Need advice on getting equipment

[Ty Ford]

Dear Adam welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.

You have been asked to do the impossible by someone who doesn’t understand the implications of their request. We get that here a lot. $500 will get you one basic wireless mic and transmitter, and maybe a set of headphones. A Sennheiser G3 and Sony MDR7506.

You need a mixer: Sound Devices 302 (maybe more for a talk show if there are more than three people)
Cables: mic and mixer to camera
Headphones: Sony MDR7506
Boom: Suspension and wind protection
Boom mics: hypercardioid and shotgun

That’s way more than $500. So, gulp, get over it and get the right stuff the first time instead of buying cheap and then having to buy the right stuff again later.

This might help: https://web.mac.com/tyreeford/Site/Ty_Ford_Audio_Bootcamp_Field_Guide.html

This too: https://gallery.me.com/tyreeford#100038

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar

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[Adam Leonard]

Thanks Ty, but the kind of show we’re talking about has an even lower budget/minimum standard of quality than what you’re thinking of. I forgot to mention that we’re located in American Samoa, which is basically a developing nation where rival TV stations make shows that look like they were done by high schoolers. Although it would make everything sound a lot better, he won’t be needing a boom mic, unless he gets into making that movie.

I’ll be sure to tell him about the Sennheiser G3 and Sony MDR7506.

I see a lot of cheaper used options on eBay, but I don’t have a clue about which ones are total crud and which are not. This looks kind of tempting.

We’ve also got the problem of how none of sites I see are selling the individual mics. All of them seem to be selling one or two with a transmitter, with just one exception.

Here at the station, we use Azden WM-PROs which have been usually, but not always, pretty good. And someone is selling them individually for only $29 each. Thing is, the ones we have are limited to exactly two frequencies (the “F1 and “F2” that you can see in the picture) and attempting to put two mics on one frequency results in a warbly background noise and one mic being much louder than the other. But the seller says “we have different frequencies and pl tones avail.” Is it possible for these seemingly identical mics to come in different frequencies? Could one or two Azden receivers pick four frequencies up at once?

Would it make sense to buy four Azden mics from them and a receiver like possibly this one that can pick them all up? They also have that one in other frequencies.

Do different brands of wireless mics generally work with different brands of receivers? Are there any other lower-priced wireless mics that aren’t completely terrible?

Thanks again for all you help.

-Adam

[Ty Ford]

Adam,

Not Azden. Try this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/68057-REG/Audio_Technica_W88_24_830_Pro_88W_Camera.html

At some point, and from what you say, your budget is well below what’s considered professional quality, you roll the dice and settle for less.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Want better production audio?: Ty Ford’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Watch Ty play guitar

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