Mikme Gold: Bluetooth, USB, Portable Microphone and Recorder

Large diaphragm condenser microphones are often used in recording studios for vocals and voice overs. But many consider them less practical for mobile or location recording. The Mikme Gold challenges that idea in an impressive way. The Mikme Gold is a portable, wireless, microphone and recorder. You can record to the Micme’s in-built memory. You can wirelessly record to your iPhone (and soon, Android phone), and you can also record to your computer when you connect via USB cable.

In addition to that, the Mikme sounds quite good - in my estimation, it rivals the sound of the AKG C414. That’a s recording studio staple microphone. Let’s have a closer look and a listen.

View my location sound gear packing list at Airtable.com.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at https://school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Mikme Gold Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone and Wireless Recorder (Amazon)

Falconeyes 120TDX - (Amazon) 4’ x 4’ LED roll-flex panel light used as a key light and for the table-top product shots

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 60 - Used for the background light

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - (Amazon) used on the Pocket 4K for the product shots

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - used to shoot the talking head shots

Get a free trial of the best music for your videos at Musicbed.

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: JBL 1 Series 104 Monitors & Q&A

In this sound for video session, we had a casual conversation about several audio related topics and gear including the new affordable near field monitors from JBL - 1 Series 104. Also talked about Azden 3500 series microphones, the Zoom F6, and lots of other questions and topics.

Gear mentioned in this session:

JBL 1 Series 104 Near Field Monitors for Mixing on a budget

Zoom F6 Audio Field Recorder

Audio Ltd A10 Wireless Microphone System

Sony MDR-7506 Headphones (Amazon) - my main production sound headphones

AKG K175 On-Ear Closed Back Headphones (Amazon)

Sound Devices MixPre Recorders

MikMe Gold Large Diaphragm Condesner Microphone/Recorder (Amazon)

Azden SGM-3500 Short Shotgun Microphone

Azden SGM-3500L Shotgun Microphone

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

DEITY V.Lav: Intelligent, Affordable Lavalier Microphone

DEITY Microphones recently released a new affordable lavalier microphone - the V.Lav. The unique thing about this microphone is that you generally won’t need adapters to work with different devices like mobile phones, cameras, audio recorders, or Mac/PC. Instead, it intelligently figures out what it is connected to and configures itself to work with that device. Let’s take a closer look and listen!

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

DEITY V.Lav Lavalier Microphone

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 60 - Pro level 1x2’ LED panel light that works great not only as an effects light, but also as a key or rim.

Lupo Superpanel Dual Color 60 - Same as above but without the RGB capabilities and this one has more light output. I only need to set it to about 8% on the dimmer for most head and shoulders shots.

Panasonic GH5 - (Amazon) used for some of the audio tests and a few of the product shots

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens (Amazon)

Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - used to shoot the talking head and most of the product shots

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

RODE WIRELESS GO Review: Simple Wireless Microphone System

RODE’s new WIRELESS GO is a wireless microphone system designed to be simple and quick to use but also has the ability to add external lavalier microphones for cases where you want an even more discreet look. This system is well suited for vloggers, YouTubers, and for cases where you want to do quick pick-up interviews without a lot of fuss getting set up. Let’s take a closer look and listen to see how it performs.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

RODE WIRELESS GO - Super simple to use wireless microphone system

RODELink Filmmaker Kit - More versatile wireless microphone system with longer range and more options for add-on transmitters. Can also control the input and output levels on the transmitter and receiver.

Lupo Superpanel Dual Color 60 - key light for all of the shots in this video

Lupo Superpanel Full Color 60 - RGBW light used to light the background

Panasonic GH5 (Amazon)

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens (Amazon)

Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - used to shoot the talking head and most of the product shots

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2018 by Cary Judd. Used with permission.

Sound for Video Session: Q&A 23 April 2019

This week we answer your questions about sound for video including recording, production, post, and gear.

Gear discussed in this session:

RODE WIRELESS GO - super convenient wireless microphone system for vloggers and solo shooters

DEITY Connect - dual channel wireless microphone system

Sennheiser XSW-D - super simple wireless microphone system for vloggers, solo shooters, musicians, etc.

RODE Filmmaker Kit - Wireless lavalier microphone system for indie filmmakers

Copyright 2019 - Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2017 - TVAC, Used with Permission

DEITY Connect Wireless Lavalier Microphone Review - 2 Mics 1 Receiver

Deity Microphones just released a new dual channel, digital wireless microphone system. This kit includes two transmitters and microphones which transmit to a single dual channel receiver. This is one of the few dual channel systems available for under $700 USD. In this episode, we dive into the details and find out how it sounds, how well it remains connected without interference or dropouts, and how it works with various cameras or recorders.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Deity Connect Dual Channel Wireless Microphone System

Panasonic GH5 Camera

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2017 by TVAC. Used with permission.

Deity Microphones New Products - NAB 2019

On the show floor at NAB 2019, we met up with Andrew Jones of Deity Microphones. Andrew walks us through their newly announced lavalier, pencil, short shotgun, and studio condenser microphones.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

Deity Connect Dual Channel Wireless Microphone System

Deity W.Lav

Deity W.Lav Pro - B&H: Coming Soon

Deity W.Lav Micro - B&H: Coming Soon

Pencil Condenser Microphone (still to be named - useful for indoor dialogue recordings with omni, cardioid, and hyper cardioid capsules) - B&H: Coming Soon

Deity S-Mic 2S - shorter shotgun microphone then the original S-Mic 2 - B&H: Coming Soon

Deity Studio Condenser Microphone - Still working on which features will be included - B&H: Coming Soon

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens

Electrovoice RE50L Dynamic Interview Microphone

Sound Devices 633 Audio Field Recorder/Mixer

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2017 by TVAC. Used with permission.

RODE WIRELESS GO - NAB 2019

On the show floor at NAB 2019, we met up with Ryan Burke of RODE Microphones to have a look at their new WIRELESS GO system - a small, very simple to use wireless microphone system.

The audio in this episode was recorded entirely with the WIRELESS GO into a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. The audio was loudness normalized to -23 LUFS and no other processing was applied.

This was a brutal test for a wireless system - on the show floor at NAB with a ton of RF activity. The handheld mic I use during this was for backup but since the WIRELESS GO did so well, we muted the handheld in post.

The WIRELESS GO kit used to record the audio for this episode was provided free of charge to us. We were not paid further to produce this video.

If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F8 and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.

Links to gear used in this video:

RODE WIRELESS GO

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Music Copyright 2017 by TVAC. Used with permission.

Sound for Video Session: Q&A 25 March 2019

In this episode, we answer your questions on sound for video.

00:20 Recording Cars

03:57 Zoom H4n & Samson CO2?

06:22 How to sweeten dialogue sound

11:10 Which boom microphone for indoors?

13:00 Apps to automix dialogue in post?

15:00 MixPre as audio interface - does quality degrade when recording to screen recording app?

16:54 How much PC do I need to run Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve?

18:32 How to capture a noise sample? (Need more info)

18:57 Zoom H6 - remote reduces handling noise?

19:36 How to aim a super cardioid boom microphone

20:50 Replacing lavalier microphone for RODELink

22:28 RODECaster Pro multitrack recording to SD card?

24:12 Batch processing audio in RX and Audition?

25:14 Which sound effects should I record when I'm the mixer for a video?

28:05 Why is my compressor letting peaks through?

29:24 Boom and lavs to director's audio feed? AES42 digital audio with A10 and SD 633?

32:08 Panasonic 991 and timecode and post sync?

35:01 Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and MixPre - line level feed

36:28 Which specs can help you choose a recorder or microphone if you can't try it hands on?

41:11 Which boom mic and recorder do you recommend for interviews for $1200 or less?

43:18 RODE NTG3 or Deity S-Mic 2 sounds closer to the 416?

44:27 What is the difference between the Sound Devices MixPre-3 and MixPre-3M and can I use the "M" version for film and video?

47:55 How do I gain stage a Sennheiser G3 wireless system and Zoom F8n?

49:42 What is a timecode workflow for shooting music videos?

See this workflow information: 

https://www.bamfsound.com/how-to-music-video-playback-with-ltc-timecode/

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Gear discussed/used in this session:

RODECaster Pro - used to record this session

Sound Devices MixPre Series

Zoom F8n - Very good value for money on a pro/prosumer audio recorder

Sennheiser G3/G4 Wireless Microphone system - note that you need the correct version with frequencies you can use in your region. Contact a reseller in your country for details.

Deity S-Mic 2 shotgun microphone

RODE NTG3 shotgun microphone - I prefer the sound of this on most voices.

Sennheiser MKH416 shotgun microphone - the classic shotgun microphone that seemingly everyone is trying to mimic at enthusiast prices

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - I find that I use this more often than any of my other cameras these days.

Tentacle Sync timecode generators

Izotope RX7 - my favorite app for cleaning and optimizing audio clips

Samson C02 - budget boom microphone - comes in a set of 2. Good budget option for interviews.

Zoom H5 - budget recorder with 2 XLR inputs

Tascam DR-60DmkII - budget recorder with 2 XLR inputs

Zoom H6 - budget recorder with 4 XLR microphone inputs

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Outro music from Artlist by Kick Lee. You can receive a 2 month discount on a subscription to Artlist, a subscription service for stock music you can use with your videos. Check it out at Artlist.io.

Sound for Video Session: Q&A 9 Feb 2019

Its time to answer your sound for video related questions! For those new to the channel here, as part of my online school, we have question and answer sessions every few weeks. If you’d like to be notified when a new Q&A session is coming up, sign up for free at Learn Light and Sound. You can also preview several segments from my online courses on sound for film.

Here are the questions we covered this week:

00:07 Wireless hop to camera with Sennheiser G3?

01:10 Microphones for recording a concert?

02:18 Plugins for cleaning up background noise?

04:42 Room tone and sound effects? M/S Recording?

06:24 Stereo microphones for recording concerts?

07:17 Timecode from Zoom F8n to Panasonic GH4?

08:53 Remote Audio Battery distribution system and powering Panasonic GH5?

11:47 Why hasn’t the perfect recorder and microphones been developed yet?

17:07 Can I de-noise as the last step in my post workflow?

22:35 Audio, sound, film book recommendations?

28:20 If I have 2 UltraSync 1s, should I use just one or both for 1 cam shoots?

32:10 If my video will be H.264, does it matter if I use 48kHz vs 96kHz?

34:30 What are microdot cavaliers?

37:32 Person moves in and out of mic sweet spot, what do I do?

39:55 Will the new version of ARRI Alexa come with a boom holder?

40:10 What’s the difference between trim and fader?

42:58 Order of operations when processing dialogue audio?

49:12 Should I upgrade from RODE NTG2 to NTG4?

51:03 I’m getting older and my hearing is not good. How do I compensate?

57:42 Izotope RX, Logic Pro, Audition, and changing sample rates?

1:00:20 Powering a recorder. I have a 20 hour battery vest!

1:02:20 Audio repair software suggestions?

1:04:22 How would you cleanup this audio recording?

Here are a few previous sessions we references in today’s Q&A session:

Wireless Hop to Camera with Sennheiser G3 with Gregg Palmer:

Recording Live Concerts with Mike Strands:

Accusonus ERA-D Noise Reduction Demo:

Gear we discussed in today’s session:

Sound Reinforcement Handbook, 2nd Edition (Amazon) - Dense but very good reference for anyone serious about sound

Location Sound Bible (Amazon) - one of my favorites on recording sound for film. Dated info re: specific gear, but otherwise very good info.

Sound Effects Bible (Amazon) - good reference on recording sound effects. Dated info re: specific gear, but otherwise very good info.

Hearos (Amazon) - Ear protection for loud locations

Zoom F8n Audio Recorder

Zoom F4 Audio Recorder

Ambient Recording Timecode Slate

Schoeps Super CMIT Shotgun Microphone - with real-time noise reduction. Not cheap, but very effective.

Cedar DNS - hardware real-time noise reduction. Not cheap, but very effective.

Universal Audio Apollo x6 - Thunderbolt 3 audio interface which can basically replace a full rack of analogue audio processing gear

Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd

Outro music from Artlist: Sunday by Rich Young Pixies - Amazing Journey. You can receive a 2 month discount on a subscription to Artlist, a subscription service for stock music you can use with your videos. Check it out at Artlist.