Location sound setup

[Aston]

Hey guys. First post on here. I've been reading a lot and doing research on this but was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions. I have about $1500 to spend on a location sound setup with boom, field mixer/recorder, and some lavs. Teeing to get into sound for picture as an independent contractor. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!!

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[imagineaudio]

This really should be in the "Location Sound" Forum, but I'll bite.

$1500 is peanuts for a location rig, you could easily spend that on just a boom pole and some cables.... so your going to have to make a decision...

Buy twice or buy the right gear slowly over time while you find a gig booming or doing utility for someone.

In my experience the bare minimum rig would consist of:

*Sennheiser 416 ~$1000
*Rycote windjammer ~$150
*Lightweight 12' boom pole with internal coiled cable $500-700 +Shockmount $70-$200
*3 Channel mixer (sound devices 302 or Shure) - $800-1200
*Porta-brace mixer bag ~$200
*Field recorder, Fostex FR-2 or similar $800+
*Two wireless transmitters and recievers and maybe a butt-plug style transmitter for wireless boom. Wouldn't go any cheaper than a sennheiser g3 system ~$800+
*Break away snake ~$150-300
*Headphones (sony mdr-7506) $100
*Miscellaneous accessories, problem solvers, etc ~$$

Now keep in mind that based on the rate for the shoot you may be able to rent some of the stuff when you need it. You'd still definitely need to rent some comteks for the director, scripty, ad, etc... I would not even entertain doing a gig without at least the above mentioned equipment, my reputation depends on it!

Now that being said, you could probably cobble together a rig consisting of a Rode boom mic, a couple of really low end lavs, a Sound Devices mix pre and record straight to camera.... Still be lucky to come in at under $1500

If it were my money, I'd spend it all on a "industry standard" type shotgun mic with a lightweight aluminium or carbonfiber pole, shockmount, windscreens and headphones. That way you can find a sound mixer to boom for and you can still do straight to camera freebies and less than minimum wage gigs if your careful with your input levels. Then, add the mixer when you can afford it. If you find yourself doing DSLR shoots, you may want the recorder next, instead of the mixer. The key is to get in with a sound mixer that you can boom for and learn from. This will give you the experience and insight necessary to be able to make these future buying decisions yourself.


YMMV...

[philper]

Originally Posted by Aston

Hey guys. First post on here. I've been reading a lot and doing research on this but was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions. I have about $1500 to spend on a location sound setup with boom, field mixer/recorder, and some lavs. Teeing to get into sound for picture as an independent contractor. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!!

Sent from my LG-MS910 using Gearslutz.com

As was said, your budget is pretty below the radar to get all the things you want. I'd suggest seeing what you can borrow/rent easily, and fill the kit out around that. If you can borrow or rent a good hyper or shotgun mic+ mount+zeps, then use your money for a small mixer (which is usually the core of a location soundie's rig). If you can use someone else's mixer, then get a mic. Get the best stuff you can afford, and you'll use it for your whole career and be able to sell it when you get out. Junky equipment will just hold you back.

phil p

[apple-q]

Originally Posted by Aston

Hey guys. First post on here. I've been reading a lot and doing research on this but was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions. I have about $1500 to spend on a location sound setup with boom, field mixer/recorder, and some lavs.

A professional boom will cost at least 500$ alone. Add a professional boom mic and you are already over budget and won´t even have a wind protection.

Seriously. You need to budget around 10 times the amount to get you a professional location recording kit that will get you through a modest shoot.

One single channel of wireless (professional diversity) will cost you about twice your entire budget.

1500$ is completely unrealistic for what you want to get.

Also remember the kit will be only as good as the weakest part in it.

[danijel]

In your situation, I'd stretch the budget a bit and get:
- Rode NTG3 with a zepp,
- Edirol R-44,
- A 100$ boompole (not Rode)
That will cover you for the basic ENG booming, where the R-44 doubles as a field mixer for recording to camera, and you can rent the wireless and whatever else you need when you need it.

[Aston]

Thanks for all the advice guys!! I didn't realize there was a location sound forum!! I'll have to check it out. I'm excited to check pout this gear! Thanks again!

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[RScott]

Imagineaudio I spot on for gear choices. Don't try to cobble together an entire kit for 1500. You will only wnd up looking bad on set. You could probably skip a 2 channel recorder for now if you're planning to do mostly audio to camera.

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[cinetj]

For location sound go to jwsound, the best forum in the internet with great people and great advise. Here is the link: jwsound - Home

[Aston]

Question: I was just curious as to why you suggested a 3 channel mixer as opposed to a 4 channel mixer or even a 2 channel mixer. I'm new to location sound. Should I get a 3 channel or 4 channel?

[mikevarela]

man, lot's of angry responses here.

Yes, the budget is small. but if you're learning then there might be two ways to tackle this.

You can either rent and save till you get enough, this way also helps you decide what works. Try a few different combinations and see what works best.

The other way would be to go with budget stuff and learn. This can be a great way to see what you actually need, but mind you, you shouldn't be promising quality audio and production sound without the right tools and craft.

The responses here are shortsighted and not encouraging.

Any time you can practice is time well spent. If you're friends with some guys and you wanna go out and shoot some shorts, then some budget gear is great, it'll do the job and you can save for what you need as you earn.

The sennheiser 416 is great, but you can get a Rode NTG3 for 699 and it'll sound very similar. The fostex FR2LE is also great, 2 channel recorder.

The sennheiser G2's are totally practical for lav's

and rode blimp is a great option and much less than the rycote - and it works well.

You'll likely need 1 boom and two lavs to get the basic sound, more is better but this should do.

If you're on a budget then recording through a laptop and mbox has worked in static scenarios.

You should read lot's and talk to those who handle this for a living, be humble and ask for advice.

Sometimes it's not about gear, sometimes it's about technique. But mind you, as a post guy, the location recordist is soooo important.

There is much better gear for this, as people will tell you. But, not learning becuase you can't afford stuff shouldn't be the only option. This is why renting is great.

good hunting, oh and please please record some room tone for the mixers

[Aston]

I just wanted to finish this thread as I have completed my basic location sound/ENG rig. For roughly $6500 this is what I have purchased:

Sennheiser 416 Shotgun Microphone.
Rycote Windjammer (shockmount, blimp, fuzzy cat)
K-Tek internally cabled boom pole
Sound Devices 302 3-channel mixer
Sound Devices 702t 2-channel recorder with timecode
Remote Audio BDSv3 Battery distrobution system
2 NP1 batteries
Studio 1 productions XLR adapter for Consumer/prosumer cameras
Remote Audio Betacam breakaway cable w/headphone return
Porta Brace AO-FLEX4B Audio Organizer Bag
Small XLR cables to connect mixer to recorder
Y-split XLR for dual record system (to camera and to recorder)

That's pretty much it so far. What I'm going to get next, which I think I'll need pretty soon is a small diaphragm hypercardiod condenser like the Rode NT3. Something for inside shots so I don't have this long shotgun mic in tight places.

After that, I'd like to get a Rode NT4 for ambience, background, and music recording. I really really really want that one

Anyway, hope this list will be helpful to somebody some day! Thanks for all the help and suggestions everybody!

[cinetj]

Originally Posted by Aston

That's pretty much it so far. What I'm going to get next, which I think I'll need pretty soon is a small diaphragm hypercardiod condenser like the Rode NT3. Something for inside shots so I don't have this long shotgun mic in tight places.

After that, I'd like to get a Rode NT4 for ambience, background, and music recording. I really really really want that one

For the hyper, you could get an oktava MK-012, a lot less cheaper than a schoeps and very similar on sound.