The Immoral Mr Teas

Reminded of a beer I brewed myself twenty-odd years ago that I never got the opportunity to name: my friend instantly Christened it, “Christmas Anorak” (it was one of my poorer ones) ... J

Jay, I always thought that was just how HOLLYWOOD sounded outside. Jez

Wow! Going to that much trouble I'm surprised you didn't just (OK more work) make a microdot to TA5 link. But ok, cheers, interesting!

The MKH 50 might well distort but won't be damaged. If post are unhappy about a distorted track (edit or sound mix as previously said) then the level filter on the 50 will provide safety and post can push the gain. Regarding the stereo bar I agree with Grant: piggy back the mics and keep it simple for windshielding if needed. Jez Having said all that I would probably put the cut on the 50 anyway : it would make audio generally more usable such that post could make more use of the 50 mic and only have to resort to the 57 when necessary.

Hi Steve, I’d begin with an obvious one - piggy back two mics on boom both set safely for what you want recorded and record two totally separate tracks expecting unusable rubbish on the unwanted channel - PRESUMING the recorder can do this without trouble. Secondly deal with the anticipated/rehearsed stuff on extra tracks separately if this can be done - so that it is pretty much as good as it can be (I’d still play safe ...) Third (but also first) check with post that whatever you do (ie- multichannel with expected crap as I suggest) can work for them with their system and timeframe - and check fully: editorial might be happy with a crap but hearable mix so long as the mixer can trust the stems. If they are not and need a “mix” then take it from there - levels and limiters but it won’t be as potentially good. Just my basic first thoughts - the last thing I recorded for fun and without trying too hard (=preparing) was our annual brass bands procession / political rally / street party / riot - and even from the safe second floor rooftop position it was more gain riding than I could be bothered with. Hopefully, as always, more and better advice will follow. If you are right in there “with the drum core” the obvious details are: can you get a higher gain (directional?) mic on the boom that won’t get damaged ie diaphragm; can you monitor ok and move around safely; protect your hearing despite all the rest, even if by swapping ears listening mono and periodically plugging the other ... Making any use of preparation time, particularly with instruments (and groups of instruments) you’re not familiar with, is a must. But back to the beginning, for something like this, if you get to communicate with post regarding their expectations you might well either make yourself a hero or save yourself a lot of time! (I am post sound, btw!) Best, Jez ... ha! 2 minutes later ... same wavelength and (nearly) perfect sync with Jay !

Jeff, that’s brilliant. My friend had a similar “claim to fame” (or her dad at least) that Jimi Hendrix threw up over his drum kit. Nick, as a failed / gave up piper, I hope that everyone here appreciates the skill involved in recording those beasts even in easier circumstances ... Jez

Does this mean, “no longer the choice between blue/grey and brown/orange” (yippee!) or, ”only a choice between blue/grey and brown/orange” (hmm, no change then ...) J x

Vata / Elias, welcome and the best of luck. Jon’s first point is the best advice - try your best to get yourself known by local crew (actually any crew, not just mixers - if folks like you and appreciate your aim, you will hopefully be helped along the way). Most (perhaps all) of us have started by being humble, focused and determined, and owe a lot to the people who have recognised our promise and either supported us along the way or taken us on and taught us directly. Aside from that folks with strong (or existing) unions should understand that Greece is not in the same battle that the US currently might be in. I started nearly thirty years ago and already at that stage UK unions had been broken to nothing and the BBC were making lifetime employees redundant and hiring them back on revolving 3 month contracts. And that was the ‘job for life’ BBC we dreamed of working for ... Posting here was a good first move. Second move is getting to know the local professionals. The third move is staying power - with the profession and here with us! Jez

Hey fair enough - Obviously it is a requirement in the wider sense of what is expected (and asked for), didn’t mean to really challenge the obvious point made. And of course for some time we’ve now got higher resolution unusable tracks from the Avid, not just the 16 bit beautifully eq-ed, beautifully panned, beautifully levelled guide crap OMF of old! (Just a joke! Well, hopefully!) Seriously, whilst higher resolution and higher bit rates etc have been catered for within much of the post environment for quite some time I cannot really guess whether required/expected tracks will suddenly jump to a higher echelon, either through workflow, consumer standardisation (like 18 and 20 bit disappearing into 24) or some yet unexpected fashion. But it all happened before so I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ll just have the choice of “good” 192k64bit and rubbish 192/64 or whatever ... and we’ll still be upconverting from 44/16! Ha ha - just don’t make the fatal error of using the main audio! - BTW, the UK broadcast industry has happily been bobbling away at 48 along with the rest of Europe for the last few decades but now by “popular authority” it has been decided to change to 52, “come what may- and bugger the workflow”! So, I suggest anything is possible - and the worst is always probable.

Hi Neumann, if it has to be portable I would wholeheartedly go for the Nagra IV-S ! If you wanted something more modern, still quite sexy (though a little less class), perhaps the Nagra 7. Beyond that, it depends what you want it to do, what you want to spend and how big you are looking for ... although I have a possibly unfounded idea you want to connect it to an RSM 190 ?? Tascam for small, Zoom F4/8 series or Mixpre for medium (similar to original Fostex LE) budget, possibly secondhand SD 7 series if extra professional features are advantageous (word clock and digital IO). Or Sonosax, Nagra, etc up the scale ... Not too certain of secondhand or import possibilities in Leeds however compared to US and elsewhere (though we are still, gasp, technically elsewhere until the end of the month ...). A Zoom F4 might be the better value, SD MP6 Series 2 a happy buy ... ? Jez, writing from Durham, Europe

... yet Avid Protools (and everything else sound) can ... so my guess is, “who knows”? In post I had never even thought of 24bit as a requirement, but an obvious convenience since we’re (or were) editing in 48/24 ... there’s still an awful lot that gets converted (old sfx, hi-def sfx, off the cuff adr, weird gadget recordings and director’s special wishes). Also, 40 bit, 32 float, 64 bit have been around a long time in systems. For production recording, if it happens (before another significant change) it would I guess be as a result of some decent workflow standard cropping up between prod and post. Even then, post these days can juggle stuff it never used to be able to. Jez

I generally like the sound of a decent microphone when and if it has been placed in the spot which will give the result of a lovely representation of the object sound. On a film set (or on AV stuff generally) getting the mic in the best place for sound rather than picture / storytelling is not always or often going to happen. In a studio we have much more leeway. I prefer the sound of a 4060 to a 4071 but that boost has its place. I like the sound of the 4060 and it is a lav. I also prefer (for all the reasons discussed many times) the sound of a well placed boom, but appreciate the ‘other tool’ ... But in the end Boom ME up too - and “Submit Reply” with my apologies for keeping this going!!

Exactly like that, although if you can get / find a cloth-cabled one you might like it even more ... that’s what I have for my two working 805s ... (I also have a completely dead 805 and another which was briefly working fine until I decided it was a spare and took it apart to try making a three quarters length barrel! ... ) Of course, the benefit here is that it is a boom / zeppelin short cable which is desirable anyway, not an extra length to the actual mic body.

Thanks for the write-up Alex. The only internally cabled boom I ever had I ended up pulling the cable out of (which I still use as a boom cable!) ... I know that it is possible to Do It Yourself but I kind of wish that I could easily buy cable lengths that were partially coiled with LONG straight ends (and preferably a wider coil for external use). Still, it was obvious that spaced sponge grommets along an internal boom cable should probably be a decent solution. By the way, I bought a Rode Micro Pro boom which I hoped would work as a solid ‘extra top length’ section (I mean just one of the three sections) for a travel pole. Sadly, whilst it works great as designed it was too ‘rattley’ atop my favourite old faithful short Canford pole - I would be curious if anyone has tried the same with other poles as it would provide a substantial occasional extension for travel poles. Cheers, Jez

Actually I’ve never used an MKH 435 but just judging from what Werther has said I presume it is the same capsule/electronics ‘guts’ (or at least very similar) to the MKH 416 (or 415 or even 406) in a body that creates a cardioid or hyper-cardioid pattern. It might be just the very ‘sound’ you’re looking for, so might be worth looking for one on eBay or consignment... Covering up the slots in front of the capsule of a 416 will render it somewhat like a cardioid with a tube in front of it. Covering also the slots behind the capsule will make it back into a curiously focused omni. Neither would sound great across its frequency range. I’ve never taken apart an MKH 416 but I have mutilated an MKH 805 ... and as such I found out that the ACTUAL interference tube was not the fancy upper slots (in the case of the old 805) but a series of holes along the top. No idea how interference tubes have changed or advanced over the years ... Viscount, I would follow Werther’s suggestion I think and have a listen to the 435 if you can find one. Best, Jez