Wireless Systems

[David C jones]

Hi Janice-

Is this for a PA system or are you recording it, or both? Are you wanting each person to have their own mic; are you using a mixer or going directly into a camera or recorder? What’s your budget for this?

Sorry for all the questions but what to recommend can depend on the setup and what the final product will be used for :o)

[Janice Goldstein]

Hi David,

Thanks for your response. I would ultimately like for each person to have their own mic – whether its a lav or one in a stand. I would record it directly into my cam – through XLR. Would I need a mixer? Budget -not sure – but would like to invest in a real decent system.

[David C jones]

Generally speaking, whenever you go with more than two mics (and only two inputs on the camera), your venturing into a place where you will need to consider using a mixer and someone to operate it. The problem is that you can’t just leave all the mics turned up without introducing a massive amount of room noise – to the point of the audio being unusable. When using more than two mics (one for each channel on the camera) someone needs to be riding the levels via a mixer.

Honestly, I would recommend hiring a sound person for the shoot and renting anything you might still need [that they don’t have]; it will be a lot less expensive then buying everything to make this work which, even on the cheap, will run you into the thousands of dollars.

The other option, is to use only two wireless systems – those being a couple of handheld mics that simply get passed around from person to person.

[Janice Goldstein]

Hmmm…I was hoping to purchase a system – I am involved with this kind of thing on a constant basis. I do have someone that could ride the levels – are you saying 2 wireless systems because of the 2 xlr inputs on the camera?

[David C jones]

Yeah, as long as each wireless has it’s own track, you won’t have to worry about riding the levels, you should be able to set them and (for the most part) forget them. It’s when you’re putting multiple mics on the same tracks or channels that you can’t just set them and leave them [all turned up].

[Ty Ford]

Hi Folks,

Makes me really nervous to set and forget. I ride gain with one or two mics with as many channels.
Set and forget means a lot more work in post with some folks.

Regards,

Ty Ford

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[David C jones]

Hi Ty-

I know we never (or should never) actually set it and forget it. I was just trying to simplify the point :o)

[Janice Goldstein]

Could you guys recommend a decent wireless system w/mixer? BTW, thanks for your responses.

[Ty Ford]

Hello Janice,

The Sennheiser G series or Audio Technica 1800 series is as low as you want to go for wireless.

Lectrosonics and Zaxcom above that, Audio Ltd. above that.

Mixer: Sound Devices 302.

Regards,

Ty Ford

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