411 and the 411a? As for the bit about mics, obviously I care about how my tracks sound or I wouldn't really bother getting into the sound business. Surely premium mics aren't the only variable in good sound though? I've always been told that the majority of sound is derived from picking the right polar pattern for the location/blocking and placing it in the right position. Maybe that pedagogy is a little flawed, or perhaps the Oktava/NTG-3 combo really is that bad though? I just assumed that I sort of had things covered in the mic department, at least until I solved my problems with TC and the like. Anyway, thanks for the help guys!

I was definitely going to keep my Senn G3s around because thy're just so perfect for sending audio to camera, though I've never heard of anyone using them as a replacement for the Lectro or Comtek IFBs. I'll have to give that a try sometime. How would that work without a volume knob on it to adjust audio on the fly? I'll be honest, I'm really not all that sold on Sound Devices recorders any more. The 552 suits me for now, and I've enjoyed working with the 744T, but after a winter of having to take my gloves off to hit record on the 552's knob or the 744T/788T's tiny rubber button in -30 C I'm ready to move on from their design ethic. The Fostex's front panel looks a little cramped too. I know it's a lot more--in most cases twice as much--but I've had some time with the Cantar and, while I'm still going to give it a lot more though, I'm seriously considering it over a Diva, SD, Fostex, or Nagra. Good to know about the power supplies! I've worked with one once but never wired it up myself, so I'm still a little hazy on how to price one out. I guess they're just a box that you hook an NP1 up to and then run a bunch of tiny lemo cables out of, huh? The Remote Audio one is the one I used, and it seemed straight forward enough. Quick question about the wireless gear though guys: I was looking at getting some used Lectro 411 receivers, but often times a pair of them are more expensive than a single SR. Is there a reason why you would want a pair of 411s instead of an SR, other than a lower power footprint? [Edit] One more thing: I was obviously thinking of upgrading my mics as well, but I figured it'd be good to upgrade them last. Reason being is that I feel like the Oktava + NTG-3 combo is good enough, whereas I have bigger problems without timecode, wireless, multitrack, etc. Would you agree, or is it really important for me to grab a Senn 50/70 combo?

The Cantar is, admittedly, a little bit pie in the sky. Let's say that I stick with the 552 for now though and just pick up the rest. Thoughts? I do have a fair bit saved up for this after all... Also, while I do service a particular kind of client, I'd like to move up. One of the things that I feel is keeping me from doing this is my gear, so...

I'm a sound mixer from Calgary, Alberta and I'm looking to mix for a living and pursue a career as a writer/director. That doesn't mean that I'm looking to half-ass things though! I'm really interested in providing good quality location sound for the filmmakers in my community. So far I've put together a pretty meager kit and it's getting my clients and I along well enough. I feel like I need to get a few more pieces of equipment though, because I'm starting to hit the hard limits of what I'm capable of providing. I have no timecode (generating) options, no TC slate, no Comteks, and only two tracks to record to. Also, I've only got two wireless Tx/Rx sets and while I've made do, it can get pretty hard scramble sometimes. What I have right now: K-Tek 152 w/ right angle internal XLR Rode NTG-1 Rode NTG-3 Oktava MK-012a (hyper, -10db caps) Rode Blimp for NTGs Rycote BBG and K-Tek SSM mount for Oktava Sound Devices 552 PortaBrace Harness w/ Memory Foam PortaBrace Bags (2) Sennheiser G3 wireless Tx/Rx sets (2) Sanken COS-11D mics (black) w/ Cases & Accessories Sennheiser 280HD Pro phones (2) 25' XLR 25' Hirose snake w/ 2 XLR, 1/8" return 50' Hirose extension Dummy slate Like I said, I service indie productions that aren't able or willing to hire me with a boom op, and I've kind of gotten used to working in a sort of documentary style setup where I wear my kit while I boom and mix on my own. To that end, I'd like to put together a kit along with the stuff that I have which does several things: 1. I need to be able to operate it on my own while booming without too much trouble. 2. It needs to be able to hold up in my harsh Canadian climate. 3. It has to make sense for small and medium size productions. Bearing these requirements in mind, could you asses my potential kit and let me know if there's anything about it that you think is crazy? What I'd like to pick up: Aaton Cantar-X2 (2) Lectro SR Receivers w/ bottom mounted TA3 Outs (4) SMa Transmitters w/ mounts (clips, tensors, etc.) (4 more) Sanken COS-11D Mics (black) w/ Cases & Accessories Enough XLR and other cabling to attach all my lav gear Power Supply (not sure what to get here, or with what batteries) Petrol Bag Deneke Timecode Generator Deneke Timecode Slate Comtek Package (1 transmitter, 2 receivers) 9v Rechargeable Batteries for Comteks Rycote blimp and windscreen (1 for short shotguns, one for smaller hyper-cardiods) (2) Ambient quick releases Thanks so much for the help guys! I've been lurking for a while, and only joined a few days ago, so you've already been a huge help. :-)

I've used the 416 a few times, and may have even considered buying it during one of the specials that Sennheiser had a while back, but after getting an NTG-3 a year ago I've been very happy with its performance. Again, I don't have as much experience as I feel like I'd need to tell you if it's better or worse than a lot of other mics out there, but I am pleased with its reach, response, resistance to the elements, and sensitivity to handling noise.