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Should I get the MKH 50 or the AT 4053b?


Jarred Jones

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I'm deciding on a great mic for recording dialogue during films and these two keep coming up in my research.

Which would be better for capturing the best dialogue and why? Would the 4053b be a good investment for it's price?

I know the MKH costs twice as much, but does it sound like it has TWICE as much quality over the 4053b?

Thank you for reading.

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Hi, and welcome

" Should I get the MKH 50 or the AT 4053b? "

sure...

 

" for capturing the best dialogue and why? "

here we go again....

another new member who doesn't want to take a look at what we have already said here about that oh, so frequent topic of "the best mic..."

the answer is difficult to say, as the decision is subjective, and personal, including the reasoning....

 

" the MKH costs twice as much, but does it sound like it has TWICE as much quality "

like I said:  difficult to say, especially since you are now dealing with the law of diminishing returns.

and, BTW, is all the quality supposed to be only in the sound??

" a great mic "

and then there is that old thing about what is more important... the arrows, or the archer ?

 

watching TV, can you tell which shows use what mic's ??

 

both mic's you mention, as well as a bunch of others, are popular, good sellers...

what does that tell you ?

and where are you?

maybe you could do a comparison..? (one was recently done and reported on www.jwsoundgroup.net, but you probably didn't bother to find it..?

Edited by studiomprd
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I'm deciding on a great mic for recording dialogue during films and these two keep coming up in my research.

Which would be better for capturing the best dialogue and why? Would the 4053b be a good investment for it's price?

I know the MKH costs twice as much, but does it sound like it has TWICE as much quality over the 4053b?

Thank you for reading.

Dear curious,

You do not, I repeat, you do NOT have permission to buy a microphone for recording dialogue during films.

The cinema is a hallowed, a sacred space, and it's not appropriate to do recording of any kind during films.

best,

Steven

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Dear curious,

You do not, I repeat, you do NOT have permission to buy a microphone for recording dialogue during films.

The cinema is a hallowed, a sacred space, and it's not appropriate to do recording of any kind during films.

best,

Steven

 

I'm not sure what you mean? I've always recorded my own audio when making films.

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Which would be better for capturing the best dialogue and why? Would the 4053b be a good investment for it's price?

I know the MKH costs twice as much, but does it sound like it has TWICE as much quality over the 4053b?

The MKH 50 is a rich-sounding and favored mic amongst many of us. 

It is also useful in music work.

 

But the AT 4053b sounds pretty good too - dollar for dollar a good investment, but not an equal to the 50.  

 

Are you aware that the 4053 is modular?  There are a few other available capsules for that body that might make it a particularly useful purchase, all tricked out.

Thus, you are honestly deciding a bit between  "apples and oranges" here. 

 

Ultimately, I have always felt and noticed over my years that, in this business,

you get what you pay for. 

 

MF

 

 

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The MKH 50 is a rich-sounding and favored mic amongst many of us. 

It is also useful in music work.

 

But the AT 4053b sounds pretty good too - dollar for dollar a good investment, but not an equal to the 50.  

 

Are you aware that the 4053 is modular?  There are a few other available capsules for that body that might make it a particularly useful purchase, all tricked out.

Thus, you are honestly deciding a bit between  "apples and oranges" here. 

 

Ultimately, I have always felt and noticed over my years that, in this business,

you get what you pay for. 

 

MF

Awesome input! Thank you for the info. :D

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Get the 50. It will last you your career and it won't let you down in humidity or other weather related junk. Not an AT user, but I use the MKH50 on 95% of my jobs. It always strikes me with how good it sounds. In terms of investment, I would argue that you can't get much more quality for the money. A Schoeps CCM41 maybe, but the MKH50 is a proven tank. 

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Get the 50. It will last you your career and it won't let you down in humidity or other weather related junk. Not an AT user, but I use the MKH50 on 95% of my jobs. It always strikes me with how good it sounds. In terms of investment, I would argue that you can't get much more quality for the money. A Schoeps CCM41 maybe, but the MKH50 is a proven tank. 

 

Interesting info, Olle. Thank you.

One thing that concerns me is the handling noise. I could barely find any reviews on the MKH 50 but the ones I found mentioned handling noise a number of times.

Is it really that bad? Is that MKH 50 very difficult to boom?

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I'd chose an adjustable wrench...

...and I'd prefer having a full set of the right tools for the job. A fixed wrench is preferred over an adjustable due to better fit and less chance of "rounding" the head of the bolt -- a result of the play inherent in an adjustable wrench. But they're handy for those times when you don't have the right tool.

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...and I'd prefer having a full set of the right tools for the job. A fixed wrench is preferred over an adjustable due to better fit and less chance of "rounding" the head of the bolt -- a result of the play inherent in an adjustable wrench. But they're handy for those times when you don't have the right tool.

John, of course I know that there is no "best" mic, but thought it might be fun to know if you could only have one, which would it be...

Your desert island mic, so to speak

And then of course we'd have the definitive answer for all the production newbies who ask about the "best" mic

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acuriousman,

What you're seeing here is a bit of sarcasm and a bit of anger for creating a new thread about an old topic. My guess is that English is not your first language, so you missed the bad joke about "recording dialog during films". The way you wrote it seems like you want to go to a film and record dialog while you are watching a film rather than making one.

I would suggest googling "JWSound best mic" and you will get LOTS of opinions, including mine.

Using your real name here will also get you better responses.

Robert

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John, of course I know that there is no "best" mic, but thought it might be fun to know if you could only have one, which would it be...

Your desert island mic, so to speak

And then of course we'd have the definitive answer for all the production newbies who ask about the "best" mic

I was responding, of course, from the viewpoint that this is a forum intended for sound professionals, not amateur mechanics (to mix in my analogy). As a pro yourself I figured that would resonate. Equipmentwise, It is about having a properly equipped tool kit, not some magic mic that has been dermed the best in the world and great for everything.

What's the best "desert island" mic? Whichever one you happened to have with you at the time you were shipwrecked. Then, there's the whole thing of finding any usable form of electrical energy on this mythical island -- so it really doesn't matter which mic you have.

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I really don't think handling noise is a "real" issue on any of the mics that are professionally used in dialogue for film or TV. If someone is reporting a problem, it's with the technique or mount rather than a mic problem. 

 

Well what's more important for combating handling noise, the shockmount or the xlr cable itself?

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I was responding, of course, from the viewpoint that this is a forum intended for sound professionals, not amateur mechanics (to mix in my analogy). As a pro yourself I figured that would resonate. Equipmentwise, It is about having a properly equipped tool kit, not some magic mic that has been dermed the best in the world and great for everything.

What's the best "desert island" mic? Whichever one you happened to have with you at the time you were shipwrecked. Then, there's the whole thing of finding any usable form of electrical energy on this mythical island -- so it really doesn't matter which mic you have.

Actually the best in that scenario would be a 416, because you could use it break open coconuts, build a raft, then when you get rescued and have a big press conference you can say "it's ok, I bought my own mic"

Jokes aside, you can only use what you have in your tool box....

RE 50's are good for busting open coconuts as well : D

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