shug

Hello all, just gone away on a doc and for ease i bought an ambient emmeser figure 8 mic to go with my schoeps cmit. this was to save the hassle of bringing an extra stereo mic and for those moments where you could quickly catch an atmos without having to change mic. my previous experience with M/S recording was with a schoeps rig plugged into my 788. it was a thing of beauty in that when the channels were M/s linked i could adjust the stereo width of the image and it sounded great. my new Ambient Schoeps rig i am using with my 552. i have linked channels 1 and 2 in M/S and am monitoring in M/S but what i am hearing is definitely not stereo. it is a weird combination of both mics on both channels where if I increase channel 2 gain (the figure i get more signal in might right ear (combined with more shotgun signal) and if i increase channel 1 i get more of the straight ahead signal (combined with the side). i think my stereo cable maybe the problem (but i'm not sure). the ambient mic comes supplied with a kit which combines the figure 8 and boom mic into a 5 pin plug which comes out of the boom basket. i am then using a 5 pin to 2 xlr cable that came with my Rode NT5 to go to my mixer. From a process of elimination i think that this cable may somehow be wired differently to the ambient 5 pin and this is giving the strange sound. i would have thought it is very hard to wire stereo cables differently though. any help or insights greatly appreciated as i am a long way from home with no access to audio shops (i can get a soldering iron though!) and i really need some stereo atmos! All the best, Hugh.

It's funny I've noticed this before. It appears the Sony are the standard in the U.S. and the HD25's are more of a European standard. I would say 90% of mixers use HD25's in Ireland.

Hey guys, thanks for all the suggestions, i think you have help me find my problem. It just wasn't the problem i was expecting! A good old process of elimination has led me to believe it is infact the input on the 788 that is at fault. I tried moving the VRT rx from from one slot into the offending slot with the same result (thank you senator and sorry the poor use of language when i should have said peaking rather than clipping!). i then tried tuning a different rx in the venue to the same frequency i normally use for my wireless boom. so i had two channels setup exactly the same gain structure and input wise (mic level obviously no phantom power) and then a/b'ed the two and low and behold the other channel was clear and the channel i normally use (input 2 on the 788) was distorting. i tried changing the cable between the venue and the 788 and the same result. has anyone had problems with preamps on their 788 like this before? we have been in some pretty cold conditions (minus 5 degrees celcius and below), the problem appeared the day it started snowing. Looks like a trip back to SD after i finish the shoot. For the moment i'll soldier on with 7 channels. cheers everyone, Hugh.

Hi All, hope everyone is well. I'm looking for some input on a problem that has arisen and has me puzzled. On my cart i am using a Sound Devices 788t with CL-9 and a lectrosonics venue receiver. i use a lectrosonics uh400a on my mics. this setup has worked well for me but the other day a strange thing occurred and has continued occurring since then. While shooting outside in snowing conditions we started to get a nasty distorting sound when a hot signal or something loud was coming in from the uh400. Initially i thought it was water had gotten into the uh400 or that it might have been the mic but on further inspection everything sounded fine listening to the mic on the headphones of the venue receiver. Previously when something would clip on the uh400 it would just squash the signal (compress it which didn't sound great but was a lot better than distortion). I've tried changing the leads going from the venue into the 788, tried different mics but the same result. the thing is it is not that the level is very hot on the 788, it is nowhere near clipping on the 788, the distortion can happen even if i have the gain pulled way back on the 788 it still gives this horrible distortion while in the venue receiver it sounds fine. so what's happening now is that i am having to pull the gain on the uh400 back to around the 9 to 10 o clock position where previously i could work in the 12 to 1 position which in turn means having to dial in more gain on the 788 thus raising the noise floor considerably. has anyone ever encountered this problem? i am trying both line and mic level from the venue with the same results. i haven't realised how much i rely on the uh400 until now as some setups we are doing are making using a wire very difficult. any input as always appreciated, Hugh.

Guys thanks for all the experienced responses. It is indeed a slippery slope in terms of productions/budgets/expectations. My slope has just gotten slippier. I don't whether I should start this in a new thread but I've just found out yesterday that the way they want to work is to send a 2 channel mix to a camera and use that for the sound. They are saying it is not in the budget to pay someone to sync the seperate sound. Now I've gone to alot of trouble building a cart, just bought a cl9 and a venue receiver and they're telling me they want to just use the two channels going to camera. I'm so used to using multi channels for drama I can't get my head around mixing only to two. The reason they want to do it this way is because this is the way they did it last year. This is a pretty high profile job for me on our national broadcaster. The line producer isn't really interested in hearing my arguement. My question is, I am using an ambient timecode lockit that will be jammed to my 788 so both camera and 788 will be locked. They are editing in avid, I'd like to know if anyone knows how long it takes or how difficult it is for an editor to sync on an avid. Is it just a button click and then it all syncs up? Apologies if I should start this in a seperate thread and thanks as usual for any insight. Cheers, hugh.

RVD, I think I do know the answer but it's good to get it affirmed from your good self, thanks for that! Looks like it's down to good old politics, director and DOP seem reasonable, now to convince the 1st A.D.! Cheers, hugh

Ken, thanks for the response. I live in Ireland, long way from California! I've got a few years of mixing under the belt now. Ireland is a small country with a small film industry so one has to work in all different areas of sound. So i do drama, corporates, ads, lifestyle, documentary, multi camera music stuff, you name it I'll record it! So I've mixed a fair bit of drama, but up until now the majority of it has been one camera (all on the Red for the last two years). Last year i did a TV comedy thing and we had two cameras and it was a bit of a pain. This new shoot is a sit com/drama and they are going with two ex3's. You are right about the time thing, budgets are disappearing here so they are trying to cram more into a shorter amount of time hence the two camera thing. i guess there is no magic answer to how to deal with the two camera issue only fight the sound corner all the way! cheers.

Hey all, i'm starting a TV drama next week. After initially being assured by the director on first meeting him that we would only be using one camera, yesterday on the tech recce i was informed we would be shooting with two cameras. I'm going to a production meeting tomorrow and my only real concern is about the whole shoot (after reading the scripts and going on location) is the two camera scenario. I have a boom op and cable person (he's going to be busy). Just wondering if anyone could offer more insight or advice on how to approach the meeting and the shoot. I was thinking of asking that if we are shooting a wide or establisher that we not shoot a closer shot then. Then when we move in closer i could compromise and they could shoot 2 shots and closers then. Does this sound fair or will i be laughed at? Everyone on the crew are reasonable and open to suggestion (to a point i'm sure!). I am recording on a 788 and have 6 radios. Any suggestions on how you guys approach two cameras (as i am sure they are more the norm than ever now) much appreciated. Hugh.

I'm delighted people are having good experiences with their rode blimps. I have just finished a job off the west coast of Ireland with GALE FORCE WINDS. The wind protection for the mic from the blimp is excellent, however, the basket and it's mechanisms make noise in windy conditions. I've taken it apart and tightened the Allen key nuts 3 times and it still makes noise. Also the front plastic lock fell off on the first day. I didn't get a good one. It would appear build consistency is not consistent! I really like rode mics, I think for the money the nt3 is great and I've used an nt4 for years. Pros: it's really cheap (mine was free!). Cons: it makes noise. I've made my decision, rycote please. I still use one from 8 years ago. I don't know if my rode blimp will still be motoring in 8 years.

Hey john, I've used an nt4 in a normal rycote blimp for a long time but I've always found it a bit of a tight squeeze. It's fine for me getting atmos when not move the mic (on a stand) but I've sometimes had to swing the nt4 (when recording music on location) and i find it hard not to get the mic to bang off the blimp. The one thing about the rode blimp is it's enormous! Might be easier for me to move an nt4 around. Cheers, hugh

There is definitely a reason they are cheap. I picked one up for free with that offer they had when you bought an nt3 (very useful mic). I find it is enormous, heavy and noisey. Within the first day one of the catches for loosening the basket fell off (gone forever), it all feels rather flimsy. All of this I could forgive but I was shooting the other day in windy conditions and the thing is just so rattley and noisey. I've tightened everything and it still makes noise. It used to bother me that the rycote stuff seemed expensive for something plastic with no moving parts, but it's worth it if it doesn't make noise! The only advantage of the huge size of the rode blimp is that apparently it will house the nt4 more comfortabley. Your poor boom op .

Hi Bruce, thanks for your insights and recommendation with the cl-9, much appreciated. I've decided to pick one up, I might be asking you about the Peter Eng 2 channel mixer soon! Thanks again, hugh.

Hi all, just wondering how the CL-9 is performing for people on the real world. i've yet to see an actual user review (apart from all the good information provided at the time of it's launch). Just wondering if people are using them to mix drama and how they are getting on with them, pro's and con's etc. i have a drama gig coming up and i'm building a small cart, i'm interested in the Cl-9 because i don't have a mixer suitable for the cart and the Cl9 is attractive because i already use a 788t and it's low power consumption is a bonus. opinions and views as always much appreciated, cheers, Hugh.

Hey everyone, thanks for the responses. In my working career in Ireland i had never signed a deal memo (generally things in ireland are never "that" set in stone) so i was wondering if i had any comeback with a deal memo. I've read through it and it says plenty about my obligations to the production company and not much about their obligations to me (as in i don't think they have any obligation to pay me for the cancelled show). Shoots get cancelled all the time and generally them's the breaks as they say. This company have been a pleasure to deal with and when they mailed me to say the shoot was cancelled they said they also said they would be in touch regarding their financial obligation. So if they are willing to pay me some money i will gladly take it! I wonder what is an appropriate amount to expect. This ash cloud may have a silver lining. hugh.

Hey vin, I will second the Adam thumbs up. i'm listening to Adam P33 right now and i love their sound. i also have a pair of p11a smaller but with the same family sound (think they retail at about 570 euro each). hugh.

Hey Guys, i was due to start a seven day shoot here in Ireland (I'm based in Ireland) today with an American production company. The shoot has been pulled as of last night because they cannot fly into Ireland because of the zero flights thing in Europe at the moment (there is a volcano in Iceland creating ash which has grounded flights throughout Europe). It's annoying because i was looking forward to the shoot and also because i am loosing out on a weeks work. i signed a deal memo with the company. i want to talk to them about some form of cancellation fee and i was wondering if people in the states could advise me what is appropriate. there is a thread where this has kind of been covered before but i was just looking for some pointers before i get back to them. any input as always much appreciated, all the best, Hugh.

That's great news about the Shure wireless. i understand it is not suitable for portable or cart based applications but i'm going to be sitting down for this one in a studio type situation so it should serve me well. i have back up just incase

Hey john, thanks for the heads up. Do you really think they have too high a noise floor. I was wondering why I had not heard of them being used in TV before. I'm really hoping they would work because it is impossible to rent radios in Dublin. I have two lectrosonic myself and four sennheiser g2 but I just couldn't trust the g2 in that kind of situation. Would you find the shure to be noisier than a sennheiser g2? Thanks John, hugh

Hey guys, Thanks for all the responses, this forum is so good! my first show is in a huge concert hall with a very small audience. had a good chat with the FOH guy there and he says he does conferences there using DPA (4060) with no problems (that is the three judges for the show sorted). they just keep them low in the PA and it works. also i am going to wire the presenter with a DPA and i've convinced them to use a handheld cardioid wireless mic which i think i will just send to the front of house. i feel happy with that situation. Coincidently the next show i am doing (a pilot for a chat show) is in the same complex but in a very different type of room. (not the type of room that one would normally film a chat show, it is just for the pilot). It is the completely opposite type of acoustic space. you know in big theaters you often have small performance spaces, that's where this is. the room does sound like a bathroom, is very small and has speakers hi up in the air that the talent are going to be in front of (not good for feedback). Some good points were raised by LA soundmixer. i'm thinking that all you can do is raise the volume of the lavs until before the point of feedback and if it's not very loud that people have to listen (the space is so small that it shouldn't be a problem hearing people without the PA). also Philip you raise a good point that what goes to the front of house need not be the same microphones that are being recorded with. on chat shows you always see table mics which i presume are used only for the front of house (am i right or are they backups for lav failure?). what kind of mics are these table mics normally (some kind of podium shotgun?). On another note the wireless i'm hiring are shure UR series which i haven't used before but they look suitably expensive to be good (you get what you pay for Senator!). thanks for the input and discussion, Hugh.

Hi everyone, i find myself with two similar jobs coming up that i would like some advice on. i recently did a show; it was a choir competition. There were three judges, a presenter and then different choirs came on and sang. The judges and the presenter were wired with lavs (two hard wired and two wireless) and i had two schoeps cmc mk41 in a stereo pair for the choirs. all channels came into my allen and heath desk and recorded onto a 788t. it was one of those days where everything sounded great. so we are moving onto the final of the show but there will be a difference this time. an audience. my concern now is that the audience will have to hear what the judges and the presenters are saying. we are filming in a theatre and i can split all the signals so i can send what i'm getting to the front of house. my worry is that in order for the audience to hear the presenter through the front of house his mic level will be raised and it will cause feedback. i am using DPA 4060 as my lav mics. am i being overly concerned about the feedback (it is a large auditorium with a small audience and a line array flown type PA) issue? how do chat shows normally deal with audience foldback? as always your wise words are much appreciated, Hugh

Hi John, I'll try and attach a photo of the rig now. it's from my phone and it is a picture without the rycote cover on it. this was a borrowed rig and it was a SCHOEPS CCM41 LG with a SCHOEPS CCM 4 LG (figure on top. it was in a stereo basket which is as long as it is tall if that makes sense. so I'm not sure that a figure 8 would fit in a normal rycote on top of a CMC 6 Mk41 (which is what i have). the rig was also nicely wired with a thin 5 pin single wire that broke into 2 xlr's at the bottom. all in all it is a very neat and small rig that i had hanging from the side of my petrol bag on a velcro hardwired to channels 3 and 4 that i could just pick up whenever i wanted and i didn't notice it when it was hanging there. as for handling noise. i thought this was going to be a problem when i first plugged in and listened, but the rig is old and the elastics are a sloppy so when i tightened them up it was fine. i really don't think there is an issue with handling noise, all my stereo recording is pretty much static also. overall it was a wonderful listening experience. best stereo rig I've listened too. the only downside is that i really want that set up and it costs money. Schoeps are my favourite mics. cheers John, Hugh.

I hadn't looked at the 788 before I asked this question (it was out on loan). M/S recording could not be simpler on the machine. One button press in the linking menu and you can MS link any of the channels. Brilliant. The ms rig I was using was a schoeps mk41 with a schoeps figure 8 on top. Really stunning. Something else for the wish list. Thanks guys. Hugh

Thanks Paul, Senator and John. Looking forward to trying it out tomorrow, cheers, hugh

Hello all, sorry if this has been discussed before, but I can't find it. I'm doing a job next week and was planning on just using my 788t with the cl-8. The producer has said he has an old schoeps m/s rig so I told him to bring it along to try it out. I don't have an m/s setup myself and have never tried one with the 788t. Just wondering is there an m/s matrix in the 788 and is straight forward to make ms recordings with it. As always input much appreciated. Cheers

Would love to try the schoeps, it's a bit out of my price range at the moment. There is a dpa blm locally at a good price i'm going to try it out next week. I'll post some impressions then. Might have a cub going cheap! Thanks.