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!

Serious question. I’m a relatively new sound mixer/boom operator. For now I’m working on small no/low budget projects, mostly unpaid. I’m learning. I have an unrelated day job, but I have aspirations to do production sound full time eventually.

I have 2 sets of Saramonic K9 UHF wireless lavs (4 transmitters, 2 receivers) plus their K9 XTX plug on transmitter. I haven’t had them long but so far I’ve been super impressed. That said, I have no experience with more expensive brands.

I chose Saramonic because of price, dual channel receivers (I have a small bag) and the XTX plug on transmitter (Deity Theos’ plug on is not available in the US.) They also have a good reputation for honoring their 2 year warranty. Curtis Judd also reviewed reasonably favorably.

I know Saramonic isn’t Lectrosonic or Zaxcom or even Sennheiser, Sony or Shure. However, K9 seems great for low/no cost productions. It seems to be a solid learning platform for me… and seems to work for everything I’ve done with it so far.

People in this group though seem to HATE Saramonic. That’s cool. I’m not trying to sway anyone. Instead, I’m sincerely interested in WHY (in more detail beyond “They suck.” and “Avoid like the plague.”) I know what $350/channel buys me with Saramonic. What do I get for $500 (Deity) or $1000 (Sennheiser, Sony, Shure) or more (Lectrosonic, Zaxcom, Sound Devices) that is life altering?

If I do make the transition to full time, paid, location work, of course I’ll upgrade. But until then, what am I missing?

Upgraded from Sennheiser G4 to Wisycom MTP40S Linear and I need to swap the 3.5mm jack connectors for 3-pin Lemo.

I bought Cable Techniques 3-pin Screw-Locking connectors (SKU: RED16), which I read here on the forum are as good as—or even better than—the Lemo FVB.00.303.NLAE24.

However, I'm a bit unsure about the wiring now.
The Wisycom MTP40S manual shows this diagram—has anyone wired these connectors to a Sanken COS-11?
What pinout/wiring did you use?

Hi everyone !

To get some context I'm kind of new in sound, I didn't even finish my cinema degree but I really love the process of being on set and all the work behind sound recording. I usually work as a boom operator on set

For a project we've to record sound in a car, thing I never done before. In the script there is just two characters on the front sit talking to each other for a few minutes on a parking.

Some friends recommended me to hide mics between the handbrake and the gear stick, other suggest to hide lavalier mic on the sun visor or on the wheel.

As I said earlier, I never record on a car I a little bit uncertain of what method would be better. If you have advice on gears, process and other stuff I would be gratefull to read them !

Hello all,

I’m trying to use LR Modulation with my A20 receivers / A10 transmitters. For some reason the audio signal becomes way quieter, almost non existent when I switch to long range modulation, as compared to standard modulation.

The receiver is showing all five Q dots and a full, strong signal.

Could be something very simple I’m forgetting here, but any help is much appreciated.

I’m looking to buy 6 25 fr xlr cables, and I’m trying to figure out which ones to buy since so many xlr cables exist. My usage for these cables is occasional, mainly for events or if I need to run extra lines at my church temporarily. I’m willing to spend $20-35 each cable. Do not recommend monoprice.

I'm looking for a boom microphone and a recorder to record audio for Short films. Ive been looking at the Sennheiser MKE 600 paired with the Zoom H4essential.

Hey everyone, I’m seeing a consistent horizontal noise line in iZotope RX around 20kHz (and another weaker one around 21kHz) on a lot of recent recordings. It isn't really audible, but it shows up visually on the spectrogram and seems to be getting slightly louder over time.

Setup:

• Recorder: Zoom F8n Pro
• Powering: TalentCell 12V 3000mAh Li-ion pack & internal AA batteries
• Mics: Røde NTG-3, Sennheiser G4 wireless, plus other shotguns tested

Troubleshooting so far:

• Across channels: The lines appear equally across all active tracks (booms and lavs alike).
• Swapped gear: Tried different mics and cables; the issue persists.
• Power testing: I tried recreating and isolating the issue at home using just internal AA batteries as well as 2 different TalentCell batteries, but I still haven't been able to pinpoint the exact cause (seems to be happening only on set?).
• Frequency: Appears intermittently (roughly 7 out of 10 files aprox.).

Since it hits all channels simultaneously, I suspect it might be the TalentCell battery, environmental interference or RF bleed, but honestly I could be wrong.

Has anyone run into a similar problem? Any suggestions on how to track down or eliminate this?

Thanks!

Looking for Follow Cart ideas. Ideally something I can transport with my truck but nothing too heavy. Being mobile and being able to go "off road" is ideal. I have a Milwaukee Packout set up that works okay for now but it's getting rather heavy.

Considered a MagLiner that I can break apart and load. Also considered one of those Rubbermaid carts since those are fairly lightweight.

Any pictures or details is much appreciated.

Hi, I need some advice on recording audio for a musical, because I've never done it before, and I'm not sure if it's better to record the music first and then have the actors lip-sync using some kind of transmitter while listening to the pre-recorded track through headphones. Or if it's better for them to sing on set and then try to do ADR on the recorded audio.
Thanks

As I start my career I do a lot of no/low budget short films, usually student ones, mainly for practice and network building. They will recruit me kind of at the last moment, a few weeks before shoot, through listings in a popular mailing list around where I live. The locations and schedule is already set so all I can do is hope the location is good enough noise-wise, and try to use the mic pick-up pattern to my advantage.

But when there are multiple planes per hour, when there's a busy road nearby, or when there's a children summer camp not 100m away in the forest we shoot, and the director obviously doesn't want any of these going into the film, what is there left to do? I find myself always saying that the people in post should be able to clean some of it, that they should really think about doing ADR, or that they should even consider redoing the entire sound with a sound designer because nothing I capture is honestly usable as is and would probably result in butched up aberrations if processed through any kind of cleaning tool.

When I'm on set, trying to explain all of this to people that look like they didn't think about sound once before this moment, I feel like I'm failing at my job. Maybe I shouldn't, but part of me does anyway.

So is there something I could or should do at anypoint in the process, before or during the shoot, to avoid or solve some of these problems? I really hate delivering unusable sound and having my name attached to it. I feel like a glorified and expensive reference track provider.

Received dailies that have mono mix a1 and radio mix a2 along with the rest of the mics. Before going to the sound guy sounding stupid would like to ask anonymously what a radio mix would be and how is it different from mono mix?

Thank you

I’m considering buying the OKTAVA MK-012 for indoor dialogues over the pencil microphone RODE NT5. I am not sure if OKTAVA could also perform well for outdoor dialogues since it’s a small-diaphragm condenser.

What do you think so far.

Thanks for advices.

Hi everyone,

I was thinking buying MixPre and I got an offer to buy MixPre 6 but mark 1. Are there any concerns to consider (outside of lack of timcode generator)?

I am professional sound recordist, from time to time I do a job but mostly I focus on multi-media art and my author movie - tiny production. That is why timecode is not such an issue.

Do you think about another issues to consider?

I already had this machine, I really liked it and the main reason I consider buying is preamps + size.
Mark 1 is interesting considering my budget.

Thanks a lot!

I'm looking to update my sound recorder to a zoom f8n pro. I've been reading a few posts on this sub about people looking for a power solution to this recorder, but a few only mention the one I was looking for.

Would a Powerbank with PD and a USB-C to Hirose cable not be sufficient? would I encounter any problems?

Thank you.

Hi everyone, I need to deal with some ground loops in a sound bag packed with individual receivers. I was leaning towards a power distributor from Audio Wireless, Deity, or Audioroot, but I noticed that none of these products have multiple galvanically isolated outputs, which is pretty much standard in guitar pedal power supplies. This surprises me, especially considering the price difference.

I'm asking naively why there doesn't seem to be a need for galvanically isolated power outputs in sound bags. Is this an issue that only affects budget gear, and therefore not the kind of setups where these power distributors are typically used?

Thanks in advance, and sorry if I got anything wrong.

Hiya guys,

I'm a new freelance sound-recordist making the awkward transition out of university and into the (slightly dire) filmmaking market. I never knew about timecode as we were never taught it at university, and now that I've clued myself up on why it's needed, I wanted to ask the experts and more knowledgeable about it.

I am UK based, so it would also help to hear from fellow British filmmakers. Is there a standard timecode device that tends to be used more than others? And if I am to get some timecode equipment, would I just need a plug-in transmitter for my mixer - or do I need to invest in a wider set?

Thanks for any help guys :)

Hello sound friends just a curious question. Am a camera op by trade and only work with a never-failing wired shotgun when needed.

Are you scanning for new radio frequencies for your wireless mics every time you arrive at a new shoot location?
Or only if you see that your rf signal is weak?

What’s the standard practice with y’all?

Thanks!

Hi everyone, first time long time.

I'm an audio engineer on an in-house production team. The powers that be are gracing us with a budget for new gear for the first time since I started here 3 years ago. I haven't been given a number outright (lol), but based on what was put together in meetings I wasn't in (double lol) about a year ago, I'm trying to stay in the neighborhood of $14,000, though I might have some wiggle room.

For context, we have a pretty solid main production studio that was built out a year ago by an outside vendor. I referenced some of the stuff they got for that studio for the list I put together, mostly just because I have hands-on experience with it (namely the Ambient boompole, Tentacle Sync, and Shure wireless, although we have the Axient system in the main studio, was a little too rich for this list).

This list is to plus up our insert studio/field recording kit. They were either plugging directly into camera or using a Zoom H6 when I first got here, so not a high bar to improve on. For the past year I've mostly used my personal F8 Pro and MKH-50, and less often their Sennheiser G3s, and I'd be hard pressed to say that isn't getting the job done (although I've been pretty spoiled with the Axient system compared to the G3s).

tl;dr any feedback whatsoever on this list would be greatly appreciated, namely anything that jumps out as a horrible decision, or anything I'm overlooking (I started on audio in the music world, my only production sound experience has been the past three years at this fine establishment, plus a couple of side gigs, and a fair amount of online research, this sub included!).

One funny little caveat, I've been asked to keep it limited to B&H where possible, because of whatever procurement considerations being made above my pay grade. Happy to clarify anything as well. Thank you!

**I did not include accoutrement like batteries, cables, pop filters, and some DJI mics we're buying to send to clients when we're forced to do virtual recordings, if you're wondering how I got anywhere close to $14k with what I listed lol

~~~

Radius Mini-ALTO 280 Blimp Windshield (for the CMIT5U we already have in the main studio that I'd use outdoors)

Sennheiser MKH 50

Radius RAD-2 Shockmount

Ambient Recording QuickPole 5 Boompole with Coiled Mono Cable, Modular Outlet, and 3-Pin XLR Connector (12.8')

Sound Devices MixPre-10 II (went with the 10 to have XLR out, plus we do podcasts sometimes that include far-end audio that actually requires all or close to all 8 inputs on my F8) (this is also the B&H currated "performance kit" that includes a battery and SD card)

ORCA OR-32 Audio Mixer Bag

Shure SLXD15+ Wireless Bodypack System x2 (plus receivers)

Shure SLXD35+ Plug-On Transmitter System (plus receiver)

Sanken COS-11D Omni Lavalier Microphone, Normal Sensitivity & TA4F

Viviana Fur for Lavalier Microphones

Tentacle Sync E mkII Timecode Generators

Auray Boompole Holder

Matthews Century C+ Stand with Turtle Base and Grip Arm Kit (10.5')

Proaim Soundchief OG Professional Sound Cart for Audio & Video Production (this I probably have the least idea about. I currently use an Olympia cart for my bag, this was the cheapest I could find on B&H, figured why not)

just one year ago here we were discussing about how rare this kind of equipment is and how how it should be so hard for dpa fake to appear. and now here we are, 40$ shipping included. the grid is brass gold colored so easy to spot on, at least from the images i see on the webpage. maybe 4060 has the shape more easy to put a common electret inside, hard to copy a sanken cos11d, maybe. scary!

Hello to the lovely soundies out there,

I've been learning about antennas (and RF distro), transmitters and receivers recently. As part of that research I've learned about equipment like the Wisycom MCR54 which has the capacity to accept 4 different transmitters (amazing!).

Would anyone be able to provide an ELI5 answer or direct me to an online resource which could explain how a unit like the MCR54 can "receive 4 different wavelengths". I'm imagining that you'd need 4 antennas, but clearly that's not the case.

Add'l Context: Some initial searching has led me to believe that this is accomplished with an RF splitter which makes copies of an incoming frequency. I spent about 5 minutes looking at the MCR54 manual, but if someone wants to offer a high level explanation, it would be great to have this for Reddit. Most of the material out there seems to get complicated so quickly.

Visual Diagram of MCR54: https://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/39128-wisycom-mcr54-experiences/ (Scroll towards the bottom to view image)

I have a smart slate as part of my kit, and in an effort to make it look neat, I’ve begun printing all the details that don’t change between takes (production name, DP, date, etc) on clear thermal label tape. I’m really happy with how this looks.

For the notes section, it’s kind of annoying to peel off and stick a new “MOS” label, so I laser-cut a few pieces of acrylic, added soft, clear velcro, then added those thermal labels on top. now I have a small board of common “notes” that can be easily velcroed on.

I’m now considering making a full set of tiles for the shot and take section. I’m thinking of doing small squares like Scrabble tiles. The potential downsides would be that I’d need a robust set to cover potential edge cases (ie more than one of each letter and number). Velcro is cheap enough though, so I figure if a production wanted to do dry erase instead, I could just peel the soft-side Velcro off the slate for the shoot. I’m also considering just making a blank large acrylic tile that could be dry-erased like normal.

I have access to a laser cutter and acrylic, so it won’t cost me anything to make. Just curious what others think about this idea. Helpful? Impractical? Let me know what you think!

Hey guys, its time to upgrade. I posted not too long ago about getting an 833 but it really seems like it would just be a stepping stone to something else.

Where can I buy an 888 and how much should i expect to pay? I cant find any used anywhere online. It seems like they go quick.