Comments

boomhower wrote on 7/8/2005, 3:52 PM
Nat:

I just bought an AT831B that might fit the bill. It has a 6ft wire terminating into a box with a belt clip. The box will take a battery (AA) or it runs on phantom. Also has a roll off switch on the box. You go out from the box via XLR cable into you cam.

The "B" model is the hardwired XLR. They have other 831's but if you are looking for what I think you are, have a look at the B.

Keith

Edit [It's cardiod, price is around $140 (maybe a bit less retail)...I bought a brand new one on EBay for a lot less than that - comes with case, windscreen, clothing clip, guitar adapter etc]
BrianStanding wrote on 7/8/2005, 9:01 PM
I have a Sony ECM-44B and a ECM-55B, both omnidirectional, that I use all the time and with which I am very happy. The 44B is smaller and only battery powered. The 55B is larger, a bit more sensitive, and will run on either battery or phantom power. Both have a nice, naturalistic sound. I think the 44B is about $160 new.

Omnidirectional lavallieres are a bit more forgiving with placement, and head movement of your subject. Cardioids require very careful placement to get good sound.
Spot|DSE wrote on 7/8/2005, 10:50 PM
As much as I love AT and Sony mics, have a look at the Giant Squid stuff. Darren builds a fairly nice mic. Ugly, but quite servicable. I'll be reviewing them soon, but so far, I'm very impressed with the omni-stereo kit I bought from him.
PeterWright wrote on 7/9/2005, 2:10 AM
Also check out the second hand market - I just picked up a Sennheiser EW100 set for A$145 - about US$110.
DavidMcKnight wrote on 7/9/2005, 5:55 AM
I'll second the Giant Squid comments. I got two iRiver mics in yesterday. Zero fanfare, no fuss, no muss. They may not be better than AT, but you won't find anything better for $25 each.
MichaelS wrote on 7/9/2005, 8:30 AM
Ughhhh! I had to do a shoot down by a river not long ago. The sound of the river was over whelming. It was obvious that I needed an extra lavalier (that I didn't have with me).

I called Radio shack and pick up a "wired" lav for $25. With a little tweaking (thanks to Vegas' great audio), I got by! Not too bad for the bucks. I still keep it in my tool box for whatever may come. I'm not recommending it for quality production, but as much as I despise "the shack", it has saved my rear on a number of occassions.

Also, you must know that I consider chicken wire and duct tape "pro equipment". Hehehe.
filmy wrote on 7/9/2005, 9:19 AM
Ok - so here is a question. RE: Giant Squid. We all talk a lot around here about copyright and fair use and such - so now we have at least 2 people recomending thsese guys. So I went to check it out.

<Sarcasim>
Nice DIY place -They have some great pro adivce for recording even, nice reasons to go buy their mics, such as:

Robert Plant: Recorded by myself in the 6th row of an indoor club / theatre using these mics with roll off ...

Avril: ...was recorded in the floor section 2/3 length from the stage in a large sports arena.

Survivor: These samples were recorded 36 rows from the stage at a outdoor pavilion venue. Yes, this is a recording made 36 rows from the speaker stacks!!!

And of course for mic placement - IMO I don't think you can get any more "pro" than this advice: All of these recordings were made with the mics clipped to the rims of eye glasses and using bass roll off.

Wow - makes me want to buy from this place.

And lets not forget some of the users comments - here is a great one:

This was my first time using my new Squid battery powered stereo mics for a high profile concert, and the hour's worth of performance I captured sounds phenomenal.
[SNIP]
Anyone who records and swaps concerts should invest in a pair of Giant Squids. If you're going to chance bringing gear past a security checkpoint, you owe it to yourself and the artist to make sure what you're recording sounds good, amateur job or not.

And this one is pretty great to - clearly from a "pro":
The sleekness of the unit is very convenient as well. My friends were amazed when I showed myself "wired up" but 100% concealed and unnoticeable. The mics also produce crazy good acoustic home recordings!!

Wow - with endorsments like those and with honest to goodness "big name" concert recording usegage for sure these are must have mics.
</Sarcasim>

What the hell is going on here anymore??? And I am real interested about how Spot reviews these - maybe to be fair he will go out and do some tape trading so he can compare quality.