Ty Ford

I'm looking for places to stress test some audio gear that runs up there. It has Frequency Diversity that sends uncompressed 24-bit, 48 kHz mono audio on two dynamically allocated frequencies, each of which change quickly and inaudibly because the transmitter and receiver are duplex and are constantly talking to each other. It has Time Diversity that sends the audio in multiple time slots. Sort of like the redundancy scheme offered by DAT machines, but in the air, not on tape. It has Space Diversity using two antennas on both the transmitter and receiver. Latency is about 3.8 mSec. So, where are the best 2.4 GHz Hell Holes? Maybe a Pandora? Starbucks? On the floor at NAB? Suggestions. Thanks, Ty

I think the only time I ever had problems with my CMC641 was when I used to detach the capsules from the power supplies to store them. Once I stopped that and left them connected, I had no moisture problems. Baltimore and DC are pretty frickin' humid in the summer. As for the CS3e, it's not so much a shotgun mic because the main element is at the tip of the mic, whereas with shotgun mics, the capsules are at the bottom of the tube. Being at the tip means you're at least six inches closer to talent. Regards, Ty Ford

Philip, Thanks for that. I was thinking in those moments where "quiet on the set" actually means the set is quiet (as in low ambient noise), then fine. But I really wonder about the quality of the "reach" issue when there's any off-axis noise; especially LF and MF noise. Like any typical downtown city street with cars, trucks, busses and industrial HVAC noises. I also wonder about sidelines or arena top placement for sports. A lot of that crowd noise is off-axis. Does it all smear into a sound field that our ears "buy" as crowd noise? Is there a better way to capture details from the sidelines and crowd walla from the rim? Regards, Ty Ford www.tyford.com

First time I tried out my newly bought used MKH816, I was on the front lawn and a guy almost a block away was getting into his car. I cranked up the gain and heard his car keys tinkle. As impressed as I was, a car then came up the street and passed between us. It was so loud I had to eject my headphones. Other times with shotguns outside, mid and LF seem to creep in from off-axis. I begin to wonder if the term "reach" as applied to shotgun mics wasn't a word that marketing came up with. Sure the HF directionality is there with a shotgun, but if you're in any kind of street scene with cars, truck and busses, don't the off-axis LF they hear pretty much clobber what you're getting on-axis? I've used a CMC641 pretty effectively outside from 4-5 feet. (A surprise interview with a congressman on the west steps of the Capitol in DC. No shotgun in my back pocket that day, e.g. Famous last words: Just leave the shotgun in the truck, you won't need it today.") To my surprise, the CMC641 did just fine from 4-5 feet. Your thoughts? Thanks, Ty

I don't see as many 816, 8070, NTG8 in use. Are they becoming specialty mics? Do you still use them? Thanks, Ty Ford

http://www.radioworld.com/article/is-the-fcc-reopen-for-business/221925 We have already reported on the FCC’s announcement of a filing deadline suspension. Now with the FCC apparently back at work, what’s next? During the shutdown a major broadcaster filing deadline of Oct. 1 had been missed and the eagerly anticipated LPFM window, scheduled to open on Oct. 15, was also swept up. Leo Ashcraft of Nexus Broadcast/LPFM Store, a broadcast consultancy often involved in LPFM issues, said he had successfully filed an LPFM application very early in the morning. He says he has spoken with the FCC and they said the LPFM window is open. Ashcraft is working with other groups to get an extension of the LPFM window, possibly as late as Nov. 14. He also suggested that it wouldn’t harm anyone to wait a day or two before filing. The LPFM window is open at least until through the 29th, he said. Sanjay Jolly of the Prometheus Radio Project, another prominent backer of LPFM licensing, said, “We suspect the FCC will take steps in the coming days to redress the obstacles faced by LPFM applicants during the shutdown. The current end date for the window is October 29th, and we would like them to extend it until mid-November at the earliest.” He provided Radio World with a copy of a letter that Prometheus along with REC Networks, Common Frequency and ColorOfChange.org, had sent today to FCC Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn requesting an LPFM filing extension beyond the Oct. 29 deadline. John Broomall with the Christian Community Broadcasters told Radio World that he had found the FCC website to be up and running and noted (at that time around noon) that more than 50 filings had already been made in the morning. A filing he submitted was accepted. He had also spoken with an FCC staffer and was told too that the LPFM filing window was open. Wilkinson Barker Knauer’s David Oxenford, writing at BroadcastLawBlog, as of a morning posting, was advocating a wait-and-see attitude. “The commission has published a notice saying that most filing deadlines that fall on or before October 21 remain suspended, and parties with such deadlines should refrain from filing anything with such a deadline until the FCC issues further guidance,” he wrote. The NAB’s Dennis Wharton commented, “We’re pleased the FCC and the rest of the government has reopened, and that the FCC website is now functioning.”

Hi, You can check it out here. Regards, Ty Ford

The friend I sold my 744T to this year when I got a 664 with CL-6 just emailed me that he's VERY happy with the purchase. The 744T is a solid, good sounding piece of gear. Regards, Ty Ford

I like Glen's answer. I have a DR 60D for tests here and found it not perfect, but sub-frame accurate. Regards, Ty Ford

I reached out to Neumann this morning and have heard back that there are only 14 RSM 191 stereo shotgun mics left and they aren't planning to make any more. Sad to see it go. It's a pretty amazing mic. Here's my review of it from 1990. Neumann RSM 191 High-end Stereo Shotgun Mic Ty Ford Baltimore, MD Recording in the field is always a challenge. You hope to come back with the good stuff. The stuff you go out with normally determines how good the stuff is that you bring back. In this case, the good stuff is the Neumann RSM 191 stereo/shotgun ($4,550 for mic, power supply, road case and cables). The gig was to record "Larksong", a madrigal group, in several churches and in a recording studio. Getting six members of a madrigal group together is a logistical feat within itself, so I also looked for other opportunities to find the "boundaries" of the mic. The RSM 191 is two mics in one; a stereo mic and a mono shotgun mic. There are three capsules mounted within an inch of each other; a small-diaphragm front-directed cardioid capsule with a short interference tube and two small side-directed cardioid capsules. A multi-pin cable connects the mic to the MTX191A power supply/pattern box. The MTX191A is a sophisticated and powerful part of the system. Two rotary switches on the front allow for the selection of -M/S, M/S, -X/Y and X/Y operation. When in the M/S modes, the second rotary switch adjusts the Side gain across a range of -9dB to +6dB. When in X/Y modes, the second switch adjusts the width of the pattern for 60 degrees to 170 degrees. Other details include a battery test/battery on switch and a small door which covers the receptacle for a standard 9 VDC battery. The RSM 191 will run on battery or from Phantom Power. On the back of the box are the multi-pin jack for the mic cable, a 5-pin XLR for the output, a 10dB pad and a switch offering two bass roll-offs. A Y-cable attaches to the 5-pin XLR, splitting the side and front capsules. I had recorded "Larksong" before, using a beyer MC833 stereo mic and a pair of Audio Technica 4050s in Blumlein array. All the early recordings were done in churches. One of the RSM 191 sessions was recorded in one of the same churches we had recorded in before. In all cases, I used GML mic preamps and recorded directly to a Panasonic SV-3900 DAT. While the early recordings were always technically very good, the RSM 191 brought something to the table that the others didn't. I would describe this a coloration or a finish. Normally I steer clear of coloration as much as possible, but this was different. Except for minor pan adjustments, the RSM 191 sessions sounded more like a finished production when I played them back over the studio monitors. Our best venue was St. John's Church in Ellicott City, MD. We set up in the empty church with the singers standing on parquet flooring in the chancery, facing out to the pews. Choosing the X/Y pattern, I adjusted the MTX191A to get the right angle based on the distance of 8-10 feet from the group. The distance was determined by the tempo of the song and the natural reverberation of the room. I moved back a bit on slower pieces to let more room in and moved up on quicker pieces to keep the room from muddying the phrasing. Decisions were made using an old pair of AKG 240 headphones; designed before they put in a big low-end hump. In the past, I had pretty much let the singers arrange themselves in an arc, in whatever order they were comfortable with. There was a member change since those sessions and it seemed to throw the balance off. I ended up putting the two most powerful voices -- a soprano and baritone/bass -- at the ends, and moving the others around a bit until the voices started to gel. In further experiments, I moved the singers with the most prominent parts of a song to more centered positions. Finally, for "The Little Drummer Boy", I moved the men and their forceful "rum, rum, rum" behind the women, who were singing the lyric. In all cases, the "finished" quality of the recordings was apparent. Next was a stop at Flite 3 in Baltimore. As expected, the singers didn't enjoy the experience of singing in an acoustically-damped room. We tried a pair of KM 86s and U 89s in X/Y and coincident omni, but found the RSM 191 to be more open on the top. In a return visit to Flite 3, engineers Louis Mills and Mark Patey and I found the stereo spread of the RSM191 to work extremely well in the studio as a single-source mic for stereo drama. Set at 170 degrees, the stereo image was extremely smooth and stable. In one test, two of us walked around in the studio while a third in the control room, with closed eyes, listened to the control room monitors and pointed out our positions with a great degree of accuracy. In another test, we crumpled up a plastic bag and tossed it across the room. The crinkle made by the bag in flight as it expanded was captured in remarkable detail. After adjusting distances from the mic for individual voice power, we were able to record a very acceptable stereo commercial voice track. In Studio B, Flite 3 has a Yamaha grand piano. On this particular occasion, I used Great River mic pres and an API lunchbox.With the top open "full stick", I positioned The RSM 191 about three inches inside the piano case, in the middle of the curve and over the longest spoke of the metal frame. I angled the mic slightly to the left, so that the stereo spread would cover both ends of the keyboard. The Great Rivers yielded a very natural, full sound. The API preamps were edgier. Next I tried micing a Martin D28S. Placing the RSM 191 about a foot to two feet out and shooting it right into the sound hole resulted in a large natural sounding acoustic guitar sound that filled the stereo spectrum without being so wide as to be fakey or contrived. It should also be noted that, through all of the stereo applications, there were no mono compatibility problems. SHOTGUN For shotgun operation, you just use the front-mounted cardioid capsule. That capsule is related to Neumann's KMR 81 shotgun. It has a 4dB peak at 8kHz that starts at 3.5kHz and returns to zero at 12kHz. The RSM 191 has about the same output as a Sennheiser 416. The capsule in a 416 is in the middle of the tube. In the RSM 191, it's at the bottom of the tube. If you're close-working the mic, that can make a difference. The 416 self noise was more noticeable partly because it was higher in frequency than that of the RSM 191. The actual level of self noise of the RSM 191 was slightly less. The RSM 191 was more natural sounding, with not as much low end sensitivity and not the upper midrange peak of the 416. The 416 had a tighter pattern and more reach. IN CONCLUSION I keep coming back to the "finished" sound of the RSM 191. It's not so apparent when listening to a single voice or simple instrument, but when listening to a group of voices or a more complex instrument such as a piano, the resulting sound is very musical. Although that 4dB rise at 8kHz might suggest some undue brightness, I never heard any while using the Great River or GML mic pres. If you're tired of fussing around with a pair of mics for stereo field or studio recording, you owe it to yourself to hear the RSM 191. Ty Ford can be reached at http://www.tyford.com. Technique, Inc. © Copyright 1990 All Rights Reserved

Pablo, I just read the entire thread. Sorry for your pain. I'm pretty sure all of us have had something bad happen. Thanks for tossing the bones out on the table for us to pick through. I know I learned or relearned some things here. JW, thanks for making this all possible. Regards, Ty Ford

Please contact me at tyford@tyford.com or 410.296.2868. If you're not him but know him, please forward my request or send me an email or phone number. Thanks, Ty 410.296.2868

Just finished working with them for a month or so. Nice for tight spaces for size and frequency selection. http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/2013/09/sennheiser-sk-5212-ii-and-ek-3241.html Regards, Ty Ford

I have a General Radio Telephone Operators License. Does that make this any easier Regards, Ty Ford

Thanks so much guys. (and keep them coming) I'm a little tied up right now, but will reach out later today or this week. I'll probably toss your ideas at the editor with my angle and let him choose. I really appreciate it and look forward to talking to all of you. Regards, Ty Ford

I'm looking to put together an article for a trade magazine. They tossed me "sports audio." I told 'em I'd go out and shake the trees and see what falls off. Thanks, Ty

Not on the 4.2, those are for audio output. There also appear to be two jacks on the power supply. Any thoughts as to what they do? Thanks, Ty Ford

you have small thumbs!

I have recently acquired 3 of these and they all seem to be in working order. They came with a WRT-27 xmitter which is in the STL 900 MHz band. They sound fine here in the shop. Is this a silver version of the ECM 50? Are there power supplies with bayonet mount still around? Thanks, Ty Ford

Is now up... http://tyfordaudiovideo.blogspot.com/2013/08/rode-reporter-dynamic-interview.html Regards, Ty

$3495.00 @ B&H

You probably won't end up using this mic on a shoot, but you never know when you might be asked to mic someone in an operating MRI. Sennheiser MO2000 Optical Analog Mic System Review Cheers! Ty Ford

The Rycote Invision7 got rid of the handling noise, but I thought the 8050 had a smiley face EQ (big bottom, big top). So why would you want that for dialog? I like a solid Schoepsy midrange, where the voice lives. Regards, Ty Ford

is there a store bought bag that beats the Petrol or Portabrace? Thanks, Ty Ford