Audio solutions for one-man shooter?

Alright guys, I gotta admit - I was pretty surprised to find out that many of you that frequent this sub-forum are actually audio guys, which is a good thing for me cause I have some questions that maybe ya'll can help me out?

What I'm looking for are solutions to record, by myself (or, if needed, an untrained boom operator friend), audio outdoors, audio indoors, and interviews.

So I just sold my Zoom H1 and Redhead windscreen because the hotshoe threads were plastic and coming apart and I really needed to sell it before that part completely gets scraped away. The pre-amps sucked. I still own my Rode Video Mic Pro, connected directly to my DSLR.

I've been researching a little bit and rented stuff, and I found that the Rode NTG-2 was a good starting XLR shotgun mic for the money. Decent bass, phantom power or AA battery option, rode quality. Tried talking close to it with low gain, and I realised it could be a very good VO mic on the fly. However I realised that this mic isn't exactly very sensitive, so I had to up the gain on my camcorder (rented) a lot, so there was a lot of noise. There will be times where I'll mount the shotgun to my cage setup, so I'll definitely need a hotshoe shock mount to go with this.

I've been hearing very good things about the Roland R-26 audio recorder. Does anyone know the benefits of buying that over say a Zoom H4N? I'm worried that since the H4N isn't exactly new, it'll be replaced pretty soon. I'm thinking that if the pre-amps in this guy aren't too bad, I can have a single-unit solution, instead of say a H4n + sound devices MM-1. Often times I'm a one-man band like I said earlier, so... thoughts?

Then what about interviews? I think I'd want to buy a wired lav that has XLR connections. Whenever I need a wireless system, I can always rent it because I don't use lavs that often to justify the price of a wireless system. Anyone have recommendations?

So... to the budget! If at all possible, I'd like to keep my cost under $1000.

Shotgun Microphone - $300 max

• Rode NTG-2 + Hotshoe Shockmount + XLR to XLR @ $300 (Link
  
• Any other recommendations?
  

• Zoom H4n + Sound Devices MM-1 @ almost $600 (or)
  
• Tascam DR-100mk2 + Sound Device MM-1 @ almost $600(or)
  
• Roland R-26 @ $500
  

Why do you want an MM1 with an H4N or DR 100 MkII - they both have phantom power XLR sockets, preamps and monitoring facilities?

I bet the recipient was dead chuffed that you sold him a knackered Zoom H1. What's your eBay name so that I ensure I don't inadvertently buy anything off you.

John Sims wrote in post #13907437
Why do you want an MM1 with an H4N or DR 100 MkII - they both have phantom power XLR sockets, preamps and monitoring facilities?

I bet the recipient was dead chuffed that you sold him a knackered Zoom H1. What's your eBay name so that I ensure I don't inadvertently buy anything off you.

He was well aware of it and knew exactly what he was getting. I only sell locally and I sold that for cheap. I don't see why you need to assume that I'm out to sell broken or abused items. It's well documented that the H1 units have this problem of the plastic hotshoes. Your response isn't exactly very nice, huh?

The pre-amps on the H4n aren't exactly ideal alone for an NTG-2 which might be some distance away from my subject. Tried and tested it before and what some other people have said about the noisiness due to the higher input levels are true. I know many people drive their mics with MM-1's and locally there's a rental house that recently got one of them, so I might try that setup out. Just wanted to know what other people in the business think about them compared to a single R-26.

I might have been pulling your leg, but you were the one telling us you sold the thing because it was about to fall to pieces. I assumed there was some significance in the comment.

John was just being blunt, again...

As for the shotgun, well I have no experience with the NGT-2. I understand that it's a fine low end shotgun mic. Actually better than fine, but I haven't heard it in person. Reports are that it would make a great backup mic in my kind of sound bag. But then again, I tend to be picky about such things. Just make sure you budget enough for good wind protection for the new mic.

Recorders, I own the DR-100 and love it. In head to head tests that I did using my DR-100 vs my Sound Devices 552 internal recorder the DR-100 faired pretty well. It had only slightly more noise floor than the SD 552's internal 2 channel recorder. The 552 is incredibly quiet, just like all SD recorders. So they tend to be my high water mark. Again, I'm real picky about that kind of stuff. And with a few small adjustments I got the DR-100 to be even quieter yet. I also like the battery situation with the DR-100. It totally blows the H4n out of the water there and if you get the extra AC power supply (not included) you can have the recorder plugged in while you are recording and it doesn't create a buzz. That's a huge deal because most other small recorders can't do that.
And like John said, the DR-100 has a 48V phantom supply. The only issue I have with it is that when you select 48V phantom it is fed to both XLR inputs. It would be nice if they made it with separate selector switches so that if you wanted to power a boom mic on channel two and use a wireless lav on channel one. Not that the 48v feed would mess with the wireless. You can still do that. Most modern wireless equipment ignores any external incoming voltage anyway, but from a power saving perspective separate switches for each XLR would be great.

Save the money spent on the MM-1 and instead, buy a nice Sennheiser G2 or G3 wireless system. You'll love not having to be wired to your talent or subject. And so will they. I use a G2 500 series system all the time in my sound bag and I really do like it. They are fairly rock solid units. And their small size doesn't hurt either. The 500 series comes with a "plug on" transmitter as well as a belt pack transmitter so that you can use a stick mic or even a boom mic wirelessly. The plug on Tx can supply 48v phantom. Well worth the slight extra expense.

You're on the right track. You just need to sit and really think about what it is that you want to do with this gear and then think about what you'd like to be able to do beyond your first thoughts. Future proofing is a great thing, as long as you can afford it. It sounds like you have a decent budget to work with.

Headshotzx wrote in post #13906691
Shotgun Microphone - $300 max
· Rode NTG-2 + Hotshoe Shockmount + XLR to XLR @ $300 (Link
· Any other recommendations?

I have been using a Azden SGM1X $160 for a couple of years now with good results, the unit is internally powered with a AAA battery that provides about 500 hours of operating time, the unit has great sound and a switch able low pass filter, the kit includes in addition to the microphone a hot shoe shock mount which can be easily to attach to a boom pole. Add a K-Tec windscreen at $50 and you will be good to go.

Might I ask why are you combining a recorder with a pre-amp?

That stated I personally would avoid anything made by Zoom, we tried some of their wireless crap and it turned out to be total garbage, while it worked, it was poorly built and did not hold up under mild non-ENG field use. I had a transmitter less than a year old fail twice while in service, the first time it was indoors before we began rolling, we caught it and hard wired the board to the camcorder, the second time was just after the vows where completed at a wedding we where working on the beach in Fort Lauderdale, there will be no third time as that transmitter is now in the Atlantic Ocean, I lost it after that failure and chucked the unit about 75 feet from the beach into the sea.

Anyhow both the Tascam DR-100 $270 and the Tascam DR-40 $!80 have monitor outputs allowing the unit to be used as both a recorder and a pre-amp to feed your camera.

I am personally partial to the Shure SM-93 $135, it is a very small inconspicuous microphone with great sound and is very, very rugged, the units are very popular in television broadcasting as such they grow legs and can be found used, in good condition for a little as $50 on e-Bay.

Wayne

ChasWG wrote in post #13908187
Save the money spent on the MM-1 and instead, buy a nice Sennheiser G2 or G3 wireless system.

After dumping the Zoom/Samsom wireless (1 in the ocean and the rest on e-bay) we looked into the Sennheiser but after doing a bit of research decided to go with the Audio-Technica 1800 series.

The are widely used in ENG which is a rough and tumble world, as such they have been proven to be rugged and reliable, and in addition they are one of the few wireless systems where the ice cube can provide phantom power allowing one to use it with both dynamic (non-phantom) and phantom microphones.

Wayne

Thanks for the replies guys No hard feelings, John. I take care of my gear, just that Zoom designers were really stupid with the H1 mounting threads.

@ Zoom H4n vs Tascam DR100, I'd definitely pick the DR100 mk2, and it seems like you guys agree with me on that.

@ Tascam DR100mk2 vs Roland R-26... anyone have any info? I'm worried that the low sensitivity of the NTG-2 (which is what I'm gonna be using most of the time... thus the thought of having a better pre-amp and cranking up the gain)... the shotgun might not do very well on the DR100, since the R-26 is supposed to be much better and have a lower noise floor?

@ Wireless mic systems... I don't do enough interviews to warrant purchasing a system like that. And holy smokes, 1.4k USD for the Audio Tech wireless you mentioned. Wow. Not gonna fit the budget for this kid here.

@ Wired Shure SM-93 lav mic - Is that a mic that might be able to interface with a sennheiser G3 transmitter when I rent those?

Once again, thanks for all your helpful replies. I'm just getting into the game with this audio stuff since most of my videos are just music and some ambient (stuff that a Rode VideoMicPro can pick up well enough).

Headshotzx wrote in post #13909656
@ Wired Shure SM-93 lav mic - Is that a mic that might be able to interface with a sennheiser G3 transmitter when I rent those?

No the SM-93 like most lav's requires phantom power, which as far as I know the G3 doesn't supply. That is one of the reasons I went with the AT.

Wayne

Darn. The G3s and G2s are what's easily available from rental houses locally. Never seen the AT before.

Channel One wrote in post #13909530
After dumping the Zoom/Samsom wireless (1 in the ocean and the rest on e-bay) we looked into the Sennheiser but after doing a bit of research decided to go with the Audio-Technica 1800 series.

The are widely used in ENG which is a rough and tumble world, as such they have been proven to be rugged and reliable, and in addition they are one of the few wireless systems where the ice cube can provide phantom power allowing one to use it with both dynamic (non-phantom) and phantom microphones.

Wayne

Not a fan of the A-T 1800 series stuff. I work in the rough and tumble world of ENG and I have been more than pleased with the my G2 system. I tried an A-T system once. It was completely horrible. The A-T's noise floor was not even close to that of a G2 system, it had a lot of low end "Hsssssss." Also, I wouldn't even hesitate to put a G2 into the mix with my Lectrosonics systems. In fact, I have done so many times. The sound is very similar. I use my G2 500 series system as a wireless handheld mic with it's plug-on Tx whenever I work for NFL Network. It has never failed me. I also use the G2 system to send or receive wireless Time code. It works perfectly for that as TC is a Sine Wave that makes a sound. It's never let me down there either. But I wouldn't have used an A-T system to do that because of the nasty noise floor. That hissing sound could possibly interfere with the sound of the sine wave.

I also have sound mixer friends that use the new Sennheiser G3 systems in their audio bags exclusively. They are just that good. I do like the more powerful Lectro systems, but when I need a small Rx and small Tx to do certain jobs, I reach for my G2

I returned the AT 1800 system I tried out. The reseller took it back with only one question. "Was it the noise floor?" to which I answered "YES! That was completely unusable." They stopped selling them right after that.
I also found that I didn't like the construction of the 1800 system. It felt fragile and looked like it wouldn't hold up to the kind of use I put my Lectro and Sennheiser systems through all the time.

I own 6 Lectrosonics wireless systems and 1 G2-500 system. I have also been looking into getting another G2 or G3 system.

I would rate the AT 1800 only just above the Samson systems. The G2 and G3 wireless systems are more widely used in the ENG world over A-T stuff because of A-T's lower standards and tolerances and it's just not up to broadcast standards.

I agree about the Zoom stuff. Again they have a fairly noisy floor and their battery life is not anything I want to keep having to deal with.

The DR-100 has a built in Li-Ion battery and room for AA batteries as well as having the AC power option as well. I set my DR-100 to first use the AA batts and then if it needs to, it will switch over to the Li-Ion seamlessly. And once it's running on the internal batt, you can hot swap in new AA's and it'll switch back. I'm still running on the original set of Lithium AA batts that I first put in.

Headshotzx wrote in post #13910591
Darn. The G3s and G2s are what's easily available from rental houses locally. Never seen the AT before.

Go with the G2 or G3 systems. I promise that you won't be unhappy that you did. And yes, that Shure SM-93 can be wired to work with a G2 or G3 system. You just have to make sure the wiring is done properly. All wireless Tx units supply the power needed by the mic. They won't provide 12v or 48v phantom, but that's not what a lav mic needs. The G2 Plug-on Tx unit does supply 48v phantom. I would suggest that you look for a system that includes both the belt pack Tx and the Plug-on Tx. It's so worth the money and you'll love having that option as well.

I have my friends that use G2 and G3 systems exclusively rewire all their mics to fit the Sennheiser design. It's a lot cheaper system than the TA-5 connectors used by Lectro.

A new system will come with a lav mic anyway. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a wired lav, but once you start doing thisgs wirelessly, you'll only want to do it that way. But having a wired option is a good thing.

Sounds like you are on your way to putting together a sound kit, congrats!

ChasWG wrote in post #13910878
It was completely horrible. The A-T's noise floor was not even close to that of a G2 system, it had a lot of low end "Hsssssss." .

Unless you can prove that with a demostration using a calibrated instrument, it is simply one opinion versus another.

Wayne

Well lets see here. Who works as a professional sound mixer for almost 19 years? So maybe my opinion is more weighted by some people. My ears are what people pay me for. If it sounds noisy in the bag, its a noisy system, especially compared back to back with other well known and widely used systems. I don't need a calibrated instrument to prove anything to me or to you. I really don't care if you think the A-T 1800 is a great system or not. Use it, love it, whatever. I just think that if you are going to suggest to someone a system to buy, it might actually fit into their budget. He said he only had about $1000 to spend. He can get both a DR-100 and a G2 or even a new G3 system for under a grand. The A-T 1800 is well over his budget and isn't very available to him.

And if you read my post, it wasn't just me that thought the A-T 1800 series was noisy as well. A very prominent sound reseller also thought my review of the system was also on target. So much so that they stopped selling them after I returned the unit. Up until that point, I was the first person to have bought one of those systems from them.

ChasWG wrote in post #13911043
He said he only had about $1000 to spend. He can get both a DR-100 and a G2 or even a new G3 system for under a grand. The A-T 1800 is well over his budget and isn't very available to him.

You really need to be bit less braggadocios and spend more time reading what was posted.

First of all, I never suggested the OP buy the AT-1800, second the OP clearly stated, he has no interest in buying a wireless system as it will be rented when needed, which unless the equipment is to be used on a daily basis makes considerably more sense, given the tax regulations in this country as they relate to the depreciation of equipment and lastly the AT-1800 system is actually lower priced than a comparable Sennheiser G3 system by about $40.

Wayne