On 3/7/08 11:23 PM, in article C3F87C2B.9D135%nowhere@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Soundhaspriority" <nowhere@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I'm a bit of an asshole on this group because I see a widely held
prejudice.
> Most people aren't even aware that they are prejudiced, but the mikes
they
> prefer are:
> 1. Made by Europeans or Americans.
> 2. Have famous names.
> 3. Cost a lot of money.
I won't take the bait of prejudice against various ethnic groups and
confine
my response to microphone selection.
It takes considerable experience to learn the capabilities of a microphone
in real world situations. Some mikes seem to perform really well when
listening in the store or plotting frequencies but will exhibit
limitations
when being used in challenging situations. No mike is going to sound great
on voices in reflective bathrooms or noisy streets but some seem to work
better than others. I don't have a high comfort level with a microphone
until I've used it in a considerable variety of situations.
By and large, the performance of mikes from the major players - Neumann,
Schoeps, Sennheiser from Europe, Sanken and others from Japan - have
consistently met expectations and have continued to work well over a long
period of time. That is, a Neumann KMR 81 can be expected to work today
just
as it did two years ago. (And, yes, everything benefits from the
occasional
factory tune-up.)
When I work an assignment, I rely on my tools to produce the best possible
results. By using tools of known professional reputation, I remove one
area
of anxiety from a situation loaded with multiple sources of anxiety. A
microphone from China (or Izbekistan or even Gary Trudeau's Berzerkistan)
may have equivalent performance but I'm not comfortable testing it on paid
assignments. I've used the Oktava for gunfire situations and learned that
it
is remarkably good for its price but not a daily substitute for the major
brands. Until the challengers are tested over a distance of ground, I am
not
prepared to substitute them for tools of known quality. That's not
prejudice, it's simply applying good sense.
Of course, as skilled people, such as yourself, evaluate new products with
critical listening and thinking, I am interested in your observations. But
until a product is well proven, I will stick with the usual suspects.
David Waelder
|
