Mics in SXF Car recordings

[Mikkel Nielsen]

I have had good results using Dpa 4061 mics on a motorcycle. They can handle alot of SPL, and they Are pretty easy to mount (gaffers tape) since they are lavs.
I put them in both rycote fur and a rycote softie, for extra protection.

[Lzon]

You can get some great results with some DPA 4061s as Mikkel said.. Depending on the what the car is you could use a D112 for some low end.

[by-tor]

Yes. DPAs are amazing mics for recording cars and motorcycles. They make high and low sensitivity ones. The low sensitivity ones can be RIGHT next to a screaming exhaust or in an engine bay. Watch out for wind noise!

[Mikkel Nielsen]

This is how I mounted one of the DPA´s some weeks back, on a normal bike, but I approached it the same way on the motorcycle.
The mic is put in fur, and the fur inside a softie (and a sock), and its all secured with tape.

I took the bike over an extremely bumpy road, grass, dirt, you name it. No distortion, bumps, or wind trouble!

[renec]

I did a recording of my motorcycle recently Here's a writeup of the whole shoot, and from my experience I'd recommend the Line Audio CM3s and a crown PZM 6D.

The CM3 is incredibly small and lightweight, so mounting is a snap, and the thing has low end for days. The CM3 tracks transients a little slower than most SDCs, so it ends up with a pleasing built in compression that works well for exhausts and engines.



The PZM is incredibly wind-resistant if mounted with proper drafting, and also captures really excellent low end with fast transient response, for a different flavor.



and here's the mix (with a few other mics in play)

[wadana]

Thanks everybody for all your answers.
I'm looking to invest for the future, but right now, i'll soon be recording a maserati on circuit, and as much as i heard, the level is really nasty...

DPA also offer the 4062, it can handle 154 db on paper, i guess with this beast the level won't be an issue anyhow, but once your done, the sensitivity is so low that i won't be able to record anything but high level.
The 4061 goes up to 144 db, i'm not sure wheter level could become an issue or not .. or is it still completly safe and i'm just paranoid ?
A friend talked about the M101 from beyer, small omni dynamic could be an elegant solution.

Rene, your recordings are great, i'm really interested in the PZM ... maybe renting all those mics, make some tests and post them here afterwards could be interesting.

[wadana]

Hi group,

Well thanks for the ideas, the recording went great :
The car was a Maserati MC Stradale.
The rig :
- 1*4061 in the trunk (to get some pipe with metallic surroundings)
- 1 Barcus Berry contact mic on the inside of the trunk as well
- 1*4061 EXT on the pipe
- 1 PZM from scheops in the engine
- 1 sound field st450 in the passager seat
- 2*EXT MS schoeps systems for the passbys, up, away ...

It is quite fun to listen to all the elements separatly first as it feels it's never going to make it without some heavy tweaking.
But by adding up those elements the feeling of the car really comes to life.

I'll post some sounds when i'll have time (now naming metadataing process .... this is long) !

Thanks again

[cebolao]

Great thread, i have almost the whole movie in the car, will need to record lots of stuff like this

[ErikG]

And it makes all the difference in the world!
The sound connects to the vehicle automatically. With extra exhaust and engine mics you can change character and add growl and temperament of the sound totally without loosing the original car.
Editing can in fact be slower as there is so many options. But end result will almost always be better than using other stock sounds.

[minister]

For engines, I like to use a dynamic. A Heil PR35 or an SM57 or other condenser that can handle heat and is a bit...expendable.

For tailpipes, I like the Senn MKE2. I also love DPA's (4061), but I reserve mine for other things.

I also just picked up a Manfrotto Bogen Magic Arm kit for getting closer to the pipe when it is hard to tape down my usual goose neck.

[thebri]

Great thread!

I'm recording a lot off off road race cars, and expendibility is key. I like using dynamics like a 57 for the SPL issue, but have had a tough time with mounts and rattling. None of the usual suspects (Ktek, Rycote) for this type of work has anything sturdy enough for this environment.

Does anyone know of a heavy-duty mic mount? DIY is not a problem.

[Smallbudgetguru]

Originally Posted by thebri

Great thread!

I'm recording a lot off off road race cars, and expendibility is key. I like using dynamics like a 57 for the SPL issue, but have had a tough time with mounts and rattling. None of the usual suspects (Ktek, Rycote) for this type of work has anything sturdy enough for this environment.

Does anyone know of a heavy-duty mic mount? DIY is not a problem.

Try wrapping the 57 first in one of those loose windscreens (like a furry) then wrap in some sectioned off cheap yoga mat type foam. Tape it all up with some gaff and then mount that rats nest with some large wire ties and gaff under the hood. Be aware of heat sources and keep it taped so it won't light up

Ugly but can work

[wadana]

Depends on the car, but it's generally easy to avoid wind issues.

Mounting seemed to me the real difficulty, i used this hercule's velcro :
Dual Lock Reclosable Fastener :3M US
Worked very well.

For the heat, there's not too many choices, the mic needs to be resistant, wrapping it will help but if you're too close from the engine, and if you drive for a long while, the best is probably to let it cool down a bit every now and then (while recording the doors etc).

I had much better results with the PZM and the dpa4061 (while both of them can also handle massive levels) than with 57 or 421. Plus they are smaller, so it's easier to mount.

[thebri]

Oooh. I like this. There are all kinds of bars and tubes that I could wedge stuff into.

Originally Posted by Smallbudgetguru

Try wrapping the 57 first in one of those loose windscreens (like a furry) then wrap in some sectioned off cheap yoga mat type foam. Tape it all up with some gaff and then mount that rats nest with some large wire ties and gaff under the hood. Be aware of heat sources and keep it taped so it won't light up

Ugly but can work