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Need feedback on hypercardioid microphones ($500 range)


OliKMIA
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If you want to use it in a humid environment get the mkh50.

There simply is no alternative, if it needs to be reliable.

i have MKH20/30/40/80/800/800 twins, I know what I am talking about. The mkh series has been designed to have trouble free operation in humid conditions. Just decide how much trouble the extra cost is if your 500 dollar mic starts acting out.

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Thanks you all for the feedback. Much appreciated. Looks like the Audix SCX1/HC is a solid mid-range option, basically the "poor man's Schoeps MK41." I'll try the Audix and report back.

 

2 hours ago, Yannick Willox said:

If you want to use it in a humid environment get the mkh50.

There simply is no alternative, if it needs to be reliable.

i have MKH20/30/40/80/800/800 twins, I know what I am talking about. The mkh series has been designed to have trouble free operation in humid conditions. Just decide how much trouble the extra cost is if your 500 dollar mic starts acting out.

It will be humid in south Florida but I'm not going to shoot in the rain forest neither. Only for indoor interviews. That being said, thanks for your input, I also read somewhere else that the MKH50 was a very solid mic. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the money at this point after buying the C200. I believe the Audix SCX1/HC will do the job, I also have a shotgun and a Lav as B and C mic for redundancy.

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On 9/9/2019 at 3:42 PM, OliKMIA said:

Thanks for your comments, it's helpful.

And what's your take in the Indie / Prosumer category?

I think you categorized them fairly well into the three rough groups. 

It might be argued the Oktava MK-012 straddles the middle between the first two groups, and perhaps the Neumann KM185 (and its variants) straddles the middle of the last two groups. 

 

8 hours ago, Cinegain said:

With the show Naked and Afraid, they seem to have put 'em away in the necklaces. Just a weird sidenote. ?


It was the first thing I noticed when looking at naked people. 

 

7 hours ago, Yannick Willox said:

If you want to use it in a humid environment get the mkh50.

 


I am inclined to agree. 

Perhaps pack along a Deity S Mic 2 as well. 

 

5 hours ago, OliKMIA said:

That being said, thanks for your input, I also read somewhere else that the MKH50 was a very solid mic. Unfortunately, I simply don't have the money at this point after buying the C200.


From a proportionality perspective..... if the only audio gear you're buying after the C200 is the MKH50 (plus the odd accessory for it) then you're waaaay out of whack! In terms of missallocating the budget. Unless you're only very rarely solo shouting? And usually shooting with a soundie?

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29 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

From a proportionality perspective..... if the only audio gear you're buying after the C200 is the MKH50 (plus the odd accessory for it) then you're waaaay out of whack! In terms of missallocating the budget. Unless you're only very rarely solo shouting? And usually shooting with a soundie?

We have a shitload of other mics, shotguns and lav to triple or quadruple tap each indoor interview but a hypercardioid mic is a nice addition to the mix. They'll be connected to two C200 and/or a Zoom F4 based on the setup. The mid-range option will be fine for this personal project. I'm not very concerned about that but I prefer to double check with the community to save time.

And you, what is your feedback on these mics? Some of them are in you gear list (http://ironfilm.co.nz/sound/). I'm all ears!

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Well if you have plenty of mics, make shure you bring a spare or two. Also, keeping the mic in the case with plenty of silica gel can help.

Interestingly, an MKH50 costs 1 438 dollar in Germany, excl. 21% vat (against 1200 dollar in the US). There are none on the second hand market.

You should buy a MKH50 for each project, and then sell it in the EU ?

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6 hours ago, Yannick Willox said:

Also, keeping the mic in the case with plenty of silica gel can help.

Good point. Thanks.

6 hours ago, Yannick Willox said:

Interestingly, an MKH50 costs 1 438 dollar in Germany, excl. 21% vat (against 1200 dollar in the US). There are none on the second hand market.

You should buy a MKH50 for each project, and then sell it in the EU ?

Yes, actually I haven't found much of these mic on the used market. I can send you one from the US if you want ;)

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19 hours ago, OliKMIA said:

We have a shitload of other mics, shotguns and lav to triple or quadruple tap each indoor interview but a hypercardioid mic is a nice addition to the mix. They'll be connected to two C200 and/or a Zoom F4 based on the setup. The mid-range option will be fine for this personal project. I'm not very concerned about that but I prefer to double check with the community to save time.


Ah good, so you've got a Zoom F4 and other wireless, shoguns / accessories / etc as well ?

 

19 hours ago, OliKMIA said:

And you, what is your feedback on these mics? Some of them are in you gear list (http://ironfilm.co.nz/sound/). I'm all ears!

 

I've been quite partial to the Sanken CS1e recently, but it depends on the shoot. 

There is also the Sanken CSM1 which I haven't ever tried ( did you end up getting it @Kisaha ?), but I would like to. 

Schoeps just announced today their CMC1 which makes their MK41 even more appealing. 

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29 minutes ago, IronFilm said:


Ah good, so you've got a Zoom F4 and other wireless, shoguns / accessories / etc as well ?

I've been quite partial to the Sanken CS1e recently, but it depends on the shoot. 

There is also the Sanken CSM1 which I haven't ever tried ( did you end up getting it @Kisaha ?), but I would like to. 

Schoeps just announced today their CMC1 which makes their MK41 even more appealing. 

Thanks for the info. Never heard about the Sanken CS1e. Seems to be a lovely SC mic with a reasonable price.

Yes, we have the Zoom F4, my partner wants to upgrade to the F6 but it's taking some time to get there!

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4 hours ago, IronFilm said:

There is also the Sanken CSM1 which I haven't ever tried ( did you end up getting it @Kisaha ?), but I would like to. 

It's on its way from the Netherlands, coupled with the Cinela Cosi!

I hope it won't dissapoint me, as I am expecting it to be more directional than the Audix but with less reflections of a normal shotgun for int.

It will be my run n gun solution for ex./int. 

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9 hours ago, scotchtape said:

If you had read the thread you would have seen Sage mention that he prefers the NTG3 for indoors over the hyper cardiods, and then a bunch of other shotguns got mentioned.

I did read the thread, but I did not know that the NTG3 is also an RF design. Good for Rode !

If the off-axis response is indeed as well-behaved (lobing) as the spec sheet (with an idealised polar plot, which I do not like to see, it suggests they are hiding something) suggests, it should work very well indoors, as noted above.

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Granted, a hypercardioid is generally preferable to a shotgun indoors (reflections 'hollow out' the sound of a shotgun; hypercardioids incorporate reflections in a more natural way). One can put up sound dampening material, but it's production time (better to just have a hyper at hand). An MKH50 would have been a better match to the NTG3 methinks, and safer indoors. The SCX1 would be preferable to the average shotgun indoors (NTG3 is exceptional). In a tile bathroom with a deep voice, the SCX1 would have been noticeably richer than the NTG3

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On 9/11/2019 at 1:37 PM, OliKMIA said:

Yes, we have the Zoom F4, my partner wants to upgrade to the F6 but it's taking some time to get there!

 

Hmmmm.... I personally would definitely not call the F6 an "upgrade"

 

Depends a lot on what your line of work is, for the kind of work I do professionally then hands down I'd choose the F4 over the F6

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On 9/11/2019 at 5:02 PM, salim said:

another option that you may have not thought about. They have different capsules including hypercardioid. 
I assembled one of their other microphones for recording vocals and instrument and the quality is quiet something 

https://microphone-parts.com/products/sdc-microphone-kit?variant=9351388790844

 

 

"quiet something"? 

Or "quite something"? 

 

Or both? ?

 

I am myself tempted by their DIY Schoeps clone, but I certainly won't be buying it any time soon! Not after the 833 has made me broke as a pauper 

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Hope I don't divert too much from the topic,

What is a good microphone for recording school chorus in an auditorium?  Or small church audience environment?

I'm always in the back.

Amateur currently using GH5 and Azden SGM-250 with Audio Technica 3 way selectable pad XLR <> 3.5mm adapter into audio in port.

Always wanted the Panasonic external audio adapter...

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34 minutes ago, buggz said:

Hope I don't divert too much from the topic,

What is a good microphone for recording school chorus in an auditorium?  Or small church audience environment?

I'm always in the back.

Amateur currently using GH5 and Azden SGM-250 with Audio Technica 3 way selectable pad XLR <> 3.5mm adapter into audio in port.

Always wanted the Panasonic external audio adapter...

Is the school and church using a mic that is running through an audio board?

The reason why I'm asking is that, if they are, you could probably plug into the audio board and get better sound.

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