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Roundtable


Arnold F.

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I've been asked to record 8 guys seated at a table for transcription only - there will be no camera.  Last week I did 8 people for camera and they all got wired lavs but I'm wondering if pzm's would be sufficient for this. 

A.

While PZM's will work you will have to contend with any noise transmitted through the table, i.e. finger tapping, glasses being moved, etc, etc. You'll also get more room sounds with a PZM than lavs. I do a lot of RT jobs and I either use lavs or table mics but I always use my 8 channel auto mic mixer especially when there's sound re-enforcement involved, keeps things clean, simple and never any unwanted feedback.

Eric

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Since PZMs are really intended (as I understand it) to be mounted to a hard surface, I had a local plastics shop make a couple of plastic plates for me. These are rectangular, just a little smaller than a visor, and I use them when rigging Cub-1s in a car. And, an added benefit is that, if the car has been extensively Armour-All treated, one can affix the plastic sheet by wrapping tape all the way around the visor.

If I ever finish my taxes, I might be willing to run a test myself. But I wonder if one attached the PZM to a plastic sheet - something about the size of a small book - and then set the plastic sheet on a mousepad, if that might not isolate the whole business from noise transmitted through the table. If that works effectively, it might be a cheap and easy solution to the nuisance of the PZM being hyper-susceptible to the noise of finger drumming, etc. In any event, it certainly ought to be good enough for transcription purposes. And two PZMs is a whole lot easier to deal with than 8 of anything else.

David Waelder

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Eric:

Do you think those negatives (with PZM's) will prevent getting audio good enough for transcription?  By table mics do you mean dynamics or condensers on mini-stands?

A.

No problem for transcription use. Table mics are almost always dynamics (eliminates the need for phantom power) like a Shure SM58 on table stands.

Eric

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