Don't buy a Shotgun Microphone!

[@Tvj_films8452]

unless the guys audio sounds like Chris Judd or Gerald Undone, it's hard to take in his advice. This guys audio doesn't sound that good. Just average.

[@Rorschach1488_]

You know what, I think I'm gonna use my shotgun mic indoors even more now!

[@robwmc]

What an asinine statement from the poster.

[@99Plastics]

ok boomer@@robwmc

[@Mo-xx9gg]

​@@robwmcAnd a Bovine statement from you!

[@Mo-xx9gg]

You have missed the point of shotguns entirely! If used for the right reasons , they are superb! Totally biased review. Your sound isn't "great," btw...

[@kontoname]

@@Mo-xx9gg It's physics though. Even the companies BUILDING these will tell you that. Deal with it or crawl back into your cave of "trust me bro" and people suffering from tinnitus telling you what sounds "great".

[@jeremiahkuehne2400]

Short shotgun mics (like the 416) get used all the time on film sets even indoors. The difference is that they bring in sound blankets and treat the space they're filming in for better audio. Truth is that any mic is going to sound terrible in a small reverberant room. In fact, sometimes a short shotgun will actually be better at blocking out some of those reflections than an SDC. However, what needs to be taught to beginners is to use sound blankets. Get a couple of them that are white on one side and black on the other. They can double as flags and reflectors for lighting while drastically improving the quality of your audio. Once you've treated the room, pick the mic that has the right polar pattern for the audio you're trying to capture. An SDC is going to sound terrible in an untreated room but I guess it'll sound terrible without comb filtering lol. Although yes, even in a treated room if you're booming near a low ceiling that is reflective you're going to get some bad audio. Use the right tool for the situation, but there isn't a hard and fast rule on what to use indoors versus outdoors.

[@jeremiahkuehne2400]

I'll add more to this...if you're first starting out and doing event work, a short shotgun mic is great because you'll be working a lot in *large* indoor rooms rather than small indoor rooms, and usually there will be a lot of people around to absorb weird reflections (and the directionality of the short shotgun versus an SDC will be important). However, if you're starting out just buying a mic for YouTubing in your small bedroom: PUT UP SOUND BLANKETS. That should be step number one. Then determine if there is external noise that you want to prevent from reaching the mic like an AC unit or busy street. It might be possible that the directionality of a short shotgun will work to prevent the external noise from being recorded. However, if you're working with a *very* noisy room you might be better off with a handheld mic or podcast mic in the shot so that you can be very close to the microphone and drown out the background noise. On the flip side, if you have a quiet and well treated room, an SDC would be great!

[@vmtz2001]

I have a 416. I used it for VO in a small 4’x4’ space for a while. It sounded too hollow and muddy, even with 3 layers of thick audio blankets. The problem is the slats on the sides cause phase cancellation from the bass frequencies bouncing past the treatment from one wall to the other in front of the mic. Long story. You need a really thick layer of treatment for really small spaces. For indoors, a lot filmmakers use the mkh 50. It doesn’t have the slats. I use a a $100 AKG P170 pencil mic with no slats and it sounds way better. And yes I know the mkh416 is the gold standard for a lot of VO actors. It’s just not practical for the rest of us. As for movies, spare yourself the trouble of hanging audio blankets all over the place and get a short small condenser pencil mic.

[@jeremiahkuehne2400]

@@vmtz2001 Directional shotgun mics don't actually attenuate bass frequencies much so I don't know why you'd hear phase issues in the bass frequencies in mics with an interference tube. You could certainly hear audio bouncing off a nearby surface behind a shotgun mic (since it is sensitive to sounds directly behind it), but supercardioid and hypercardioid pencil mics will also have that rear sensitivity. You'd need to use a cardioid mic in a situation where you want to reject directly behind the mic. I would still highly recommend using sound blankets even with a pencil mic. Just get *some* fabric in the room or it'll be terrible.

[@yanns559]

I wouldn't typically call the mkh416 a short shotgun, its a shotgun. Longer than that is for distant sounds, sports etc. And the mkh416 is really really not flexible, the sound changes so much when you go off axis. The mkh50 or a km185 is great for 90% of indoors shoots, as long as you don't have a huge headroom.

[@yanns559]

To be honest the mkh416 is super frequent on sets mostly because it has been used for so long but it is kind of an outdated mic. mkh60, mkh8060, DPA 4017, Schoeps cmit5 have a similar pattern and way better behavior.

[@PurpleandGold615]

I dont recommend what hes going for here for beginners. As others have said in the comments. A $200 Shotgun mic is going to be 80% of a $600 SDC indoors. When you factor that in along with a shotgun mics versatility outdoors, if youre a beginner a shotgun mic is the way to go along with a Lavalier mic. Once you improve and find out that this is the job for you and you become an amateur solo videographer THEN you can upgrade to better indoor gear. You cant go wrong with a simple AT897 for most use cases early on.

[@Rivenworld]

Totally agree with you.

[@paulanderegg5536]

With what you said, there are ways to make a shotgun sound better, placement primarily.

[@charlieross-BRM]

The vocal delivery on this segment is quite harsh to the ears. That's not good for a segment on capturing good vocals. The attack at the start of sentences especially is jarring. Maybe it's a heavy application of post processing attack or maybe the announcer hasn't got the hang of speaking calmly and smoothly. I hear this far too often on many YT channels.

[@austinno.1]

It’s common on KZbin because KZbinrs who specialize in audio do all of their reference work with reference audio equipment. Even professionals make this mistake. Take a set of reference headphones and go watch some shows from TBS or Fox Or Comedy Central, especially if it’s studio animation like family guy or American dad. Decades of producing these shows with millions of dollars in production, and yet with studio headphones you can hear reverb out the ass from poor recording and stray sounds that shouldn’t be there such as footsteps or breathing in certain scenes. If you design your sound thinking everybody is using trash speakers, you’ll miss the target for good speakers and vice versa. It should be the same thought process for color, which is why most people recommend grading to Rec709 because it’s a standard across all usable devices. Audio is much more technical and harder to understand and standardized for one-man-bands because you have no choice but to become a specialist in audio to understand why or how to do it well.

[@shingAMarie]

I think when you use the term worst, you are definitely exaggerating how bad they are indoors.

[@dimediaatl]

Maybe a bit. Usable if need be, but not great.

[@micwilli10]

Great video. Just to make it easier on everyone, I purchased two Schoeps CMC6 with the MK41 caps in 1989. I change out the caps to MK4’s when I started working on the X Files and everything I’ve done since then has been that way. So yes it’s expensive, but you’ll never buy another mic for interiors ever again. I have tried all the others, but always end up back with the Schoeps. For outdoors, it took a while, I went from 416/816 combo’s to KMR 81/82 combos and around 2000 I was given a Sanken CS-3e and it was brilliant. One last thing to add, my lavs are Sanken cos-11’s. they blend perfectly between the CS-3e and the CMC6-4. Your videos are spot on. Keep up the great work. Michael Williamson c.a.s.

[@dimediaatl]

Thank you for your comment Michael! It is always great to hear what the pros in the field are using!

[@rumorscameras]

I believe slund recordists knkw what to buy bcz of the usual carreer path! But people who are watching youtube videos they re not pro sound. They might be strating without knowledge to make videos and they need to know more aboit how to record sound. Schoeps and neumann are for pros, people watch these vids cz they dnt get why they used this it that and got ccrap sound or so much echo. Mainly. A pro would have a selection of spices and wouod not live on youtube trying to look which mic is better or what is best for indoor dialogue.

[@calvinchoy8896]

location sound mixer: Am i joke to you?

[@iocomposer]

Agreed. It's important to have a good shotgun in your kit but yeah, I use Scheops CMC641 as my every day recording mic, also use the CMC-1 mini amplifier... it's so tiny. (hollywood sound pro for 30+ years).

[@dimediaatl]

@@iocomposer 641 is awesome! 541 & 441 are solid options as well (although not as RF shielded as the Colette series). 541 is probably my favorite microphone ever made!

[@vinny142]

Why don't you just stop being a clickbaiter and call your video "why using shotgun mics in un-soundtreated rooms may not be the best solution"? Clickbait is *the* best way to stop people from taking you seriously, like I am doing now.

[@VladPrisăcaru-t8i]

So, you joked :) , didn t get from the first time.

[@thespitfireboy3088]

I'm sorry but I can't stop noticing the peak clipping in this video.

[@astralaudio101]

Yes, i’ve discovered this recently also.. I also discovered 3U Audio and a single SDC hyper cardioid starts at $208 US. They are very good Neumann style microphones. 👍

[@dougiereid5001]

Very timely and useful video as I was about to purchase a shotgun mic for indoor dialogue in a echo prone room! Gone for a Røde NT5 after some further research.

[@dimediaatl]

Glad I could help!

[@rumorscameras]

Bro. Its all shotguns the same. The mkh416 id nkt a real shotgun. Thats one reason why it is used kn kndoors mkre often than outdoors. And the sdc s they pick up the room echo as a reverb and thats no good either. U coukd use furniture or sound blankets on the ceiling and floor with some autopoles as well few hanging to break the echo. Then any mic would do. But also a great shotgun is bettter than an nt5 in any case. Mics in general as a product wasnt made to be used by amateurs in their toilet to record "dialogue" and enter the shkwbiz from the back door. They are tools made for professionals to use in their respective environment. So youtubers and people sfarting out looking for the absolute cheapest best is nkt how films are made or any media, nor why mics were made. If u slend less of course u get less. If u take ur mic to the hallway of a metro of coirse u ll hear the echo. Nt5 would nkt solve this its made to capture this.

[@jackedkerouac4414]

Yeah I think booking work using a shotgun mic trumps this guy's opinion.

[@luucamNY]

I came across a retro SDM without realizing it it’s from radio shack I couldn’t find anything on the microphone but when I tried it it sounds amazing doing some deeper research in the 90s shure used to make microphones for RadioShack

[@dimediaatl]

This is great! I had no idea! Hope you like the mic!

[@granitpower]

I still prefer my rode ntg / go2 indoors and outdoors. -and never hab any “filtering effect” -SG-Mics for the W 🥰

[@dimediaatl]

If it works it works!

[@zogun]

for indoor budget pencil SDC; Nt5, sE7 or even Behringer B5

[@18CC]

you should read correctly the link to comb filtering effect, like this part : Here are situations where you will commonly encounter comb filtering. Using two mics at different distances from the same source. Note: If the distance between the mics is large, then the dips will be small enough to be unnoticeable. Having a hard surface near a microphone. The reflections off the hard surface can cause an audible delay perceived as comb filtering, similar to the way that light reflects off a mirror. Having a hard surface reflecting a speaker sound. If you have a hard surface that is creating a dual path (speaker to ear plus speaker to surface to ear), then it can create comb filtering in your monitoring. Using two speakers projecting into the same space. In live settings, using multiple cabinets whose coverage overlap can create comb filtering in that overlap.

[@butsukete1806]

Remington is pretty good but I still prefer a Mossberg. And the Mossberg just sounds better when you're blasting away.

[@AliceVixie]

With all the respect, shotguns in filming are great choice but you have to really operate the boom, not just stay there daydreaming with somehow raised hands. If you can't afford real boom operator, go for Sanken cos-11 under clothes. But pencils... maybe for press conferences in controlled environment where everything would work including PZM.

[@dimediaatl]

Quality boom operator is everything. I don't hate on shotgun microphones at all. I use them all the time IN THE CORRECT ENVIRONMENT for the CORRECT job. . I also have no problem about using them indoors either provided that the space has been treated well. However all that being said, the number one choice of mics for indoors are always either Schoeps 641 or Sennheiser MKH50 both of which are pencil mics. Some people even use them for drum overheads. For conferences Shotguns are actually IDEAL because of room rejection since there is a lot of noise from people and you cant always get close to the people that you are trying to interview (news etc). For Lavs COS11's are being phased out by DPA 6060/6061 as the industry standard microphone or 4060/4061. But COS11 is still robust as hell and delivers the goods. I have a ton of them. Thank you for a polite comment!

[@IntegratedOK]

You really know your stuff. This will probably change which mic I purchase for the department. Thank you.

[@dimediaatl]

Happy to help! Let me know if you have any questions!

[@AndrewDBrown2020]

Brilliant - fantastic advice - thank you.

[@siddhantkumar4896]

Increase the text size on teleprompter please and slow down the speed

[@tubetone74]

The 416 shotgun seems to work ok for vo pros like Joe Cipriano.

[@dimediaatl]

416 is a great mic. In the right conditions its perfect. I think when it comes for VO & when you are working in the professional realm a lot of this stuff comes down to preference. However, I was talking to beginners here who might not even have a budget for this kind of microphone.

[@the_black_douglas9041]

the 416 is great used the way it was intended but can behave very badly in a reverberant indoor space

[@henryposadas3309]

Remember Voice talents use sound treated sound booths or rooms. In fact for VO they want a booth that has "dead" sound (almost no reverb).

[@SoundSpeeding]

Voice Over is a DRASTICALLY different animal to film shoots. VO Artists for instance can sound treat their recording location, and never have to worry about being off axis. (which the 416 is terrible at! I don't recommend that mic at all)

[@ManishPt-IN]

Very very valuable.. Thankyou

[@lb7144]

I went broke just watching and wishing for microphones 😂 Awesome video, thank you so very much.

[@dimediaatl]

Thanks for watching!

[@Slipsch]

Schoeps CMC641 is not RF biased by design hence more susceptible to moisture if you are in humid areas. Hence, I went with the MKH 50 since I live in tropical country.

[@dimediaatl]

Sounds good!

[@MatthiasLenardt]

Absolutely right! 💯 Best greetings, Matthias

[@dimediaatl]

Thank you!

[@MatthiasLenardt]

@@dimediaatl Always welcome! Have a fabulous weekend 😀

[@stevedoubleu99B]

It's true that one learns something new everday. Thank you.

[@dimediaatl]

Thank you for watching!

[@Tiler-ju9zl]

Record a live band.then record with your phone.see if there is any difference. Phone mic should be made alot better. Specially every one record everything with there phone.

[@dimediaatl]

Agreed! But there are mics for phones nowadays that can be helpful for recording voice. Recording a band however will sound terrible no matter which microphone you use. For live recording you need to have a microphone on every instrument + a DI for the best results. Trying to record a live show with one mic (in most environments where the sound is coming from a house PA) will not yield good results!

[@davedoesreviews]

I subscribed. Thanks! Pls post the lavalier Vid :) I have a small room I film unboxings in. I was thinking to use a Sennheiser ME2-II Lavalier, and make a small boom/stand set-up (sometimes clip the mic and sometimes boom it at one foot above my head. WDYT?

[@dimediaatl]

I think you have a right idea. I actually use Sennheiser MEII for these videos with the Rode Wireless Go II (Nice & Simple). So I think it will be just fine for your needs. As far as the boom is concerned I would pick up a super/hyper cardoid mic for this scenario. But I honestly think a lav is perfectly fine. For professional work I use DPA 4060/6060 lavalier mics (but those are 500.00 & 700.00 respectively. Hope this helps.

[@davedoesreviews]

@@dimediaatl HERO MOVE with that answer

[@roderickdeleeuw2101]

​@@dimediaatl On that note: I'm considering an (even more) straightforward setup for my untreated (and often changing) room: a Lav (i.e. Sennheiser MEII or Deity W.Lav Pro) with a 3.5mm extension cable running into a y-splitter where I can (when needed) connect my IEM's into (for video calls). Echo is such a turnoff for me in recordings, do want to make my 1st set of videos for social media echo free. Hope this idea makes any sense. Ps. Your video is fantastic.

[@dimediaatl]

@@roderickdeleeuw2101 I would also look at Nvidia noise cancelling software (if you are running an Nvidia based system). I have seen some results from it and it looks like a great companion for video calls! Cheers!

[@libinptk4678]

I have a Sony ECM 673 mic, is it suitable for indoor audio taking purposes

[@dimediaatl]

@@libinptk4678 provided you are not in a totally reverb full space it should be fine. Just get it as close as possible to the sound source!

[@orestes1984]

Nice video, I can tell you know what you're talking about, but some testing would be nice.

[@nedzeppelin]

Hi DIT Media, I'm trying to decide between a pencil, shotgun, or lavalier in my uncommon situation. I'm going to attempt to make a drum lesson youtube channel where I will upload recorded videos: Of me gradually speeding up drumbeats and drum fills so that my students can play along with the pre-recorded videos. While I'm playing, I want to give live technique pointers into a mic. I will also be telling stories into the mic as I'm playing. The room will not be treated other than that it is carpeted, and the wall behind me will have blue video-studio paper taped to it. NOTE: I will be using quiet Zildjian L80 perforated cymbals, and electronic drums. I have an AT2035 as my overhead. But I really need a good voice mic. So, i need to keep enough of the cymbal sound out of my speaking-mic that my students can hear my voice clearly enough in the mix that they can hear subtle inflections. I've been testing with the AT2035, but because it's omni-directional, I'm just not getting away with it. I've been testing on my students online over Zoom. Most of them can't understand most of what I'm saying while I'm drumming. --Unless I put the AT2035, right in front of my face. I don't want to deal with any batteries or wireless. I'm using a Scarlett 18i20. And I have plenty cables and 18i20 is within reach. It has four v48 inputs, three are available. I need something with a great voice sound that will cut out plenty of the cymbal sound.. It doesn't have to be expensive, and I prefer that it isn't. Especially because bleed is unavoidable even with super and hyper cardioid. I just need something that will turn on, rather than turn off the listener. And I need it out of frame, unless its a lavalier,. I don't care if a lavalier is visible, as long as it's not obscuring my face at all--which would inhibit the drama or humor of my stories. I know this is a crazy problem. I hope you run into these kind of situations in film. Thanks, Ned :)

[@dimediaatl]

Hi Ned, I would honestly try Shure SM58 its a dynamic mic that is used on stages all around the world. You can get one used for about $50.00 USD. By no means do a lav, since they are omnidirectional mics and they will just get overpowered by the drumset. I suppose SM7B is another option, but its a lot larger, more expensive and will be a bigger pain to deal with. Hope that helps.

[@nedzeppelin]

@@dimediaatl Hey, thanks for your reply. I've done a lot testing and settled on a used DPA 4488. It's the most legible to my students. And the lack of cymbal bleed is exceptional. It's an amazing mic, and I'm sure I'll gradually learn how to actually use it right, LOL. I got it for about 450, open box. So, I'm psyched.

[@dimediaatl]

@@nedzeppelin Oh WOW yea that is a great mic. I have a few DPA mics in my kit and they all are great tools. Glad it worked out for you! Congrats!

[@Dah_J]

Anyone else notice his eyes going back and forth reading the teleprompter?

[@dimediaatl]

@@Dah_J I do script my stuff yes! I guess my prompter reading skills should improve a bit! Thank you for the suggestion!

[@Dah_J]

@ haha I’m not judging. I just bought my very first teleprompter the other day. It’s definitely harder than it looks

[@dimediaatl]

@ which one did you get?

[@Dah_J]

@@dimediaatl Elgato prompter

[@dragade101]

Thanks for the overview. Curious why your floor in this list was starting at 600usd. There are pencil mics that are under 600usd and not horrific for their sound: RODE videomic NTG Oktava MK-012-01 Paying for a pro mic isn’t wrong but something that costs about 50% the cost while providing 80 to 90% of the sound quality feels like something you want to cover.

[@dimediaatl]

I only included microphones that I have personal experience with/own. I always wanted to check out the microphones that you mentioned, but never got the chance. I would also love to test out Lewitt pencil mics. Absolutely nothing wrong with cheaper gear that gets the job done! If you get some additional suggestions for cheaper mics throw them my way!

[@dragade101]

@@dimediaatl There is a quality jump between 200 to 300 usd vs around 600usd. Though you are not 2x your quality for this price. Feel free to check out semi pro audio when you can!

[@dimediaatl]

@@dragade101 Will do! Thanks!

[@sanztos4595]

All information on the internet says RODE videomic NTG is a shotgun mic. Are you sure it's a pencil mic? Sorry I'm a newbie. TY

[@Endorphiinee]

You're amazing, thank you so very much for this video !! Unfortunately, I do this mistake, but, even if I wasn't know about comb filtering that you're talking, I quickly find the sound was in trouble with my AT897 shotgun. ^^' You confirmed this. Then, I bought the AT8033 ('cause I'm a beginner and i'm not rich aha) and hope it will be better. See that next week... O_O Anyway, thanks again for all that you learning to me (to us !) on you're videos ! (PS: Sorry for the bad english guys. Hope you're understood it...)

[@dimediaatl]

Absolutely! Glad I could help! Best of luck!

[@thenarrowpathoftruth9443]

Nice job

[@thegodnasr]

Thank you! Great information! What level should I set my mic gain at in an untreated room for KZbin videos? The mics I use are the Shure MV88 and Rode Videomic Go 2.

[@dimediaatl]

It all depends on mic positioning. Here is what I would do. 1. Place the microphone as close as possible 2. Do some sample tests speaking the way you would for your YT video. 3. Look at the recording and adjust your gain from there (If you are constantly peaking then turn it down, if its too low then turn it up). I always try to find the right balance between microphone placement and microphone gain. Since I have no idea about the recording conditions, your room acoustics/treatment etc that is all I can recommend. If you give me more information I would be happy to help. Also, what DAW or Recorder are you using for this? Make sure you record at least 24Bit 48Khz for enough editing headroom.

[@thegodnasr]

@@dimediaatl thank you so much! This helps me a lot. I’m a new subscriber💙

[@robwmc]

When you make blanket statements like you did in your description, don’t lecture anyone like that. Every mic has a purpose and that statement is remarkably stupid. I don’t care what the video content is.

[@mannanoida]

Thank you for the information. You deserve more audience, more subscribers.

[@dimediaatl]

Thanks! That means a lot!

[@aNumberOne]

Budget option - Audio Technica 2021 $89

[@mychalsimmons4177]

IM a 45 yr pro and LOL dhde you are so WRONG STOP telling people this STOP IT!!! a sennhiser 416 is standard for a reason. A RODE NFG3 OR 5 will serve you well. Talk to TOM ANTOS well tell you. STOP LYING TO PROPLE DUDE. IVE RECORDED PRO SOUND SINCE 1979 STOP!!!!!!

[@hyunjoonkim]

What makes the Sennheiser and Scheops worth 2-3 times the Audio-Technica? Do they have longer reach, lower self-noise, and/or better side rejection? Assuming you’ve tried them all, do you think the price difference is warranted? If you have any audio comparisons, I’d love to hear them as well. Thanks!

[@dimediaatl]

Hi Harrison, maybe I will actually make a separate video comparing the sound. However, KZbin will compress the sound anyway. That being said, Sennheiser & Schoeps just sound a lot better. On certain voices Audio Technica would sound almost harsh (specifically high pitched voices) whereas Schoeps just tames that harshness. Sennheiser (I don't have that mic personally, but know several people who do) has a larger low end, so if that's something that you are after then its the right microphone for that. It also holds up better in humid conditions than Schoeps (which pretty much dies in humid conditions). But again these are indoor mics. As far as the reach they are all about the same. Both Sennheiser & Schoeps do better in reverb heavy environments (to a point). AT is a great indoor starter mic (I used a pair for years) but once you get a Sennheiser or Schoeps you will never go back. I highly recommend going into a local rental house and AB testing all of them if you are thinking about buying one or the other. As far as the exact tech specs of each mic they are available online if you are interested.

[@yinYangMountain]

DIT Media, I’ll send you samples of indoor audio without any post processing. Do you think you can recognize which mics were shotguns and/or what any of the mics were? Because if shotgun mics are the ‘worst,’ you would obviously be able to choose which ones are worse, right? But if not, why not? Note: This called a ‘blind’ test-so your biases won’t lead you astray. yYM

[@dimediaatl]

I did not say that the shotguns were the worst, I said that they are one of the worst for indoor dialogue (especially in an untreated space). It is not to say that you cant get great dialogue with them, but in indoor spaces with lots of reflections a super or hypercardioid microphone will perform a lot better. You can literally ask any professional audio mixer and they will back up what I am saying. There is a reason why CMC641 is the best all around indoor dialogue microphone. However, most of the time you should be using the gear that you have at your disposal. So, if that is a shotgun microphone, so be it. That's what I used in the beginning as well. But for IDEAL results for INDOOR DIALOGUE a hyper or supercardioid is the way to go. As far as the blind tests are concerned I wont be able to tell which mic model & number is which, but I can usually (not always) tell based on the amount of background noise, reverb etc which one is the shotgun and which one is the super or hypercardioid. But environment & mic positioning play a very large role in terms of how stuff sounds as well (sound treatments is actually more important than the mic you use.) There is no perfect piece of gear, they each have limitations and drawbacks. I am not interested in picking up a fight over this stuff. Use whatever gear you have at your disposal to make stuff you like.

[@yinYangMountain]

@@dimediaatl That’s all very interesting. But if someone cannot tell which mic is which in a ‘blind’ test, then the actual mic, and all the why and why not information, is irrelevant. I.e., someone’s idea of what does or does not ‘sound’ good, bad, etc. (without post processing) should be apparent-but it’s not. That’s the point. Ref. University-level Behavioral Economics.

[@the_black_douglas9041]

@@yinYangMountain that’s not what he’s talking about though. He’s talking about using the right mic for the situation. Fact: the best shotgun mic in the world will sound shocking in a small indoor reverberant space. Fact: a good shotgun will sound beautiful on dialogue outdoors.

[@film2375]

Thanks for video 👍. I have no experience in audio that's why looking for Zoom F2 32bit recorder. Which mic will you recommend with zoom f2 ? I want to invest less but if getting better audio I can go upto 400$ for mic. Shooting short fiction, location mainly untreated indoor rooms and few outdoor. My locations has some traffic noise. I have shortlisted some - Sennheiser mke 600, mke 400, Videomic pro, Deity d3, d3 pro. Or any other mic Which one will be suitable in my case?

[@the_black_douglas9041]

@@film2375 if you’re shooting outdoors only, all those choices are good but for indoors, unless you treat the room heavily and use the mic just right, anything with “shotgun” in its name will not sound good. Go for a small diaphragm cardioid or super cardioid, a so called “lipstick” mic. These are smaller than “shotgun” mics and will do it all. Line Audio CM-4, Lewitt and Oktava are all renowned examples in your price range.

[@vmtz2001]

Shotgun mics are good for indoor voiceovers IF IF the space is well treated. Half the top VO actors use the Sennheiser mkh 416, a shotgun mic. However, a small booth would require 8” of treatment! That’s not practical for most of us. My $100 AKG P170 sounds better! I have a 416. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoqTg4OEbdCpntU

[@dimediaatl]

416 is a great mic. I used it a lot in the outside humid conditions when every other mic starts to experience issues most of the time. Again, Shotguns can be used indoors in treated spaces where the audio is not bouncing around all the time. But as you said, thats not the case for most of us. Also, mic positioning will honestly play a bigger role in how stuff sounds than the type of mic that it is.

[@stefanmuller1855]

Thanks for this great video. Now I know whats wrong with my audio😅

[@dimediaatl]

Haha! Glad I could help! Thanks for watching!

[@stefanmuller1855]

@@dimediaatl awaiting my new microfone. Switching from Rode VideoMic Me to Sennheiser MKE400.

[@LegallyYoursPH]

Thank you for the info. It helped a lot.

[@dimediaatl]

Glad to hear it!

[@TonyMolesworthMusic]

I am a musician that wants to make music videos, i sing and play banjo. I would like to make videos indoor and outdoors. Wny suggestions. Thanks. J did not understand when you said dialog im a music recording studio. Why dialog. Not music. Thanks alot

[@dimediaatl]

So, to clarify: Do you want to record yourself playing & singing? Or: Do you want to make videos talking about music in a recording studio? Please clarify and I will be able to advise further.

[@TonyMolesworthMusic]

@@dimediaatl thanks, yes record myself songing and playing. And, no no talking. Thanks

[@dimediaatl]

That one is tough. You will need a dual mic setup or at the very least a dynamic mic for your voice (Shure SM58/SM7B will do the trick). For the actual banjo that depends on whether it has an output jack (and most banjos that I have seen do not), you will need another microphone. Instrument recording can get really deep & there are many ways to approach it but for the budget I would recommend Shure SM57 for that. IF you Banjo for some reason has an output jack you can record a "dry" signal into an interface and use one microphone for your voice and blend the 2 in post. The reason you don't really want to use an overhead mic here is because the banjo will most likely overpower your voice and wont give a balanced mix to the recording. So, to sum up: Get a Shure SM58 for your voice & get a Shure SM57 for the banjo. You can get both of these used for under $100.00 Hope this helps!

[@bernhardtmitdt2586]

Your title is wrong! It should be "Don't use shotgun mics for ...". There are a lot of setups (e.g. outdoor) where a shotgun mic is perfect. So, please, be fair!

[@gbwalther3198]

Lav Mic, what's that you have clipped to your shirt? One of those fancy pencil mics, oh, must have been that $1700 Shoeps Pencil Mic, what else? 😎😎

[@dimediaatl]

Lav microphones will get a separate video. And if you were paying attention I am specifically talking about dialogue recording for film or corporate shoots in this video where clients expect good sound no matter the environment. KZbin is a whole other animal.

[@gbwalther3198]

How about a sense of humor? 😎😎

[@dimediaatl]

@@gbwalther3198 That one sometimes is difficult LOL🤣

[@revokdaryl1]

I'll be using my Audio Technica AT875R for a short film in about a week. I'll be filming indoors in an untreated room. Can I get away with using this? Or should I rent an MKH 50?

[@dimediaatl]

I have no experience with this mic. If you look on KZbin Curtis Judd actually has a review of this mic. Highly recommend. My 2 Cents: Looking at the spec sheet (which is not enough in this case) as well as the price I would say MKH50 will probably be better for indoor dialogue provided you can get the microphone close enough & have a good boom operator. AT mic also has 90Hz-20,000Khz response whereas MKH50 can go down to 40Hz which will give you more of low end. I also don't know if your talent has a high pitched vs. low pitched voice. If you do have any outdoor scenes etc, I would also try to look for wind treatment for this mic such as a blimp w/deadcat. All in, if you have a tight budget I would probably use this mic, and instead of spending money on a fancier microphone I would look at spending it on craft service, better talent, or actually hiring a quality sound mixer/boom operator to get what you need. Skill in this case will be worth more than the gear. Hope this helps!

[@LowellProductions]

great video my friend. Cheers

[@dimediaatl]

Thanks my man!

[@goatpepperherbaltea7895]

I sculpt clay projects and want to start filming them with good audio and I figured a shotgun mic over the table would work best. Should I get a different kind of mic for that?

[@dimediaatl]

Depends on your environment & budget. I usually always go for a Hyper/Super cardioid in that environment, but totally depends. Please give me more information about the exact environment. Sometimes even a mic on camera like Rode Video NTG can work.

[@itstimmytime9559]

My friends and I are going to start shoooting a primarlyy outdoor movie, do you still sugest to not use a shot gun mic or should we opt for an LAV mic?

[@dimediaatl]

If you are mainly outdoors I would probably go for a shotgun. MKH416 or 8060 (with a blimp) or similar. Main thing when recording dialogue is options. So you should actually combine a lav with a shotgun if possible. The main things to think about are: 1. How wide are the shots? (Wide shots will probably call for a lav since a shotgun will be too far. 2. Wind (No matter which mic you go with make sure you have adequate wind protection). A blimp with a windscreen for a shotgun and overcovers for lavs. 3. Humidity. Certain mics don't do well with humidity at all. Schoeps tends to have issues with humidity a lot. Some other one's do as well. If you have a rental house for audio gear in your town I would go there and talk to some people. Hope this helps.

[@itstimmytime9559]

@@dimediaatl Thank you so much for your response!!! Would you suggest any other mics that are a bit on bugget😅. The two you mentioned look great but are a bit expensive. I think we found some good LAV mics we’re gonna use but I don’t know a reliable shotgun mic that’s also pretty inexpensive.

[@dimediaatl]

@@itstimmytime9559 Sure thing. I had a pretty good luck with Rode Videomic NTG (Its an on Camera mic, but can be clipped on the boom). The only problem is that its a 1/8 connector and not XLR. When I started I also used Rode NTG4+, but I also saw pretty good stuff about Deity S-Mic 2 (Its basically a Sennheiser MKH416 clone). Are you located in the US? If so you can always rent from places like Lensrentals etc. Its pretty affordable.

[@dimediaatl]

The other thing is mic placement is KEY. Make sure to get the mic as close as possible to the sound source for the best performance.

[@niharrangoonwalathepeoples3662]

Lovely!!

[@rumorscameras]

cardioid is better for indoor. otherwise there is no point in not using the shotgun

[@christianaguilar7435]

Great video man. I have a problem and is that i live in mexico and there is not rentals. The rode videomic go ii or deity V-Mic D3 Pro would work?

[@dimediaatl]

I don't have a lot of experience with Deity. RODE on the other hand is a well tested brand at this point. RODE Videomic Go II is solid as well as a RODE Videomic NTG (I have bought several of those). If money allows Videomic NTG is the one I recommend.

[@christianaguilar7435]

@@dimediaatl thank you so much you are the goat

[@SoundSpeeding]

Those are two very very different products, one is a cheapie wireless mic, and the other is a camera mounted mini shotgun. So the answer depends entirely on your purpose and needs.

[@nooddles12]

regret it too.

[@danieltx7066]

i’m so tired of crappy click-bait titles. *sigh*

[@gbwalther3198]

Schoeps Pencil Mic! 😎😎

[@dimediaatl]

The best!

[@onetripwonders]

I guess all those experienced working professionals at the top of their game have been doing it wrong for years. Wow.

[@Ricardo-ti3kf]

thanks for the video, would those pencil mics also work to pick up speech like 5-10m away max? it doesn't have to sound great just ok with not too much static and background. I would like to use it mounted to a camera in a conference room with participants. I looked into shotgun mics like the Rode ntg3 but also read about them being a bad choice indoors. room mics are not an option because there is no table and people move around.

[@dimediaatl]

That will all depend on the room acoustics and what is the purpose of the recording. What are you trying to do? What I am getting at is, what is the purpose of the recording and how clean does it need to be?

[@Ricardo-ti3kf]

@@dimediaatl I am live broadcasting to a zoom conference and also recording the feed to my local drive. I could do some postprocessing with voicemeeter or something. the room is quite large with little to no sound treatment. it doesn't have to sound that great because for the presentation and q&a I'm using a handheld mic. just when people move around and talk to each other. I want to capture the whole room so people inside zoom don't watch a video without sound. edit: I was thinking about putting the mic (shotgun or pencil) on a boom stick so it would be from above, but like I said it would have to be able to capture voice +/- 5 meters away

[@dimediaatl]

@@Ricardo-ti3kf Oooof, interesting. OK, so if all you care about is just capturing the crowd, meaning it does not have to be intelligible, just background noise then I would just have several small condensers throughout the room or at least one. However, if you care about capturing what the attendees are actually saying then you will need to either mic them or have a boom operator follow them. Let me know if I don't understand what you mean. Hope this helps.

[@Ricardo-ti3kf]

@@dimediaatl thanks for your replies! I'll have to try it out then and see how it sounds with different mics. maybe look into a ceiling mic although they are quite expensive. using a operator with a boom stick is definitely too much 😅

[@dimediaatl]

@@Ricardo-ti3kf If you are in the US you can always rent gear via Lensrentals or local rental houses to mitigate the costs.

[@rumorscameras]

The at4053 is now 700 usd haha they judt increased which nkt budget friendly anymore. Japanese companies are increasing prices for economic reasons not value reasons

[@dimediaatl]

Ooooof that sucks. Yea prices are going up all across the board. My SD MixPre10II was 1400 and now it almost 1800. Crazy stuff!

[@rumorscameras]

@@dimediaatl buying now is yhe game haha. But tbh buying great stuff for a premium what can u do you have to. However when it comes to bidget and choosing something other than the standard bcz of price then you see the price went up it doesnt feel like a reasonable compromise so it is better mentally to buy the real deal for more money bcz u know what u re getting and all like the sound devices gear ...but when u trying to save and go to zoom and find out its 1300 dollars u regret looking and go running to buy sd gear fir whatever price hahaha. Cheers

[@dimediaatl]

@@rumorscameras Agreed. I say pay once, cry once!

[@yogggoogle3965]

Hi! which Sennheiser xlr mic would you suggest? 416?

[@dimediaatl]

Depends for what application. What are you trying to do?

[@yogggoogle3965]

@@dimediaatl indoor talking head, I have reverb in my room. Need advice 🙏

[@dimediaatl]

​@@yogggoogle3965 I would use a Sennheiser MKH50 or Schoeps 641 on a boom and get it as close as possible to the person. If there is a lot of reverb I would look at using a lav instead. Sanken COS11 or DPA 4060 are both solid options. Also, keep in mind that you can use a combination of a lav & hyper/super cardioid and blend the 2 in post. If you still have reverb after all that then you might want to look at a de-reverb plugin. Adobe Audition has one built in but Izotope RX is king when it comes to that. Hope this helps.

[@yogggoogle3965]

@@dimediaatl thank you!

[@dimediaatl]

@@yogggoogle3965 Sure thing! Let me know if you have any other questions!

[@satyambhardwaj2806]

can you recommand under 100 dollars.if not give me some points to consider while purchasing i will use mic for youtube videos

[@dimediaatl]

Oooof under a $100.00 will be tough, but I would probably look at a lavalier mic in this case. Something like a Sony ECM-CS3 ($20.00 cheap & surprisingly decent). You will need to run it straight into camera though or a recorder that has an 1/8" input like a Zoom H1n ($80.00) Hope this helps!

[@DidacticEditions]

Yeah, let's spend 600 dollar on a pencil mic, shall we?

[@paulanderegg5536]

I shoot news, and even with a top of the line Sanken CS3e, anything indoors such as a quick off the shoulder SOT, always sounded like you were in a bathroom

[@dimediaatl]

Yep, ran into that issue as well. Its a bit better when you are doing ENG stuff in conference centers where the space is massive, but houses and corporate offices are a death sentence!

[@hayabusaTravels]

I don't film movies... so...

[@nate6692]

Clickbait title - for a very specific use case

[@Bartek2OO219]

>starting >1k

[@ILLAILLS]

Just purchase a MKE 😂😂😂

[@dimediaatl]

@@ILLAILLS still a good mic!

[@crazyKurious]

Man you keep repeating the same thing over and over again. Get to the point, i stead of extending your video duration.

[@JeffBourke]

Because YT is still full of people buying mkh 416s 😂😂😂 they never understand

[@8lec_R]

Wtf? No information was repeated, this video served its purpose very well

[@andy80sdrums]

George Lucas is 100% right.

[@BastianBuchs.]

everything I've learned in the last 20 years in this area of ​​"microphone/technology" is that you always do what works best for you. Everything else about "do this and don't do that / do it one way or the other" is just stupid talk and can be ignored. So this Video is for sure useless.

[@mudrahel.philosophovich]

Are you from Russia or Ukraine?

[@robertschnobert9090]

Shotgun microphones are a type of small diaphragm condenser microphone. This is literally the worst video ever about microphones haha LITERALLY 🌈

[@mychalsimmons4177]

Ive worked on pro movies and dude....uour info is SO WRONG.... STOP!!!