Buzz/Hum

[Ty Ford]

Pat,

Sorry. Mics usually don’t have jacks, they have plugs. I don’t want to be a nomenclature nazi, but terms are important.

So the mic had a mini-plug of some sort? The problem was very likely the connection between the mic plug and the female XLR connector on the cable. You must have used some sort of adapter. What kind?
Regards,

Ty

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com
Download Ty Ford’s “Existential Boogie” from iTunes now.

[Pat Ford]

[Ty Ford] “So the mic had a mini-plug of some sort? The problem was very likely the connection between the mic plug and the female XLR connector on the cable. You must have used some sort of adapter. What kind?
Regards,

Ty”

Ty,

Yes, there was a mini-plug/XLR adapter.

But as I mentioned above in another post, the noise was caused by the dimmer acting on the mini-plug cord.

Thanks for the help. The problem has been solved.

[Steve Wargo]

So Pat, go back and read your post. Certainly looks like a couple of new guys to me. Whether you are or aren’t, your original post smacked of newby. Have a nice day and don’t forget to wear those headphones.

Steve Wargo
Tempe, Arizona

It’s a dry heat!

[Ty Ford]

Steve, Pat,

Apparently there’s some unfinished business between you that should be settled somewhere other than this forum. Hope it works out for both of you.

Thanks,

Ty Ford

Ty Ford’s “Audio Bootcamp Field Guide” was written for video people who want better audio. Find out more at https://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
or https://www.tyford.com
Download Ty Ford’s “Existential Boogie” from iTunes now.

[Bob Cole]

[Pat Ford] “the noise was caused by the dimmer acting on the mini-plug cord.”

You folks probably already know about this one, but in the spirit of sharing, I’ve had another problem with dimmers (and I think my dimmers are pretty well-made, by Magic Gadgets).

I got a buzz from using a dimmer, even with balanced ables, isolating the light fixtures’ wires from the mic cables, camera on battery…. I even changed audio to wireless, before I realized I was hearing the dimmed filament in the lighting instrument. So I changed bulbs — no difference. My particular lamps wanted all power or nothing.

There are lots of alternatives to outboard dimmers: scrims, added diffusion, moving the light back, or, best of all, using dimmable fluorescents (Kino Diva, in my case) instead of tungsten.

— Bob C

[Pat Ford]

Bob-

Good point…it’s hard to try to outsmart physics. One of the problems was that we were shooting in a tiny room. Next time I may rent a theater…that might solve several problems. Thanks.

pcf