Paul Graff

Hello All, I am a big fan (and regular visitor) of this site since its inception and an occasional poster of late. Thanks Jeff for an invaluable contribution to our community. I truly appreciate your initiative and ongoing effort with this discussion group. A few months ago I decided to build a new sound cart and started looking at other mixers' rigs on the web. I visited several of you on set, taking pictures and asking questions. Well, a busy year of docu mixing, reality supervising/mixing, and occasional scripted gigs ensued and the project largely got put on hold. I've gotten by okay and I'm actually glad I waited, because I have a much clearer idea now of what will work best for me. I've seen so many great carts and so many different approaches. Scott Farr's exhaustive documentation of his cart project here (and on his blog) was met with a lot of interest and appreciation, especially by those who don't get to see other mixers’ carts too often. While I don't have Scott's web savvy or thirst for posting, I'm going to post some pics of my cart as it comes together and solicit your feedback. This is the first installment. I'm happy with the mounting of the 8 411a receivers and the distribution from the UMC-16B. The shelf below will house a T4 and a T1 IFB transmitters for return feeds to boom ops and a Comtek 216 transmitter. The Intellix balun will also live here. Next shelf down is where the recorder will be. Currently sized for a Deva 5 or 5.8. A Cantar or a PD606 or 744T could reside here instead. A million thanks to Phil Palmer for selling me his PSC M8 mixer, which resides on the bottom shelf. It makes everything a lot easier, smaller, and less power-hungry. My original plan revolved around a 16 RU shock rack and a Yamaha 01V. I'll save that story for another time. The 8 RU rack below houses a drawer for supplies and my DC power sources. More details on that in my next post. Also, I rashly bought the “senior vertical sound cart” from Filmtools last year. It's big and heavy. I was bummed, but now I have some ideas on how I can make it work. I will be modifying it next week and will show you the results. Thanks for reading. Paul Graff

Ahhh...I remember fondly the UniMog from "Running the Sahara", but our "Cantar vehicle" (as we called it) was a Land Cruiser with a helical antenna and a LPDA mounted on the roof. We would leapfrog the runners. A German ENG mixer on the film, David Urban, recently bought a truck to modify as a sound truck. He recently sent me this picture. Paul No luck embedding the photo (I've never done it before), but I just created this account and here is a link:

Phil, Scott Harber has a very cool and flexible Speedrail cart. Here's a link to a picture I found on the Cantar gallery: http://www.aaton.com/gallery/on-location/Scott_Harber_2 Click on the picture to see it even bigger. Maybe he'll see this (Hi Scott!) and post some more. Paul

I've gone to Durapore instead of Transpore. Less residue and less rub. Often prefer moleskin or a molefoam, then mic, then moleskin rig. I use a variety of tactics, like all of us, and sometimes the Rycotes' are just the ticket. Can't remember the last time I stuck the mic to the talent's skin. In the hair, maybe, but to the skin would be a tough sell, plus it would last one take if you're lucky, I would think. Paul

I'll give you $400 each!! Well, clearly I agree with what most of you have said. I went through my "sky is falling" phase months ago and now I am not too worried. I have 9 Bl. 28 411a's and would like at least 3 more. I also have IFB in 27. The next year, at least, will be gangbusters for Block 28 in LA (when you have to coordinate a lot of freqs) and looking past a year in this biz is increasingly pointless. Who knows what the future holds? The only constant is change and we can count on change happening ever more quickly. I will be off the web and out in the mountains for a week or so. Paul

Hey Everyone. Please shoot me an email (click on profile) if you're interested in fire-saling your Block 28 411A's , especially if they come with MM400 or UM450 transmitters. I'm interested in buying some more if they're at the right price. Thanks, Paul

I have not had these problems (myself--see next paragraph). Yes, I hear noise when I wave the mic one foot from a Modulus or in front of a TV screen, but nothing that has affected my work (so far). It's funny...I find that I always hear issues when I crank the headphones and test a mic that I don't hear when I'm actually using it. I own a 416 and a 60 and recently sold my KMR-81, but for documentary-style work (and a lot of scripted stuff too) the CS-3e is my favorite tool. Raise it up a couple of feet while someone is talking, ('cause the shot widens out), and it doesn't die out. I love that. Anyway, I did have another mixer on my show last summer complain about some interference issues with her CS-3. She was a bit vague about it and I couldn't replicate it. All the same, I swapped it out and sent it to Japan to be reborn as a CS-3e. I had bought it used and was intending to have it converted eventually anyway to match the other Sankens. It took a while to come home, but they even etched an "e" on the mic itself. Kinda cute, I thought. Makes you feel a little better for spending all that money. I agree about the slight lack of fullness in the low end and I certainly look forward to employing my new 8050 whenever possible. As shotguns go, I haven't used the Schoeps or the new DPA, but the CS-3e is a great tool. Thanks Richard and Philip for the reminder about the Neutrik EMC rfi XLR. I remember hearing about them before they were released and then forgot to follow up. I bought a few yesterday (part # NC3 FXX-EMC) to put at the top of all my poles. A good holiday project. No downside, I figure, and I would like to prevent having some of these RFI problems y'all have experienced. BTW, Richard, why did your CS-3e have to go to Japan twice? Also, Joe, do you notice a real-world difference between the 3 and the 3e since you have access to so many of both? Thanks for the summary of their differences from Sanken, too. Regards, Paul

Aww, Frank, yer embarrassin' me. Seriously, though, thanks for the encouragement (even though my last post had three misspellings---ouch). I don't live in the "take your laptop to work" world very often, like some of you lucky folks, but I check in with JWSound whenever I can. Paul

BTW, I don't own a Schoeps or a MKH-50 (That's why I bought the 8050), so no direct comparisons by me. I'll be interested to here what the Schoeps afficianodos have to say. I love the 50 and almost bought one in the past, but the small size of this (and the accessories) makes it more verstile for me in the long run. Paul

Hello All, I enjoy this forum and am grateful for it. It is quite different from - and a nice compliment to - RAMPS. I look forward to contributing more in the future than I have thus far. You are a cool bunch of cats. Anyway, I bought an 8050 yesterday and will share some first impressions from booming my wife and stepdaughter conversing in the living room with a 442 as mixer. The mic sounds great - very transparent and natural. I think it will deal well with live, echoey rooms. The frequency response certainly exceeds the limits of my hearing at the high end. The low end goes ALL the way down and is just a bit of a concern to me. There's no low-cut switch like on the 50 and currently no low-cut filter listed in the extensive "MKH 80X0 Accessories" booklet. I guess we'll just have to control that at the mixer for now, which worked well, but was necessary. I also threw the mic on a wireless boom using a MM400 tx. It sounded great with no additional filtering at the mixer. Whether the transmitter could deal with a major low frequency rumble remains to be seen. The output level of the mic seems a good match for this transmitter (which none of you use for wireless boom, I know). The mic required quite a bit of gain (when hardlined), but that is not uncommon with the 442. IIRC, my old Neumann KMR81 required this much gain or more. I am used to using a CS3e with my 442, which is definitely a hotter mic. So, that's all I got for now. No real-world use by me yet. Regards, Paul

Lectro makes a cordura nylon pouch that works great for the Comtek PR216 (after you tke the plastic clip off). Here's a link. It's down the page a bit, the PCR100. http://lectrosonics.com/catalogs/UniversalCatalogPages/PouchesandCarryCases.htm It has a simple, slip-on clip on the other side and the opening on top (Velcro closure is on the bottom) works great for the 216 or for a Lectro IFB R1A. The older R1As have that piece of metal on the side that covers the frequency switches and thus they won"t quite fit in the new leather pouches Lectro now provides with the R1A. I use these instead. Paul

It's Season 3 of RHOC, and same as last season, mixers are Jenny Green, Nancy Kwon, and myself. Paul

Supervising mixer and audio gear vendor for The Real Housewives of Orange County (three crew show for Bravo shot around Mission Viejo) until mid-August, then I’m free. Usually busy with TV, theatrical docs, day-playing, corporate work, and commercials, but equipped for and seeking more cart-based work (scripted or unscripted). I am a big fan and avid reader of this forum, Jeff. Thanks for all of your hard work. I know many of you and keep meeting more as the summer progresses. Paul Graff Santa Monica/LA