EQ on radio mic

[Matti]

Usually omni lavs are used with radio mics -so no proximity effect, but the mic placement is
important for sure

Matti

[InsightEU]

Find the right balance with octave with high pass filter.
Or try a diffrent mic technique..
M&S
The more directional the M captual the more directional the virtual patterns.
Apparent distance from the source may be increased by narrowing the mid pattern
Aterio spread can be controlled (helpful if mics cannot be re-positioned/live sound.)
Boost 400Hz to make it sound closer..
May lack spaciousness, solved by EQ tho
(4db Shelving boost below 400Hz on bi-directional channels/ 4dB shelving cut below 400Hz on centre microphone channel)..
If the room is treated right...

[InsightEU]

In broadcast i am sure you would have a band pass filter at the end of the chain.
Receiving the signal via antenna for example..
So these quality issued may not matter once it is streamed thru live broadcasts outboard gear..

[Henchman]

Do not even think about MS for dialog.
Worst idea ever.

[InsightEU]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Do not even think about MS for dialog.
Worst idea ever.

Intresting, i love the presence it gives and the control i have over it for female vocalists.

[Henchman]

Originally Posted by InsightEU

Intresting, i love the presence it gives and the control i have over it for female vocalists.

Seeing as this is a post production forum, and not a music forum, that is completely irrelevant.

[philper]

There can be a lot of low end w/ chest mounted lavs--mostly due to the low freqs emanating directly from the speaker's chest, as well as the audible effect of having less high end in buried lavs. I mostly find that compensating for those things is a good place to start, esp re matching a boom mic

phil p

[Pedantic Sound]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Seeing as this is a post production forum, and not a music forum, that is completely irrelevant.

I also fail to see how it would be good for female vocalists...

[GregorioM]

Originally Posted by Pedantic Sound

I also fail to see how it would be good for female vocalists...

It depends on the vocalist, it doesn't work for male vocalists, only for those female vocalists with REALLY BIG mouths!!

[josh broome]

Perhaps a filter is too extreme try parametric eq or low shelf, manually edit out plosives.

[its_in_da_mix]

Originally Posted by philper

There can be a lot of low end w/ chest mounted lavs--mostly due to the low freqs emanating directly from the speaker's chest, as well as the audible effect of having less high end in buried lavs. I mostly find that compensating for those things is a good place to start, esp re matching a boom mic
phil p

^this.

There can be quite a lot of difference in the frequency response of different lavs, and placement is quite critical for the sound, so a "standard fix EQ" is not possible I'm afraid.

Good places to start are:

- low cut about 90-100Hz to get rid of useless cr@p;
- as Phil said, chest resonance can be responsible for a lot of problems. The frequencies will depend on placement of the mic, on whether the speaker is male or female, and on the size of the chest (no jokes please ). Generally, chest resonance will be somewhere between 300 and 650 Hz, depending on the above. Try playing with a gentle dip filter in that f range to see where you get the best result.
- if the lav is hidden under a thick layer of clothes: try a slight boost in the (mid)highs, around 2 kHz (for intelligibility) and up (for brilliance). This one very much depends on the frequency response pattern of the lav used - most already push these frequencies, so it's a question of trial and error.....


Not EQ, but I find the following very effective for making lav sound sound less "lavvy" :

- Edit! Get rid of plops, pops, clothes rustle, rubbing the mic...
- Edit! get rid of heavy breathing () due to mouth being closer to mic, and of unwanted mouth sounds (editing or NR). This helps to "pull the sound away from the mic".
- always add room acoustics (and I usually do that in mono) - even perfectly eq-d lav sound sounds unnatural due to being so close and dry. Doesn't even have to be much, just put some life into it.
- add a bit of movement (Foley, or nicked from elsewhere in the recording) - imagine what a boom would have heard had it been there, and try to emulate that. Like with the reverb, don't go OTT.... ;o)

[danijel]

Originally Posted by dusty cooper

When filtering out the low end the signal gets more clear sure, but of course I loose some level as well. So by gaining the signal back up to a decent level I effectively increase the noise floor, which was already high. Noise reductoin helps a little but also does quite some damage.

Lav noise floor is usually lower than that of the boom mic, even when you EQ-out the low frequencies and compensate for gain. So, I'm suspecting that you're dealing with a less-then-ideal recording, probably done with some cheaper wireless equipment. That doesn't help you much, but at least you can hope it won't forever be like that, and as your career in post progresses, you'll probably get better recordings

[akinla]

I try to find the unnatural honk that occurs between 400 and 700 hz and notch a bit out, tends to make the lav a bit more natural. I just do a narrow Q boost and sweep through to find the dominant resonant frequency.