Topic: interview Mic Recommendation

[techgui]

Can someone suggest a reasonable priced (<$150) interview mic for use with a Tascam Dr-07 MKII.  I would prefer an Omni directional and would prefer it to be used straight to Dr-07, no external preamps.  Any thoughts?

[thunderbolt]

Transom.org has a wealth of information.  Here's a primer on interview mics:

http://transom.org/2001/what-microphone-get/

[bombdiggity]

Not sure why you would want an omni for interviews?  My experience has been it's really rare you get a quiet isolated spot for those, so the more directional the better IMO.  YMMV. 

It doesn't take much to record voice.  Something very simple, small with the proper connector to go directly into your recorder, reasonably sensitive that rejects off axis sound is what I'd want to point toward the subject. 

Even if you're going to use both sides of the conversation you can re-record the questions very easily (or go back and forth, though even with a cardioid you should get the questions well enough).  If the answers are marred by random noise and the background ambiance in the foreground you can't fix that. 

You can even go single point (it doesn't have to be stereo for that). 

[techgui]

That's a very good point about omni's...

In light of that, how about the Olympus me-31?

[bombdiggity]

This review suggests that might be a little too directional:

www.knowbrainer.com/downloads/Olympus_ME31_Review.pdf

My experience has been interviews can be unpredictable.

I do like something with a simple included stand or mount (I'd use some double sided foam tape with mine most of the time).

I had good results with this over a number of years in quite a few sub-optimal settings:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/150434-REG/Sony_ECMMS907_ECM_MS907_Stereo_Mic.html

It's actually a good enough mic to record music with too... 

It may be a little wider pattern than ideal but at the price point is excellent, it gives you stereo with very realistic sound, the included mount is great for sitting on a table (the tape can help if you're sure it will be fixed), it is battery powered, so versatile and will run forever, and very small and light so easy to pocket and not intimidating for a casual sort of setting. 

It was definitely good for settings where you might be interviewing a band since it is not so directional it rejects anything at much distance to the side as a gun or boom style mic might. 

[Bruce Watson]

Can someone suggest a reasonable priced (<$150) interview mic for use with a Tascam Dr-07 MKII.  I would prefer an Omni directional and would prefer it to be used straight to Dr-07, no external preamps.  Any thoughts?

Easy. The classic reporter mic in North America is the RE50N. Just about any reporter you see on TV is using one. Sounds good, rugged as a hammer, very little handling noise. It's a dynamic, does not want phantom power. Remarkably, it has outstanding wind noise rejection -- my local TV station covers the occasional hurricane using them without a furry with no buffeting or LF noise at all. I've had similar success, although I have to admit I'm not willing to stand on a hotel balcony during a hurricane!

The Europeans tend to prefer the MD42 (omni) or the MD46 (card). The card is useful in serious noise (football game, convention floor, etc.) but takes some training to use well. These are also dynamic mics that don't want phantom power, have low handling noise, fairly rugged. You'll see them all over European TV news.

Both of these show up on the used markets fairly regularly. Both are physically long enough to take a mic flag.

I use an RE50N for interviews on convention floors and am quite happy with it.

[bombdiggity]

^ Also an excellent choice if your interviews are going to be of the hold the mic in their face sort like a TV thing. 

Mine were more in depth sit around a table and chat sort, so I didn't want something I had to hold throughout or drag a full size stand or table top stand around for. 

The hold it in the face sort of mic is more "confrontational" and does not establish the conversational sort of vibe I was after in an in-depth situation.  Subjects often open up more if you can establish the right sort of frame to dig a little deeper, which can yield quality content that gets off the script with subjects that might have those.  A lot of that is about mood (and preparation).  I had some really amazing conversations with people when I was doing that.

These days I see a lot of people (even reporters) holding a recorder (with built-ins) up to the subjects.  I don't think that establishes a professional or comfortable vibe at all.   

You didn't say what sort of interviews you had in mind...   I'm coming at it more from an artist/musician perspective rather than the more media circus/public figure sort of thing.  Different styles of mics for different types of subjects...  If it is more a convention floor sort of thing then a handheld like the one suggested above is totally the way to go. 

[Bruce Watson]

Not sure why you would want an omni for interviews?

Reporters use omnis for a couple of reasons. First, off axis response is the same as on axis, which means it's hard for talent or subject to screw up and get out of the pattern. If you're doing a live broadcast, this is invaluable. Second, omnis don't have the problem of proximity effect. So if talent gets the mic too close in a noisy environment it still sounds fine. More likely though is the interviewee backing away from a mic pushed 10cm from their face. That kind of backpedaling sounds considerably worse with a cardioid than an omni.

One place cards are used is in really noisy places, like the Super Bowl, or on really crowded and noisy convention floors. But to use them handheld, you have to train your talent. They can't turn their head (and take their mouth out of pattern), they have to turn their body. And they have to put their off hand on the back of the interview subject to keep them from backing up or moving closer to the mic. Neither of these comes naturally for many people, so they have to practice it (which of course is never in the schedule).

[bombdiggity]

^ I see some advantage in that sort of setting assuming it's not a three ring circus (or it is a focused sort of omni less like what we would want for music). 

[Bruce Watson]

^ I see some advantage in that sort of setting assuming it's not a three ring circus (or it is a focused sort of omni less like what we would want for music).

It's not focused, it's an omni. It's just a low sensitivity mic, so the stuff that's happening in the distance registers less. If you get your levels from being 10cm away, the stuff that's 10m away barely registers at all. It's direct control over your signal to noise ratio, kinda sorta.

This is part of the reason, I think, that recording sound from concerts (at a distance) is so different from recording dialog for film/video (where we get as close as we can, which is the point of a mic on a boom pole). The dialog people get this concept immediately, because it's their life. The rest of us have to think about it for a bit. It's not really intuitively obvious, at least it wasn't to me.

[techgui]

The interviews will all be two people over a table in a clinical setting.

[John Willett]

Not sure why you would want an omni for interviews?  My experience has been it's really rare you get a quiet isolated spot for those, so the more directional the better IMO.  YMMV. 

Omni mics are certainly the industry standard in professional broadcasting.

They are far better than a directional mic. for this use.

Also - if the room is noisy, just move it closer - the inverse-square law is your friend.

An omni at 10cm distance will be equivalent to a cardioid at 17cm distance and does not suffer from proximity effect.

[DigiGal]

Not sure why you would want an omni for interviews?

Reporters use omnis for a couple of reasons. First, off axis response is the same as on axis, which means it's hard for talent or subject to screw up and get out of the pattern. If you're doing a live broadcast, this is invaluable. Second, omnis don't have the problem of proximity effect. So if talent gets the mic too close in a noisy environment it still sounds fine. More likely though is the interviewee backing away from a mic pushed 10cm from their face. That kind of backpedaling sounds considerably worse with a cardioid than an omni.

One place cards are used is in really noisy places, like the Super Bowl, or on really crowded and noisy convention floors. But to use them handheld, you have to train your talent. They can't turn their head (and take their mouth out of pattern), they have to turn their body. And they have to put their off hand on the back of the interview subject to keep them from backing up or moving closer to the mic. Neither of these comes naturally for many people, so they have to practice it (which of course is never in the schedule).

All true. . .

Talent are frequently terrible with proper stick mic technique even though they should know better.

Not sure if it has been mentioned but omnis are less susceptble to wind noise.  It is generally desireable to pick up a bit of the local ambience for on location interviews to help set the scene.  ie: An interview of someone standing close to a picket line shouldn't sound like it was recorded in a voice over booth.  Exceptions of course include extremely high decibel ambience like factor floor or a sports arena crowd etc.

That said the finish paint on RE50's for more than a decade now does not hold up well.   If it you need an on camera stick mic that will be roughly handled by field reporters don't pick the RE50.  There are certainly better interview mics that will hold up to the rigors of FILM/VIDEO Production or ENG demands.

Horses for coarses.

[Red Boink]

When you see a reporter standing at a 45 degree angle, into the wind being pelted by by horizontal spray of rain as in a hurricane, that's an ev re50 he's eating.

[thunderbolt]

For sit-downs, I often use an AT4073a.  Otherwise, I'll use the EV RE50 N/D-B.