John Dombroski

Hopefully it'll get even better! I've been playing with it since they first put it out. Used it in post for a verité doc with someone else's hairy location sound (here it is if you're interested — fully foley'd)! I'm quite impressed with GOYO's performance! It's far from flawless, but it seems to go a little further than other de-noiser's before artifacts... Definitely saved me a couple hours in RX! Not quite CEDAR, not as precise as RX, but still pretty exciting (or unnerving?)!

Right now, execs are trying to convince post-production to replace striking actors' voices and ADR-time with easily sourced (they have all the files) AI-created audio. I recently found an AI-powered noise reduction Pro Tools plugin that does near everything 833 NoiseAssist (or some time with RX) can do, in the turn of a digital dial... But the neural computing isn't yet at a point where it knows how to mic an actor on an ever-changing film set, nor does it know how to hold a boom, nor does it know how to have an affable conversation with a Director (...or does it? ha)! I don't know if Production Sound has to worry about AI just yet — until Moore's Law brings the world invisible and idiot-proof lavs with mics that can be placed by a chimpanzee. But producers are always going to try to cut corners (after all, it's their job)! [edited for clarity]

My two cents: if production is willing — all blankets, all carpet, all soft material, is good material — put it everywhere you can (according to science papers on acoustics, natural fibers are indeed ideal, but thickness is key either way), and the more you learn about acoustics, the better you'll know where to place your sonic absorbers for each use case. Maybe you can convince production to invest in a few packs of furnies and build you movable frames for your "sound blankets", or maybe they'll go to the local fabric recycling center/goodwill and get layers of carpet and other material to cover the walls/windows. Maybe the science is more an art? This thread is the reason JWSoundgroup is the very best place on the internet to be a listener. It takes a lot of passion to care enough about sound that you get into fisticuffs over blankets... and I absolutely love you all for it (and I'm right here with you). Thanks all (and thanks Jeff) ~ John

My 633 froze on me this morning while powering from a V-mount battery, was also running a 411a on it. The 411a screen dimmed a minute or so before 633 froze. I also had L-mount batteries on the 633, everything at full charge, not even recording, just setting up at the time. Force power-off and running on an NP for the rest of the day resolved the issue. Still mystifies me as to why it happened, but I'll never run on a V-mount battery again unless I have to. If anyone has any tips/ideas/opinions, I'd love to hear!

Agreed! DSR4 does look awesome, and I'll be keeping tabs on it as well. For the reasons you've mentioned, I will likely be investing in used Lectro's when I can afford 'em. Backwards compatibility is an absolute essential to my mind, especially amidst the current zeitgeist of "disposable" tech! Thank you also for sharing your interest on Sony's ecosystem and plug-on Tx's, I was not aware of their strengths. These questions are all very much at the forefront of my mind! As are the rest of your points! Thank you for your insights and considerations. My biggest hurdle is indeed the financial one, and at this point, I'm researching as much as I can in order to make sure every penny goes as far, and accomplishes as much as it possibly can. I'd welcome any pointers/reading recommendations on wireless theory (or anything related, always)! Ah, yes, I think I got the idiom wrong... I think I meant "cry now or cry later"... But at this point, I'd love to sharpen the axe as much as I can, and buy as few times as needed... to ensure I'll be getting the most bang for my buck (for the smaller-crew work that's been most-often coming my way). I am beginning to fully understand that in our ever-evolving gear-world of production sound, there will always be another bigger, better new piece of kit being released (to long after and learn about)! Thank you for your empathy and sentiments, I'm honored and appreciate it. And still definitely a big fan of Lectro. I'm the sort of person who sincerely enjoys learning how to keep my machines well-oiled, and repair, refurbish, rebuild to make them last as long as possible/sensible. Unless the fates smile upon me, or somehow logic dictates a new purchase is absolutely necessary, I'll be going with tried and true used gear all the way!

"If I were to do it all again today, I'd go with something other than Lectro (...Sound Devices A-10, Shure Axient, Wisycom, Sony DWX...), but alas, I bought-in so long ago and now I'm stuck..." I've heard this sentiment a bunch lately, in forums and in conversation with mixers more experienced than myself. As someone who's just starting to build (currently dreaming of / saving-up for) my wireless kit from scratch, I'd love to know what wireless ecosystem(s) would you go with if you were building your kit anew today, and why? Note: So far I've built my kit from 98% used gear, and I've expected that's just the way it's going to have to be, at least for a few years... assuming the only way I'll affordably/realistically be able to start stepping up my wireless game (if not renting) is by finding a couple used Blk19/20 411a's/SRB/SRC's, and whatever wideband Lectro A1 Tx's I can find at good secondhand prices — especially since it seems like more established folks are starting to sell-off their old lectro's for the new digital kits. *But some of those digital kits aren't too much more expensive than the inflated used prices currently on the market... hmmmm... Side question/dread: Do you think "buy once, cry once" still applies to wireless in this economy, at the rate tech is advancing and as companies hop aboard the terrible avid/adobe/avarice train, requiring subscriptions/big fees for software upgrades in one's "own" hardware? [edited for clarity]

Thanks everyone for all your advice! And now, when mic-ing up talent, I will forever hear these words (and keep them salty bags away from my signal path) hah! Thanks! I can't wait to own a true diversity system... I had no idea I could go as far as adding a shark fin to a G4/G3 setup, but this will be a good first step down my wireless path. I'm considering DIY-ing my first LPDA antenna as well... Very curious! I may do some before/after range/performance tests with the G4 and share if I can make some time for it. Thank you again!

I recently picked up a G4 EK/ES 100 combo (A1) and I'm wondering if it would be worth it to modify their antennae with SMA whips... Would the improvement in range/signal be notable or negligible with only 30mW max RF output? I mostly rent my wireless (and love lectro's). I'll keep on saving up for my own! Sincere thanks, John

Nate, Just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how satisfyingly utilitarian your drawer design is! Dreaming about doing something similar over here (from across the years)! Cheers: and well done! I'm currently rockin' a rocknroller and thinking about ways to optimize / other options... Question for Nate/other peli-cart folks: Are you still on the same design/cart? Is/was it a pain to lug around and pack in/out? Thanks y'all! Wonderful ingenuity here!

You may have already seen this, hope it's useful! A friend of mine swears by ambient, but I'll probably eventually put my money on the Sound Guy Solutions one for its locking mechanism and 360 degree rotation.

Not sure what they're using out there on Survivor, but it's recommended to clean DPA's with (distilled) water. As shown below, they apparently work OK after complete submersion. Lectro also has WM transmitters that are water-resistant (I have not tested any full submersion with either setup but would be bagging mine or using some ol' latex protectors before anything gets wet).

Found this comparison video by Gotham Sound which might be informative if you skip around a bit (the Rycote super-softie's performance is mind-boggling):