Before asking what kind of kit to build, which microphones or wireless to choose, or how to best stay within your budget etc., please try using the Search Bar at the top of this sub first!

I recently upgraded my boom pole to a Ktek Essentials Composite internally cabled pole (KC134CC). I'm now noticing a static'y or scratchy sound when I rotate the pole in my hand, I don't think it was there when I first started using it. I've used it maybe half a dozen times on location. I've tried different XLR cables and get the same thing. If you watch the video you can hear what I'm talking about. Is this normal? I'm not talking about when I'm extending and shortening the pole, I can hear the internal cable bumping against the pole which is what I expect.

Hey guys, I have a reality show coming up in January and I'm interested in saving my back a bit. I want to get rid of some 411s and replace them with a DSR4 from Lectrosonics. However, I heard that when they were first released, they had some reception issues. I might be mistaken but I remember a lot of people mentioning how they would have to send them back to the shop and get them fixed. Was this just all hearsay? Im interested in buying one and id like to make sure its in proper functioning form. What are some things I should look for?

Hey folks, who does everybody use to insure their gear? I'm particularly interested in hearing from freelance production sound mixers. Any tips, pointers, recommendations appreciated.

This production I'm working on now has two small camera units (its a run n gun docuseries that's moving fast), each with one sound recordist, which i am one. We are both using Deity tc system, a tc1 on the recorder (we both have f8n pro) and the camera. We use Deity theos which is also tc syncd and we are delivering the tx backup files along with the f8n files. We are hearing from the AE that there have been tc issues, that the devices have been a frame or two off at times. At least one incident where things were a frame off right at start of day. We use the sidus audio app to sync and monitor, i know I'm regularly checking this through the day.

The AE is tc syncing everything in Avid, then she says she is hearing unaligned audio and nudging things a frame or so over to line up perfectly. She said there have even been times where the f8n is a frame off from the camera, which is hard to believe given the tc1 is hard wired to both and syncd solidly.

Is this standard practice? Could this just be a phase thing she's hearing due to latency of the wireless system? Is this necessary at the editing stage? I would think once everything is handed off to post audio they would just decide which track to use and if they want to mix tracks together they would auto align post or similar.

I'm trying to determine if there's actually something wrong or if this is a waste of time to try to figure out.

Hey guys, I have a question. So far, I’ve only had experience with Rode microphones and I’d like to upgrade to something more professional, an all-rounder for both indoor and outdoor shoots, from interviews to narrative film. My only requirement is that it’s compact and small. Originally, I wanted to get the Sanken CS-M1, but I’d like to go a bit easier on my budget. Of course, there's also the Sennheiser MKE 600, but obviously, that’s neither small nor a real upgrade over the Rode NTG4 I’ve been using up until now.

While looking around, I came across the Rycote HC-15, which looks pretty good. It’s not the most well-known mic, and Rycote as a company doesn't seem to be very popular at the moment. However, I can't really afford to worry about that right now. Where I'm from, it currently goes for around €450 to €480, which is way cheaper than the Sanken CS-M1, which costs almost twice as much.

So, my question is: Do any of you have experience with this mic, or do you know of a better compact alternative?

I've been looking for a while for a back up recorder. I was looking more or less for an unpretentious 4 track recorder, maybe even used (and I sold my H6 long time ago and it was working flawlessly, never sell anything), and bonus points it should be as cheap as they come.

I've seen tascam DR70 apparently is no more. But fwiw also F8 in my usual online stores is no more. Zoom's H6 and similar are now costing a tint bit more than expected,

I was caught by the deity PR4, which is a bit more pricey than lower tier 4 trackl recorders, but as usual with deity is actually stacked with features, and it seems in here there are no reviews. It would be a pretty good very tiny setup for the occasions, and a backup in more demanding situations. I'd even be getting in it digital, which imo in the end is actually almost not noteworthy, but it tickles my nerd side of thing very well.

So I ask the sub, is anybody using it? How are you guys finding it?

At least with the Sennheiser connector, for months I haven't seen anybody with it in stock. I ordered from Trew but they keep telling me they don't know when they'll get a new shipment.

mods, if i'm breaking any rules please delete.

i have the Lectro L series kit that i bought years ago and only used a handful of times bc i got an in house DP job right after. since they have been sitting in the closet i'm looking to sell them.

I dont know much about sound and was wondering if someone can help me price them? I cant seem to find any reliable postings that sold recently.

here are some pictures - https://imgur.com/a/nBlkTDm

thank you!

I have a bunch of old but still working L mounts, that i really don't use anymore. My F8n Pro is my backup bag and sometimes I just do sound effects recording on it, and instead of having to pull one of my remote audio batts, i was just thinking about getting what i thought would be a super common and cheap thing, an L mount to Hirose adapter to power the zoom bag and just leave those batteries in my little bag there. I feel like I searched all over the place, does this not exist easily, or am I searching the wrong thing? They have dummy L mounts, but that's not what I need. Smallrig has one, but it's not Hirose, and i think the zoom is kinda specific about what connector to use for the DC input.

I have been working as an a2 and sound mixer for a bit now. I keep running into the same issue - clothes noise. When I started I did a lot of exposed lav stuff, now I’m mixing on my own and realizing my hidden mic talents have fallen short. I usually do an rm-11 with ursa sticky dot and if there’s noise I’ll use fur to act as a buffer between shirt and the RM-11. Sometimes that doesn’t work and I can still hear a rustling. To avoid having to adjust mics every time, I figured id see what other sound mixers are doing to experiment with my own miking.

What are everyone’s favorite ways mic talent? (down the back, up the shirt, what materials you use over others, mic cable management, etc)

I've been working with film for nearly a decade now, and I've gone through tons of lav mics, wind muffs and clip ons. I break multiple every year, and every time I order a new product or new clips I run into compatability issues. Either the deadcat is too big for the mic, or the clips don't fit the mic capsule. And they are extremely expensive for some fur.

Have you found out a system that is easy to retrofit to your lav of choice?

How do y'all store your gear and transport it to set? Especially y'all that primarily work on Indy, commercial, or smaller sets that don't require a cart.

Finally someone said what I've never really understood as a production and post production sound mixer. I often see and hear from only production mixers still annoying the crew with recording room tone when in reality nobody uses it. There could be a very very few limited cases where it could be useful but 99.9% of the time its completely useseless.
(I didn't censor the names in the FB post as it is a public post in a public group, hope it can stay)

I’m a little all over right now with wireless transmitters, Lectro TA5, Senn 1/8” and Shure TA4. And I have some lemo lavs right now as well. Has anyone used YPA adapters? Is it better to get something like these or make my own with a short length of cable? https://ebay.io/m/pYEokX

Is microdot the answer for any new lav microphones I purchase going forward? Should I get them in lemo and use YPA adapters?

I would like to get a few lav to XLR phantom power adapters to use as wired occasionally. Is there anything specific I need to look for here or is it just a matter of matching the connector?

Also, along the same lines if I get a XLR wired COS-11 can I cut the cable close to the XLR side and reterminate with TA5 or another connector to both sides of the cable?

Thanks!

Hey everyone!

I'm fairly new to RF coordination and wireless lav setups, and I've been having some frustrating issues on video shoots. I'm trying to figure out whether I'm making beginner mistakes or if the equipment itself might be part of the problem.

Here's the setup:

• 5 Sennheiser EM3732 Dual channel receiver Racks (470–638 MHz)

• 10 Sennheiser SK5212 bodypack transmitters

• Antenna distribution system with two antennas

• Usually 6–10 wireless lavs running simultaneously

• Antennas mounted high up, separated by at least 2 meters (circled in red in the attached pictures)

• Transmitters generally within 3–20 meters of the antennas

How I've been coordinating frequencies:

I used the built-in frequency scan on the Sennheiser receivers to find available frequencies, then entered those into Shure Wireless Workbench (WWB), with the correct Sennheiser equipment profiles selected, to check compatibility and intermodulation.

Whenever WWB flagged incompatible frequencies, I'd change them until everything appeared compatible.

I wasn't connecting the receivers directly to WWB, so this was all done manually. I know Sennheiser has its own software, but honestly, I found it pretty overwhelming as a beginner.

Here are the frequencies used on this shoot :

546.150 MHz

549.350 MHz

542.075 MHz

547.275 MHz

551.125 MHz

556.825 MHz

The problem:

Despite all this, I kept experiencing random RF dropouts, sometimes causing the receivers to mute completely.

A few things I noticed:

• Some RF signals seemed stable, while others would constantly fluctuate up and down for no obvious reason.

• Dropouts happened even when transmitters were relatively close to the antennas.

• Lowering the squelch didn't really solve anything.

• I experienced similar issues with both a 6-transmitter and a 9-transmitter setup.

• The dropouts felt unpredictable, which made monitoring everything during a shoot pretty stressful.

For context, these are video shoots with multiple people wearing lavaliers, sometimes moving around. The equipment was lent to us, so I didn't really have a choice regarding the setup.

My questions:

1. Does anything in my workflow sound fundamentally wrong? Am I missing an important step in RF coordination?

2. Could the antenna distribution system, antenna placement, cables, or something else be causing these issues?

3. Is it possible that I did most things correctly but the older equipment is simply starting to show its age? The whole setup feels pretty bulky and outdated, although I know that doesn't necessarily mean it's unreliable.

4. How would you troubleshoot this systematically before the next shoot?

5. What modern wireless systems would you recommend for shoots with 6–9 lavaliers? Ideally, I'd love something that can scan the RF environment, automatically coordinate frequencies, and make the whole process more straightforward.

I've heard good things about Wisycom systems. Are they significantly more reliable or easier to manage in situations like this? Are there other systems worth considering?

I'm not expecting a magic plug-and-play solution, but I'd love to have a setup where frequency coordination is less of a headache and I can focus more on the actual recording.

Any advice, even if it's pointing out obvious rookie mistakes, would be hugely appreciated. I'm here to learn!

Thanks!

As a new sound mixer in the film industry Im looking to investing more into wires and I want your guy's opinions and experience. Although is undisputed that "higher end" mics like DPAs like 6060 or 4061 are exceptional and sound fenomenal, the budget is a limit.

Thats why Im asking if anyone has used/owned the "lower end" the DPA 2061 and how it compares to the "industry standard Sanken COS-11D or a to the higher end 6060/4061?

Some user questions I might have are:

How is the durability? do you see it lasting long with normal wear?

how is the sound comparison betwen cos11d or 6060/4061?

What application does it shine best and which one is the worst application?

Looking forward from hearing from you!

I previously posted my DIY Cart hack using stacking tool boxes and received phenomenally useful feedback. Thank you!

I've worked smaller shows and, with your help, I'm confident this is within my wheelhouse. So I'm asking for your ideas, this time about what you're bringing to the job under a specific scenario. Feedback doesn't have to be just gear. I'm interested in crew and workflow ideas as well.

10 consecutive shoot days, all interior, good acoustics.

Regular cast of 12 people. All not cast in every scene but all have to be scene ready and pre-assigned to a specific track. Shoot schedule and wardrobe guidance not available for planning purposes.

Two wireless boom ops with their own comms line (can be one line for both). Both booms required for about 1/2 of the scenes.

Likely need a few plant mics.

A very strong possibility that capture will need to happen in two adjacent rooms at the same time for about 1/2 the scenes.

Cameras are all on timecode. No hops needed.

Director/script sup and likely a few others need to monitor dialog only during takes (unmute on record requirement)

Set comms is standard walkies

what is in your opinion the a long boom pole that you have. My budget is 600+ max 900$ for a boom pole. Im not looking for budget options because I want to have it a long time and dont want to make sacrifices in quality ?

I would appreciate any answers.

I’m shooting a short film soon and looking for a good microphone under £500. I’ve seen the NTG3 recommended a lot but I will be shooting a lot of outdoor dialogue, is the NTG3 the way to go for this?

The title pretty much says it all.

The cl 12 and the cl 16 are super nice but I think I can only afford the aftermarket options right now.

What are we using?

Does it fit on a smaller sound cart shelf?

I recently got an MKH 50 and have already used it on two shoots.

The first one was in a studio, so conditions were pretty much ideal. The second was in a very noisy room with quite a bit of reverb. I think the microphone performed pretty well, considering the circumstances.

However, one thing I've noticed is how flat it sounds, which I guess is a... good thing? It's just not what I expected after hearing so many reviews describing it as a dark or boomy microphone. I've also come across quite a few comments from people saying that the MKH 50 lacks high-end, which I find particularly surprising because, in my experience, I've found it to be quite the opposite. If anything, I feel like it has a pretty present and clear high-end. I honestly haven't experienced that dark or boomy character at all, at least in the situations I've used it in. I'm also wondering how much of this depends on the speaker's voice.

Another thing I've noticed is that it seems to lose some of that almost magical sound once you get beyond a certain distance. This was a little disappointing after watching Michael Wynne's video, particularly this part: https://youtu.be/kpQ_mBfRB2o?t=495

I haven't been able to get anywhere near that kind of reach out of the microphone, although I'm not sure if that's simply due to the environments I've been working in.

Overall, after doing some tests and comparing it to my NTG3, I've actually found the NTG3 to sound fuller, and darker than the MKH 50. (I know the ntg3 is very boomy/dark, but I thought the 50 was gonna be similar)

I also recorded myself speaking into both microphones for a direct comparison. I'd really appreciate it if some of you could listen the comparison and let me know whether my MKH 50 sounds as it should, or if there's something off about it.

If you're willing to help me out with the recordings, I'd appreciate it if you could send me a DM, as I understand that posting some links isn't allowed here.

Thanks!

It started with an idea... then went off the rails from there. Combine some aspects of a utility cart with a sound cart. In theory it works.. and it kinda does.

But it's super heavy, top heavy, did I mention... heavy?

It's just for one show and once it's set up, I should have to move it... right?

I donno, maybe it DOES need to be two carts. And Yes, the drawer is holding up the controller.. don't hate me.

What do you all think?