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Hello everyone, My name is Lilay. I apologize in advance for my English. I need the help of experienced people in the field of recording sounds of nature. I am very attracted to the recording of natural ambient, namely the so-called silence and very quiet sounds. I'm a beginner and the budget is limited, I already have a Zoom H5 as a recording device. The Rode NTG 5 microphone with a full set of accessories, a tripod that suits me, a powerbank for powering the Zoom H5. Now I have a question about buying a good microphone for stereo recording. Zoom h5 microphones are already starting to make a lot of noise at level 6-7.My budget is small, I can allocate about 1000 euros. Microphones Rode NT5, sE Electronics sE 8 with wind protection fit into this budget and make little noise. But on your forum I saw mentions of Audio Technica BP4025, they say it is good for recording nature and I really like it because it is not a pair of microphones, but everything is placed in 1 case. Please tell me, will Audio Technica BP4025 be a good investment for recording quiet sounds and the environment? Thank you for your attention to my question, I will be glad to hear your opinion!
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Hey everyone. First time poster here. I have been lurking for a little bit now and am inspired by the knowledge of everyone. That being said, I am currently trying to prep for a shoot and am looking to purchase a solid mic for some interior scenes that we will be doing that have plenty of dialogue. In the past, I have used a AT4053b, a solid Audio Technica Hypercardoid. However, I am looking to see what you all have used in the past or present based off of your experience, rather than internet reviews. My budget is pretty low end, not looking for Shoeps or anything near $1000. Probably a modest $450-$500 is my budget.
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Hi all, I'm a post guy for the last 20 years. I'll be starting to do a lot more ADR here in the next couple of weeks with a few different companies and will need to setup my own rig. Just curious as to what is the most common microphones used on set these days are? In the past, I know the COS-11d was very popular. Have the DPA 4060s started to permeate the market? As far as shotguns, I've got the MKH 60 and Sanken cs3e, will I need to get a 416? What about Schoeps? Thanks in advance for your answers.
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Hello again to this awesome community, I've read every single post about mics on this forum, gearslutz and trew, as well as talking with mixers, gotham and pro-sound folks. Every single one, so this isn't to rehash unresearched questions or to drag the Senator out to say, "it depends". I buy gear when the gig can pay for it, so currently my set up is: sd 633, neumann km150 (for indoors), lectro smqv. Got enough cash for a decent outdoor boom and zepplin but would prefer not to spend it all if I don't have to. Been renting the following: 416, cmit5u, sanken cs3e, 816, dpa 4017. I know it depends on the shot, the environment, weather, etc. and I'd love to buy'm all, but i got enough for one of them. My work is based in nyc, a mix of everything and it's getting busier, so a 3rd mic is on the horizon. One thing I do notice is that the cmit5u craps out when it's humid, which is too bad. Now, I leave myself open for all the arrows and possibly opinions. I take them all humbly.
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Just out of curiosity, I was wondering if anyone out there uses, or have tried out, any digital microphones for field use? I'm talking about mics such as for instance the Neumann KM D-series. The thinking behind a digital mic seems good, but since they are not widely used, maybe they aren't up to the quality of the analogue ones yet? Or are there some other issue, like reliability or the dynamic performance of the AD section? Thank you for the vast amount of knowledge you all provide here!
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Is the next step of microphone design; the 130V? Is something to consider from ours side? Should the microphone manufacturers to look further? I am open this conversation to see if we will get a benefit from 130V microphones; practical and theoretical. As far I know, only the DPA Microphones has 130V microphone versions. If the 130V mics become a norm in near (or far) future; what that means for location recorders? Opinions from manufacturers are welcome! Best V
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I've asked this question elsewhere, including (hat) to Sound Devices, both via email and in a short, but confusing phone conversation, so I'm posting here to see if anyone has real world experience, and if so, how they achieved what they achieved. (I'm also waiting on a call from someone in the UK who also might be able to help, so this may be moot, but I'll ask anyway.) I managed to score a set of Neumann KM184D microphones on Ebay for a very small amount of money: I know they work, because Simon Bishop very kindly tested them for me on his rig (did you buy a set yourself, Simon?) and I know that for full use, I need to buy the Neumann DRM-2p interface, but I want to know if I can connect them directly to the SD788T via the 15 pin D-Sub, using the XL-88 loom, or if I have to have something made up specially, or if it's just not possible and I should give up. The Neumann Digital mics are AES42 Mode 2 and the published info from Sound Devices says "Mode 2 microphones will automatically operate in Mode 1 when connected to the 788T" The SD tech I spoke to stated simply "if it's Mode 2, it's never going to work" leaving me rather in the dark. My question is very simple: has anyone successfully connected a Neumann Solution D microphone (or any other AES42 Mode 2 digital mic) to a Sound Devices 788T (and yes, I have turned AES 42 powering on in the menu) and if so, can you detail the precise method by which you achieved success? Thanks, John
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Our microphones are available in their standard colors (usually gray or nickel) as well as in many special color at a low additional fee. We regularly do special colors due to certain customer demands. From Schoeps Facebook page
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Microphones Putting "Phantom Power" to Work by Rupert Neve In former years, before the introduction of solid state amplifiers, transformers were necessary to step up to the very high input impedance of tubes, and to provide a balanced input for the microphone line. An input impedance of 1,000 or 1,200 ohms became established for microphones having a source impedance of 150 or 200 ohms. Thus microphones were not heavily loaded. Condenser microphones worked off high voltage supplies on the studio floor which polarized the diaphragms and powered a built-in pre-amplifier. More and more microphones were needed as Pop music gained ground and this led to the popular and efficient method of 48 volt “Phantom” powering that was built into the multi-channel recording Console in place of numerous bulky supplies littering the studio, a miniature pre-amplifier now being fitted inside the microphone casing. The 48-volt supply was fed to the microphone through balancing resistors so it was impossible for this voltage to actually reach the microphone, resulting in low polarizing volts and virtual starvation of the little pre-amp inside the microphone. Nevertheless amazingly good microphones were designed and made, becoming the familiar product we use today. If a low value resistive load is connected to the output of an amplifier, that amplifier has to produce power in order to maintain a voltage across that load. Obviously if we want more voltage (output from the microphone) we need to provide a larger supply for the amplifier or settle for a lighter load. A microphone is a voltage generator, not a power amplifier. Most microphones give their most accurate performance when they are not loaded by the input impedance of a traditional preamplifier. If the microphone uses an electronic circuit (transformerless) output, a low value of load impedance will likely stress the little microphone pre-amplifier, causing slew rate and compression at high levels. On the other hand, a high value of load impedance allows the microphone to “breathe” and give of its best, this being particularly advantageous with very high level percussive sounds. If the microphone has an inductive source (such as would be the case if it has a transformer output) a low value of load impedance causes the high frequencies to roll off due to leakage inductance in the transformer in addition to the above amplifier distortion. (This can be an advantage with some microphones!) For this reason I have provided a high value of input impedance that will load microphones to the smallest possible extent and makes the best possible use of that limited “Phantom” 48 volts supply.
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Matching Microphones and Preamps: A Crucial Combination Microphones and preamplifiers are the “chicken and egg” of audio. Want to start a discussion among audio folk? Ask whether mics or preamps are more important. Later we’ll look at interviews with George Massenburg and John Hardy to get their take on transformer and transformerless preamps and solid state versus tubes. That’s the the main course. But before we get to them, here’s a few appetizers. Stronger Chains For the entry-level engineer, getting better sound can be very frustrating. You may not be able to hear how great that new mic sounds until you get a better preamp. Even then, if the mix bus or monitor section is the weakest link, the improvement won’t get to your ears. Even the cable can matter. Some colleagues and I were pained to find this out a number of years ago when comparing a Gefell mic with a Neumann U 87 and AKG C414. In one studio, we got predictably different frequency responses, depending on whether we used the “house” cable, or Gotham GAC-3, or EMT 2022. Interesting, though, when we tried a similar test in another studio, the results were not so dramatic. Why? Probably impedance differences. The first studio had a built-in wall panel and snake. The second didn’t. Was it the way the mics and snake interacted, or the way the snake and the first studio’s API console interacted. Or both? The first studio used API console mic preamps, the second studio had an original issue Mackie 1604. Maybe the Mackie wasn’t open enough to pass the differences. DIY Testing `Want a simple way to test how responsive your chain is to improvement? Listen to a “humble” Shure SM58 through your existing chain, and then using the same microphone cable, plug the SM58 into your prospective new preamp and come in at line level to your mixer. If you can’t hear a world of difference, the prospective preamp isn’t that much of an improvement or—and this is a BIG or—something else in the chain is eating up the improvement. To Tube or Not to Tube? Tube circuits are sometimes elevated into mythological status, primarily because they were all we had before solid state came along. But the truth is that a good solid-state preamp sounds much better than a poorly designed tube preamp, and a good tube preamp sounds better than a poorly designed solid-state preamp. It’s a pretty simple quality issue. Having said that, if you’re working with audio that has a lot of transient material—the result of pretty much anything you record where you hit something—a tube circuit can “round off” the peaks of those transients less objectionably than a poorly designed solid state preamp which clips the transients. The plate of the tube absorbs some of the loudest transients. Of course, that “rounding off” of the transient peaks is part of the coloration of the circuit, and technically, it’s distortion. Transformers Arguably, transformers are a throwback from the early Bell Labs days when the input and output characteristics of amplifiers required specific impedances, and because transformers are a great way to stop the flow of DC from one stage to the next. In its simplest form, a transformer consists of two coils of wire—a primary and secondary coil, wound around a common core. Even though the primary and secondary wires may touch, their insulation keeps them from being directly connected. Instead, the electrical energy is induced—picked up literally out of the air—because the two coils are so close. Transformers with metal cores also affect the transfer of the electrical energy. Now, let's sit back and let George Massenburg and John Hardy answer a few questions for us all. Ty Ford: Some microphones have transformers at their outputs. Some are transformerless, some preamps have transformers at their inputs, some don’t. Are there any rules that determine what happens to the sound when mixing and matching transformer and non-transformer mics and preamps, or are the individual circuits so different that simple guidelines can’t be established? George Massenburg: Well, it won’t surprise anyone to know that I have different rules. Generally, I want to keep a signal as clean and transparent as possible for as long as possible. I pretty much prefer mics with good output transformers or no transformers, like the Schoeps design. I can’t really say that I like input transformers on mic preamps. Frankly, if I want a roll-off and low-frequency distortion I’ll add it to the degree that I want it, most often later in mixing. John Hardy: Generally, either type of mic can be used with either type of mic preamp. Limiting this discussion to the interface between mic and mic preamp, it is mostly the interaction between the output impedance of the mic and the input impedance of the mic preamp that causes audible differences as the result of an “EQ” effect. If those impedances are the same at all frequencies (linear), there will be no EQ effect. If the impedances are nonlinear—having some degree of inductance and/or capacitance in addition to the basic resistance—in or near the audio bandwidth, there can be an audible difference. Equalizers use inductors and/or capacitors to create frequency changes. It is not the presence or absence of a transformer that matters, it is the linearity of the impedance. It’s easier to have a linear impedance in a transformerless circuit, but a well designed transformer can have a linear impedance too. Ty Ford: What are the advantages and disadvantages of mics with output transformers? George Massenburg: I don’t like them for any reason. Even in live situations where one might reason that transformers would reduce interference over long distances, I avoid them where possible. John Hardy: A transformer at the output of a mic can step the impedance of the mic up or down as required. It also blocks the +48 volt phantom supply from getting into the circuitry or capsule of the mic where damage could occur. Page 3 of 3 It’s a similar situation at the input of a mic preamp. If there is no transformer at the input of a mic preamp, capacitors are usually used to keep the +48 volt phantom supply voltage from traveling forward into the active circuitry of the preamp where it could cause damage. Capacitors can cause phase shift at low frequencies. They can also smear the audio signal because of a problem known as dielectric absorption. Some capacitors are much better than others in this regard. Transformers have their own potential problems, including phase shift and ringing at high frequencies, and core saturation at high signal levels and/or low frequencies. A well-designed transformer minimizes these problems. On the positive side, a transformer coupled mic preamp has a much higher common mode impedance and a much higher breakdown voltage than most transformerless mic preamps, which results in the potential for a much higher common mode rejection ratio, and the ability to handle and reject much higher common mode signal levels. This is extremely important where there are high levels of RF or other interference. Ty Ford: Are there any ways to make better choices about mics and preamps than “Read the specs, listen, if you like what you hear, buy it?” George Massenburg: The people who “listen” better do better work. There is no short-cut, nor is there a push-button answer here. John Hardy: There are some recorded tracks available that demonstrate many mic preamps and mics, but since you were not there to hear the original performance, you do not know all of the details of the signal path, room effects, what the original sound source sounded like from the exact mic position, etc. You must try things under your own circumstances, listening from the mic position and eliminating as many variables as possible. Ty Ford: There are now tube mics that are quieter than some FET mics. Other than a tube’s absorptive capabilities as a result of plate saturation, have better components and circuit designs made the tube/solid state argument moot? George Massenburg: Well, I don’t know anything about tubes, but I can tell you that discrete components haven’t evolved as far or as quickly as other semi technologies. I would really like to have faster, higher-gain, higher-voltage transistors to use, but it just hasn’t happened. John Hardy: There is certainly much confusion and misinformation regarding the supposed need for tube circuits to “warm-up” the often cold and harsh sound of digital circuitry. The cold and harsh quality is not the fault of solid-state circuitry. It is the fault of crappy solid-state circuitry that happens to sound cold and harsh because it is crappy. A well-designed solid-state mic preamp can do wonders to warm things up. Actually, a well-designed solid-state circuit is probably bringing things back to “room temperature,” which I think is what most people really want. A tube circuit may be going beyond room temperature to a colored sound quality. Link: http://bit.ly/YwRSCS
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I have recently been experiencing odd noises coming from my G3 receivers. The noises sound digital in nature, its not static or RF interference. I noticed that the noise is only apparent when the backlight on the screen of the receiver turns off. When you press a button to wake the screen back up again the noise goes away. The noise is also synchronous with the the little LCD display, in other words, when something moves on the display (like the audio level indicator) when the backlight is off, you hear the little digital artifacts. It is very odd, and very annoying. I recorded a sample of the noise. The first part is the noise by itself, with the lav on the transmitter muted. The second part is the noise with the lav on, and how it reacts when there is sound going through. Anyone have any ideas? Here is the link to the audio file.
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I am mixing a feature film in Bergen Norway and was asked by another Canadian production company to record some Scandinavian sound effects and ambiences while I am here. I unfortunately only have dialogue mics with me for this shoot and was wondering if anyone on here knows of any sound mixers/sound designers in Bergen who maybe have mics I could rent. Thanks Guys!
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Hello everyone I know they have been covered separate, but just want to hear from people using either or both as their main all-rounder. I have been using a CS-1e and love it, but need a new all-rounder for noisier, outdoors and so on. CS-3e was the obvious choice to complement the 1e, but found a CMIT5u used for the same price so i thought i check Thanks
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Hey, Just a nice picture of a collection of short microphones. Been doing some comparison's lately on cardioids. The DPA is really nice IMO. It competes with the Schoeps. Sennheiser you need the pad/filter in there but also very nice. Thoughts on short mics? mounting options? windscreen protections? I'm not asking for anything specific - just your experiences.
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Hello everyone. Thomas from Sound Guys Solutions here. I want to personally thank you for all the kind words about our products and updates! Here is a new video that shows exactly what our new product can do as well as how it can speed up your wiring time!
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