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Audio Advice for Boom & Lav
Hi all,
I’m about to start shooting a new doc on education and would really appreciate some advice from anyone who can help. I’ve currently got a KE66 with fluffy and pistol grip as well as a SENNHEISER EVOLUTION eW112P G2 wireless system. Because of the heavy use, the KE66 has a loud intermittent buzz when plugged in (cable not at fault) and the cheap standard lav mic on the Sennheiser has a dodgy connection.
I’ve always been relatively happy with the KE66 and pretty underwhelmed by the G2. Thinking about it, with a long enough lead, I’m relatively ok with having a wired lav solution but would like to hear any options on alternate G2 compatible mics people know of. On the boom mic, people have recommended a 416 for it’s warmer more complete sound but I don’t know much about this mic.
I’m going to assume that keeping the lav/boom mic set-up is best but working from the premise that I’ve got £1000 and a bit more at a PUSH what would you reccomend I do with the equivalent of $2000?
I film documentaries on my Z1 with sound being one of the last things on my mind although I always have someone on a boom pole for the shotgun. The setup has to be high quality and is used in both quiet interview setting and in slightly louder outdoor settings.
As I say, any help would be much appreciated and thanks in advance 🙂
Dan
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2 Replies
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Hello Daniel and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
The ME66 may be repairable by Sennheiser. If you are in the US, contact them in Old Lyme, CT.
The ME66, while ubiquitous, is not a world class shotgun. The Sennheiser MKH 416P48 is. It will serve you well.
If you ARE shooting indoors the ME66 (or 416) would not be my first choice. Presuming you can’t afford a Schoeps cmc641 supercardioid, the next step down would be an Audio-Technica AT4053a or an Audix SCX-1 HC.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
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I agree with Ty (I usually do…lol). The ME66 is an electret condenser and not a true condenser, which basically means it’s about as good as the mics that come with most cameras. It’s fine for general background sound, but for capturing good sound from interviews, dialog and nat sound stuff, you need a mic like the 416; the difference is night-and-day!
As for a lav mic, the best, in my opinion, is the Sanken COS-11X. It actually sounds like a boom mic and matches great when using a boom and lav together.
Nether is cheap, but then again, nether is good audio :o)
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