[Will Salley]

I’ve been working on my collection for about two years.

The CD’s are archived using iTunes and using the Apple Lossless Codec or AAC@320.

Vinyl is done (in painfully real-time) using Audio HiJack Pro,

https://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/

AHP will save the file any Quicktime compatible (including Apple Lossless and 24-bit AIFF). It also saves with tags, uses AU and VST effects, and will automatically start a new file when silence is encountered. Audio Hijack is Mac only.

If you have a Mac, check out MegaSeg for DJ/Radio station playback.

[Will Salley]

I saw something like this on the Lectro site.

https://www.lectrosonics.com/manuals/mca5xtd.pdf

I have a cable that makes this connection, however, I think the bias voltage of the B6 is incorrect for standard 48v phantom. I haven’t used it on the B6 – I don’t want to damage the mic.
I think it depends on the model of Lectro transmitter for which the mic is wired. Here’s the info from Countryman’s site for the UM400.

Lectrosonics UM400

Switchcraft TA5F

Pin 1 = Shield
1.5k ohm Pin 2 to 3
3.3k pin 3 to white

[Will Salley]

Pro Tools or Soundtrack.

[Will Salley]

A shotgun is not the best choice for stereo SFX recording, even a fairly high-end model such as the Senn 418S will not be as accurate as a dedicated stereo condenser (one with a larger element). Stereo shotguns usually have two modes: Super-cardiod OR stereo, but not both, so some compromise is expected with both modes. Unless you don’t own a shotgun and are often limited to only one mic in your bag, a better choice would be to get a dedicated stereo condenser that can do M/S and a single mono shotgun.

Some good models are:

Shure VP-88 (affordable and portable)
Neumann 191 (it’s still a shotgun but with big diaphragm-big bucks too!)
Beyerdynamic 742 (I have this one, but it’s hard to find in the USA)

but…two good large-diaphragm, caridoid condensers would would well with X/Y setups. They just aren’t as portable.

[Will Salley]

Also see this site for public performance permission – https://www.bmi.com/

[Will Salley]

It’s a “Public Performance” issue. Many of you are confusing the protection of copyrighted compositions and recordings with public performance rights of protected recordings.

Protected recordings and the rights afforded to those who purchase those recording allows for reproduction for private use by the individual (copying to ipod, etc.). As the current laws read, ANY public performance (of recordings), without permission, is not allowed. That would include schools, non-profits, and even private events such as weddings. In the real world, however, it is generally acceptable practice to allow for public performance of protected recordings by schools and churches for a single event, as long as there is no profit associated with the event (i.e., no admission charges and no donations)

See this site for some more information. https://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp

[Will Salley]

Most rechargeable batteries won’t provide an adequate voltage for use in transmitters and other devices. Some will provide a satisfactory initial voltage and then rapidly lose it, requiring frequent changes.

Also, and most important to pro audio, is the “curve” of the voltage falloff. Alkaline and Lithium batts provide a fairly constant voltage over a period of time and then slowly lose voltage until the device indicates the low-voltage or shuts down.
Rechargeable batts have a different curve, they will provide a high initial voltage and almost immediately, but gradually, begin to lose it. The “gotcha” is that they will lose the ability to operate a device almost as soon as the device indicates a low voltage. That’s why most soundmen don’t use them for critical applications. I think they would be fine for walkie-talkies or flashlights.

Rechargeable battery technology may have improved in the last few years, however. If anyone knows of any news on this -please post.

[Will Salley]

Try this. It’s about the best thing for your situation, but at winds of 60 mph, I’m not sure it will be totally clean.

https://www.locationsound.com/proaudio/ls/SRYC0170.html

Also experiment with mic placement. Try the riders helmet, adjacent to the forehead.
As far as wireless systems go, Lectrosonics Digital Hybrid is my recommendation (, but of course, expensive. The Sony UWP series is a good lower-cost system.

Let us know what you come up with and how it worked.

[Will Salley]

With the money you spend on the digital recorders and mics, you could get some fairly decent wireless systems in which to send back to a mixer and maybe even include a multitrack recorder. I’ve used ADATs for that purpose, although you won’t have synced TC, you will only have one manual sync per take.

If you’ve got some budget, you might want to go ahead and rent two Sound Device 744T recorders and two 442 mixers along with eight Lectro 400/411 wireless units. Some additional hard drive space would be helpful as well if you want to use redundant media. This would give you all eight sources synced to each other and a camera (if it has TC i/o). Of course, with all this gear, you would need an experienced location sound recordist. The additional cost upfront would be re-couped with the time-savings in post – trust me.

As for sync tricks: Use a small still camera flash unit to provide a single-frame sync point. Aim it at the subject and all cameras should have a single blown-out frame with which to sync to the others. If you have some electronics knowledge, you can even make an audio pulse to use on a mixer input that triggers at the same time as the camera flash.

[Will Salley]

The PD-150 will not shoot progressive-scan video at 60i. It only shoots it at half 29.97 (somewhere around 15). So if your shutter speed was at 100 (which should normally be at 60) and your actual video frame rate was around 15 frames (doubled to playback at 29.97), you are losing a few stops of sensitivity. Was auto-gain on? If so, it would have compensated by adding gain and making it grainy in the process.

The DVCAM mode setting has nothing to do with it, however.