Topic: Best mics for field interviews

[englishboy]

I want to invest in a pair of mics for field interviews.  These mics will be used in low noise situations (like homes), with the possibility of clips later used for a broadcast project, such as local NPR.

The basic limitations are: (1) the interviewees will not have good mic skills, (2) the mics will probably need to be placed on a table stand (or adapted half-shock and a table stand), as the interviewees will be seated, (3) the interviewees will mostly be men (so a mic that works well with lower range of voice).

So basically, what I need is a mic that will function well as a spoken word mic, in the field, for people who will move in and out of a mic's sweet spot, and will most likely stay a foot from the mic itself.

I'm open to suggestions.  I'd like to buy the mics once--rather than buy a pair and than wish I'd bought different pair. 

Here's what I'm looking at...

In terms of sound, I like actually like the Shure KSM141 for men's voices.  I think, with foam, it would work OK in the field.  Is this stupid, for voice?  For people with no mic skills?  (Foam will be OK.  A pop filter will just be intimidating.)

Other, more traditional field interview mics I'm considering (and yes, probably the smarter route):

Beyerdynamic MCE58  OR M59
Sennheiser ME65 OR M46

I know they use a lot of AT shotgun mics and lavs on The American Life.  But generally, that's the sound I'm looking for.  (I believe this is from an early The American Life session: http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:IraGlass.jpg  What mic is that?)

What are your suggestions?

[englishboy]

Should read M58.  Sloppy typing.

[boojum]

It looks to me like Ira is speaking in the venerable and almost indestructable Shure SM58.  Been around for years for a good reason.  You can hammer nails with it and then use it as a microphone.  They are rugged, pretty cheap and sound pretty good.  Most rock bands use them on tour for that reason as do other bands. 

It is a dynamic mic (needs no "phantom power') but does need a mic pre-amp, usually but into the recorder.  It lives in "mic in" but not "line in."

Cheers

[John Willett]

It looks to me like Ira is speaking in the venerable and almost indestructable Shure SM58.  Been around for years for a good reason.  You can hammer nails with it and then use it as a microphone.  They are rugged, pretty cheap and sound pretty good.  Most rock bands use them on tour for that reason as do other bands. 

But totally useless for the stated intention as an interview mic.

The Beyer and Sennheiser models suggested are well suitable (but I would have the MD46 over the K6/ME65) or, better still, the MD42 (omni).

If stand mounted only the K6/ME62 may be a good option (but I would not go for the ME65).

[rastasean]

What about the Electro Voice RE50?

[guysonic]

Still considered unconventional, but has/being used for a lot of independent produced NPR/documentary stuff for last 15 years.  Lastest set in on it's way to document Haiti events for NPR.

Lowest noise/highest sensitivity model is with my DSM-1S/H inside WHB/N windscreen.  This mic will ALWAYS record usable sound used in a variety of smart-to-dumb ways if recorder is operating in reasonable manner.

See this page for recordings samples of ENG recordings:
www.sonicstudios.com/mp3.htm

[rastasean]

Still consider unconventional, but has/being used for a lot of independent produced NPR/documentary stuff for last 15 years.  Lastest set in on it's way to document Haiti events for NPR.

Lowest noise/highest sensitivity model is with my DSM-1S/H inside WHB/N windscreen.  This mic will ALWAYS record usable sound used in a variety of smart-to-dumb ways if recorder is operating in reasonable manner.

See this page for recordings samples of ENG recordings:
www.sonicstudios.com/mp3.htm

great looking system but still--it's a lotta money!

[guysonic]

Still consider unconventional, but has/being used for a lot of independent produced NPR/documentary stuff for last 15 years.  Lastest set in on it's way to document Haiti events for NPR.

Lowest noise/highest sensitivity model is with my DSM-1S/H inside WHB/N windscreen.  This mic will ALWAYS record usable sound used in a variety of smart-to-dumb ways if recorder is operating in reasonable manner.

See this page for recordings samples of ENG recordings:
www.sonicstudios.com/mp3.htm

great looking system but still--it's a lotta money!

Photographer customer in NYC has this model with no further audio project requirements. Set will operate directly into Sony PCM-D50/M10.

If interested send me a PM to contact him with an offer.

[chris319]

You can hammer nails with it and then use it as a microphone.

You wouldn't sing into a hammer, now would you? Of course you wouldn't. So why are you driving nails with a microphone? Please, if you need to drive a nail get a hammer and use the proper tool. Thank you.

[DSatz]

NPR people are usually pretty open about telling people what equipment they're using at any given time--you can contact their engineering department and ask them. They take audio quality seriously and are one of the few broadcast organizations in this country that conduct research and educational campaigns about it.

Off-topic, I know, but: I think people would be amazed at how much of the quality of microphones from central Europe (I'm talking about your Neumanns, your Schoepses, your Sennheisers, your AKGs and Beyers among other brands) and even the particular models and designs that were built, was influenced by the research and development done at the state-financed broadcasting organizations over there.

European broadcasters for decades focused much more on live broadcasts of musical and other events in the field rather than just playing a playlist of available commercial recordings, so their technical interests actually came fairly close to ours. In this country, the public radio organizations offer a counterpart to that tradition although they are not as lavishly funded.

In some very famous cases, microphones have been designed at the broadcast organizations, were patented by them, and then were licensed to the above companies for manufacture. They then sold to recording studios as well, and have since become classic "vintage" microphones that are among the most sought after today, and that some people say have never been equalled since.

(Just thought I'd mention that.)

--best regards

[DigiGal]

The Beyerdynamic M58 is a good mic, this is the one I'd recommend from the current selection of typical "interview" mics.

Senn MD46 would be better suited for interviews in noisy areas like stadiums etc.

I've heard good things about the Shure VP64A and VP64AL for interviews but haven't used them myself.

Even though they are widely used in ENG I'm not a fan of EV's current RE 50's or 635's, the vintage versions of these mics were fine though.

[John Willett]

Senn MD46 would be better suited for interviews in noisy areas like stadiums etc.

The MD 42 looks identical but is omni and a good all=round interview mic.

The old MD 21 is also an excellent interview mic. (first on the market 57 years ago and still a current product).

[zepper69]

Old thread but I'll add my .02 for future readers. 10+ years experience in radio here, European radio that is. The best ENG mic that I've used is the Sennheiser MD21. It is insanely sturdy, built to last is not a strong enough word. It is also very insensitive to hand noise and sounds brilliant, just brilliant. It's really one step above pretty much any other handheld dynamic speech mic I've tried. Also very popular here in the Nordic region is the Sennheiser MD441, especially for tv use. This mic sounds incredible and is one of the most highly regarded mics in the studio world, just ask any engineer. They're not cheap but boy, are they good mics.

I read a previous post about european public service and the technology they use. What that user wrote is true and I therefore also want to add the following:

When asking for gear advice, it's quite common to get one "american answer" and one "european answer". Because of big differences in how the media business works and how media companies and networks are structured and financed - and especially how they are broadcast, an american will typically favour one type of mic (or whatever it is) and a european (western) will favour another. This is because american media (let's focus on radio here) sounds... well, just a lot worse than its western european counterpart. Just the fact that there are still american stations broadcasting on the AM band should tell you something.  It's also quite common to broadcast in mono in America, and I can't remember when I last heard a mono broadcast over here. The increased commercial competition also has an effect on broadcast sound quality, especially when it comes to compression. This is a means of getting louder than your competitors.

Basically, to sum up what I'm trying to say, european countries with a strong, tax-funded media outlet will typically produce better quality content (technically speaking). This means that they will favour other brands and models of equipment. To give you another example: E-V RE20's are all the rage in America but I've never seen one in a  studio over here. The last time I worked as a morning radio host, we used Gefell condensors. I just thought I'd add this because it's something which you might benefit from knowing later on.

Good luck with your purchases and your work. I hope my gear advice was useful.

[rastasean]

excellent input, zepper.  how would you rate the md46? other than the fact its mono, do you feel its durable and useful for field interviews?

[zepper69]

Not much experience with that particular model, but I'm sure it sounds alright. But personally, I favor omnidirectional mics as they don't have the proximity effect (increased bass response when you get up close) that cardioids (such as the MD46) do. My own personal setup is an MD21 (omni) for regular interviews and a MD441 (hypercardio) for noisy type environments where the ambience just gets too much - such as trade shows, motor events or something like that.

What is good about mics such as the MD46, RE50 etc though, is the fact that they're long. You don't have to hold your hand as close to the person's mouth and this is good since some people don't want you in their face. Also, the reason tv stations like long shaft mics is because they typically put a flag on it, with their logo. And you dont' want your arm in picture because that looks odd. So if I did tv, I would probably favor a long mic over my 21, for aesthetic reasons.

Don't let the stereo vs. mono thing I said fool you btw - one person talking can never be more than mono... because it's just 1 sound. So interviews are almost always in mono, as are 99% of all mics. There are stereo mics out there but no one uses them for interviews. Stereo mics or stereo pairs of mono are mostly used for ambience recordings, taping live shows from the audience etc. The stereo thing was just an example of how european radio typically has a higher standard from a technical standpoint.

Reading the original post, I realize what that person was looking for, was probably lavalier mics that you clip unto someones shirt etc. If you're doing an interview and you want to be able to cut in on the other person talking, or just don't want to shuffle the mic back and forth, those are actually really good. I wish I had a pair but I can't afford them at the moment.

To conclude, I think mics are one of the things one should think about carefully before dropping any money. We're all n00bs in the beginning, but it's so much better to buy gear that you can keep indefinitely instead of getting something and selling it a year later. I've done that too but I wish I hadn't. The mics I have now are quite costly but I bought mine used for half the price of new and they're still holding up years later. Probably will till I retire. Plus, just knowing that your stuff is high quality gives you a level of confidence that is very important when you're working under stress and/or pressure, which you often are.

Hope that helps.