[Rodney Morris]

Stephen, thanks for posting this. I’ve also been keeping an eye on the R4 Pro as a low cost alternative to the 744T. It’s nice to hear someone using this unit with success.

The clips sounded pretty good on my computer’s Altec Lansing speakers. Would be nice to hear an A/B of the R4 Pro and the 744T.

Rodney

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

Comparing the Sennheiser and the Lectro 100 series is pretty fair. The Lectro has a couple of advantages that I can think of:

1) The robustness of the Lectro trumps that of the Sennheiser. The G2 is plasticky and feels cheap. To get into the lower price point, you have to skimp on something. This is one of those areas.

2) I’m not positive on the specs, but the lower series Lectro transmitters may have an RF output of 50mW versus the G2’s 30mW. The Lectros top range transmitters can be ordered at 100mW or 250mW. The higher the RF output, the better your range (distance) between transmitter and receiver before breaking up. This is also helpful if someone else is on the same (or adjacent) frequency and you are getting some interference. If the interference is low level and you are transmitting a higher power output, then you may get by without issues.

Here’s the controversial bit. If all of your work is done in other countries, then the block 27-29 issue may not be a problem. Why is this controversial? Because different countries have different RF bands/channels that are available to users. The frequencies that you use in one country might be in a military band in another.

I used to work for an international relief agency as a location sound mixer. I never had any real problems with this. However, I did have to be a little careful in heavily communist countries, where we were always “monitored”.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

You would need to spend more money to get a mixer with more than two outputs. However, in order to isolate each microphone on individual channels you will need a mixer with “direct outputs” not two sets of main outputs. Direct outputs allow you to send an output of that input channel without interrupting what is sent to your main outputs. Direct outs are sent post gain / pre fade which means that the mixer volume knobs don’t do anything. So unless you are wanting better sounding preamps for your shotgun mics or limiters for each channel, then you are just wasting your money especially if you’re not going to actually “mix” any audio. Others may disagree, but that’s my 2 cents worth.

Unless you absolutely trust your sound mixer (the person not the equipment), then isolating each mic is the best way to go. It definitely gives you the most flexibility in post, assuming you have the time to mix them in post.

I can’t really speak to your wireless situation, as I’ve never used the Samson wireless. However, if I had to bet on which system would perform and sound better, my money would be on the Sennheiser system. I’ve used the G2 systems and, coupled with the right mic, they sound pretty good. Simply matching the levels/gain between the Samson and Sennheiser doesn’t guarantee that they will sound the same. They will sound different, but mainly because you are using different lav mics with each system.

Hope this helps. I’m a bit tired and may (probably) have missed something. Please don’t hesitate to ask if I was unclear or didn’t address one of your concerns.

Rodney

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

I’ve not seen this yet, but more than likely they are using the Countryman E6. It’s the B6 capsule mounted on a headset. Getting the mic closer to the source is always best in a noisy environment. In the past, they may have worked a stick (handheld) mic very close. That’s not always visually pleasing, so I can see where the headset mics would be helpful. However, I’ve not had any requests yet by any of the major networks to provide headset mics on location.

Rodney

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

Thanks Andrew for the info on the line level 1/4″ inputs. I don’t remember seeing that in the manual – maybe I should look again.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

Yeah, the H4 feels plasticky and cheap. One good drop would do it in. Though in all fairness, you wouldn’t want to drop ANY recorder.

I was a little disappointed that the XLR’s weren’t line level selectable. But I feed it with a mic level feed from my Sound Devices 442 and it works fine (for transcription purposes). I’ve not done any A/B tests to see how good the AD conversion is, but on $300 unit I have my suspicions.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

Just to be clear, most sound mixers don’t use the lav mics that come with the wireless systems. Lectrosonics provides a cheap lav mic with their systems, but we replace them with better sounding lav mics. The Sanken and Countryman are great mics (I own the COS-11 and the EMW series), but you may also want to consider the less expensive Tram TR-50. It’s a good mic that generally cuts well in editing and comes with lots of mounting options.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

I use the Zoom H4 for transcription recording. While the Zoom H4 does have XLR inputs, they are not line level selectable. They are mic inputs with varying degrees of input sensitivity (Lo/Mid/Hi via switches on the side). You can adjust the gain of each channel via the menu (some diving involved). It’s not exactly convenient, but for only $300 it works well enough for transcription duty. The lack of line level input is really annoying though.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

Welcome Greg,

I’ve been using the Sound Devices 442 since late 2001 (I got one of the first models) and I can tell you, if you don’t mind the price, you’ll LOVE this mixer. You won’t find better/quieter preamps on any currently available field mixer in this price range. The limiters work so well that you rarely notice them unless you’re absolutely hammering them. Continuously variable rolloff, the ability to meter either peak, average or a combination of the two (Durrough digital meter style), the plethora of outputs. It’s a great mixer.

It is pricey ($2400), but you feel like you are getting what you are paying for. It’s robustness will be especially useful considering the intended users (students).

If price is absolutely a problem, consider the PSC AlphaMix. It offers good value for the money, and can be powered internally by an NP1 style battery for very long battery life. However, my experience with the PSC mixers has not been positive. Too many quality/reliability issues as far as I’m concerned.

Hope this helps.

Rodney

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer

[Rodney Morris]

I’ve tried many times in ProTools to manipulate the pitch of a word (or in some cases, just part of the word) in order to get the intonation/inflection to work after editing. 99% of the time it just sounds weird and doesn’t work. There is that 1% that does work, and that’s why I’ll keep trying. You’re better off trying to find another take and cut and paste. It doesn’t always have to be a take of the same sentence.

I haven’t used Soundbooth, but I can tell you that what you’re trying to do is very difficult, at best, even in a fully featured DAW.

Freelance Sound Technician/Mixer