Peculiar recording situation

[joeysimms]

Good use of the word "quadrant" there. It made you sound very knowledgeable.

That's a frightening thought.

[crtdot]

IIRC, I recorded annother teacher in the room with a sony Datcorder and a Sony Stereo Mic. Got a shitload of heater noise, but fortunately the teacher is classically trained to project, so you could hear him real easy over a jet engine or Karl Rove's asshoie.

THIS would be ideal for recording in our studio. Way cool. But we also have heaters that make a shitload of noise. How do I cancel that out? In matering or post production?

I was under the impression that the room is pre-heated.. otherwise, you'd think people would have a hard time hearing the guy speak. In that case, you'd really have to try it and see how much heater noise ends up in the mix. I wouldn't count on post-production or mastering to fix anything.

[thethingwiththestuff]

haha...karl rove's asshole.....i like this guy!

for live stuff, i've used Countryman B3 or B4 (?) lavs with Shure body packs, and the upgrade in quality was immediately noticeable.

[Professor]

I'm guessing that the Shure lavalier mic you're talking about is the chunky little SM-11 which is a dynamic, omni lav, and I'd guess the headset is similar. Those would be logical choices because they are quite inexpensive and can simply plug directly into the mini-disc.
If that's the case, then stepping up to a battery powered condenser element like the AT models I mentioned should offer a significant increase in quality.

And one of the single greatest arguments you can offer these kinds of folks is that people buy the recordings to hear what he has to say, and if they can't understand what he has to say, it does them no good, and makes him look bad. That was my primary argument to try and get the church guys to buy better wireless mics than the Radio Shack ones - the congregation is there to hear the message, and if they can't hear the message, they will stop coming. Pardon me for saying so, but that put the fear of God into them.

-J

[friendlybunny]

I would also look into a a better portable recorder. I have the new Edirol R-1 and it sounds really good, and is much easier to use than an MD. It is a little bit bigger than the average MD, but still very portable.

Sound Professionals make some pretty good cheap mics as well.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/

No matter what happens, you're going to need to spend some cash. At the very least get a better mic. and maybe a battery pack for the mic.

[jmiller]

Professor is totally right on this. I've dealt with these guys before alot with churches and what-not. They constantly express their dissatisfaction with the sound quality but will not (some times they cannot) spend more for a microphone.

Sound is always the last thing these guys want to spend money on. They just don't see it as being worth the money, but they won't have any problem spending money on decorations or cheesy banners. Fortunately this has started to change in the last decade as many churches and houses of worship have been modernizing..

You know that Michelin commercial? Where they say their tires are "the only safety feature of your car that touches the road"? You just have to tell this guy that the first thing in his recording setup that captures his voice is the microphone, and if that's no good, it will never get better than that. He will be stuck with that sound as long as he uses that mic. Hopefully that will make him open up to the idea. If not, then you just have to learn to deal with the complaints and let them slide off your back. And he probably will still complain, no matter how well you explain to him that it will stay that way until he is willing to buy something better. It's the sound guy curse.