Lavalier vs Shotgun Microphones: The Pros and Cons

This video includes audio examples so you can decide which one is right for you!
How do you decide between lav mics (lapel mics) and shotgun mics? Both are great options for recording audio for video and film, but this video will introduce you to the pros and cons of each.
Thanks to ‪@sennheiser‬ and Sound Academy for helping to make this video possible!
Sennheiser: geni.us/RpRPn6
Sound Academy: geni.us/SJUqMb
Sennheiser Shotgun Microphones
- Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/aneQXQ
- Thomann: geni.us/3i1VfIL
- B&H: bhpho.to/43MGta6
- zZounds: geni.us/s3Zi3a
- Amazon: amzn.to/477NFkg
Sennheiser Lavalier Microphones
- Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/g1GkE0
- Thomann: geni.us/Xi7k
- B&H: bhpho.to/3QcjJgy
- zZounds: geni.us/PFuiK5
- Amazon: amzn.to/3rNhXbO
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[@Stevie_D]

BIG HELP - actually hearing (or seeing) the differences while talking about the pros and cons is a powerful way to learn ...

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad to help, Stevie! Thanks for watching!

[@korkenknopfus]

It is always good that you don’t only tell us about a theme, but you show the examples in the field. Thank you!

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad to hear this! Thanks for watching!

[@VincentTurner]

easily the best video on this topic on the internet, thanks guys

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad you liked it!

[@dylanwbarnes]

Amazed at how much cleaner and studio like lavs sound vs shotguns. I've been debating getting a shotgun for my self-tape audition setup, but for vocal clarity and less room ambience it sounds like I should stick with my lav. I couldn't stop it from picking up clothing rustle for the longest time, but I finally may have figured it out today by putting a thicker moleskin sandwich around it before I stick it to the center of my chest with some durapore!

[@gaston-alegre-stotzer]

Really good video, no-nonsense and straight to the point. Thank you very much.

[@AudioUniversity]

Thank you, @dajonaga!

[@BenDurham]

Honestly, this was such a great demo and discussion of all the different mics and their pros and cons. Thanks for making this!

[@AudioUniversity]

Couldn’t have done it without help from John at @sennheiser !

[@rickbiessman6084]

With all the experience I have running live sound and recording music in controlled environments (and the freedom to place mics wherever I want), ... I was REALLY surprised by how much better the lavs worked in this room! I did not expect the omnis to pick up so little room ambience, whereas what the shotgun mics picked up bordered on garbage (even though they’re fantastic microphones). Thanks so much for the demo - and the insightful conversation!

[@jangAckman]

Great video as usual. Very informative and educative. I absolutely enjoyed it. Thank you very much.

[@AudioUniversity]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@julianfarquhar]

Brilliantly done thank you

[@shivani5478]

Quite an interesting list of pros and cons! I especially love the fact that your whole conversation was a lot more measured than a lot of the advice I've heard which goes like "Even the best lav is not as good as the best shotgun" or "ALWAYS prefer to boom" and so on. Interesting points made and makes me feel that much better about fighting to use the Lav at times (especially with small crews). One question regarding the post though, as you said, if possible use everything. In some simpler shoots I've done that but then I struggle with how to mix the audio from the Lav and shotgun instead of choosing one since both bring their unique qualities. Any suggestions? Thanks a tonne for such informative content btw!

[@ivanstoykovivanov]

Great video . Thanks a lot!!

[@joesmith9094]

Thanks! The switching back and forth was really helpful. It also makes me think that being aware of what type of sound your audience expects is important. Mentally the shotgun sounder more realistic but I preferred the lav. Part of me wonders if that's something that comes from lavs being a popular budget option for people on KZbin, etc? I think that closer sound would feel out of place in a movie context

[@shaneburry]

Excellence video, very informative and useful!

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks, @shaneburry! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@BertFlanders]

Interesting (as usual on this channel) Thanks!

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks, Bert!

[@skakdosmer]

For indoor dialogue often a super-cardioid is preferred over a shotgun microphone.

[@AudioUniversity]

Great point! As John mentioned, using an interference tube microphone (shotgun mic) in a reflective environment can cause some undesirable phasing effects. Sometimes it’s better to just use a supercardioid, as you say. Thanks for mentioning that!

[@gweedomurray9923]

If you have the advantage of multi track recording then run different mic styles on separate tracks for later mix and match when mastering. Love the live contrast on the different mic types. Your presentation is very good too.

[@adrianlyord5300]

I’ve done a lot of recording my drums at home with a pair of Audio Techinca At55 Shotgun microphones and I’ve been happy with them since I’ve had them for years now! Have you ever heard of anyone else using them for recording drums ?! Thank you 😊!

[@salvaguatboy]

Not sure if you've done a video of this topic already, but could you talk about using audience mics on a live event/live stream?

[@joshmcdzz6925]

The shotgun mic had alot of echo and reverb creep into the audio.. I guess the Lav sounded the best out of the 3.

[@terry-]

Great!

[@KatySei]

Which lavalier mic did you use in this interview?

[@Xtn1Insecticide]

Sometimes you got to mic from below the frame pointing up because of shadowing. The closer the better for dialog. Leather jackets are not your friend with a L mic. Ideally you mic everyone and then shot gun, and sometimes you need two or more with large scenes. A box to stand on can sometimes be a good friend

[@KingKevin108]

Question about the shotgun mic, I've got a slight lisp (It's mostly been trained out but I still hear it sometimes) and I noticed the shotgun sounded to have harsher sss sounds. Is that in my imagination or something specific to these particular mics, or something else entirely?

[@maxhighstein]

Helpful, but it shows an extreme example for the shotgun, in which the mics are far away and the room is especially bright and reflective. What this doesn't show is a situation where the shot is tight and the shotgun can be much closer, perhaps in a room that doesn't have all hard surfaces (and a huge window) like this one.

[@AudioUniversity]

That’s true. It was actually raining that day in Wedemark. John and I had initially planned to demonstrate the shotgun mic outdoors.

[@danniv13]

For indoor reverberant rooms a Supercardioid condenser microphone like a Rycote SC-08 or Sennheiser MKH-50 is better than a shotgun or lav mic.

[@stephenwong9723]

And pay attention to lavalier mic on ladies with long hair, or a loose jacket, especially those type using man made fibre like plastics!

[@AudioUniversity]

Great point! Long hair and any movement or clothing can cause big problems with a Kavaliersdelikt mic! Thanks, Stephen.

[@Mycock_Owski]

This channel is awesome! Talking mics in such detail while still being approcable for someone with limited experience. Keep up the good work man :)

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks!

[@75meshiash]

Great video. Obviously the room was not acoustically controlled and therefore the sound from the shotgun microphones could not be heard clearly as it should due to reflection and echoes. Our podcast studio is acoustically well controlled and shotgun mics are for that purpose much better and sound more natural. Another important positive thing is that we can record each shotgun microphone separately on a separate recording track, whereas lav misc in sets are mostly connected to one receiver, which makes it impossible to edit each track separately if necessary. Of course you can have individual lav mics with separate receivers, but that's a completely different price tag.

I had a professor at university that used a lav mic (it must have been), and half of his sessions was overwhelmed by stomach noises.

[@g3cd]

I tried shotgun mikes and they picked up a lot of reverb - as in your video - even though I had read reviews "a good shotgun can save you from room treatment". I had tried lavalier - but apart from picking up room noise if they're omnidirectional and being quite HUGE like the Sennheiser MKE40-EW if they're cardioid, they always come with fancy little plugs that aren't compatible to regular XLR systems and are living hell to set up. While dynamic mikes need to be straight in your face ... so even after trying a dozen microphones, I still haven't found the proper one for my needs (I'm considering a Lauten LS-308 now, let's see how this does).

[@AudioUniversity]

Yes - shotguns are best in non-reverberant spaces or if they can be placed closer to the source.

[@jmcclary4941]

You will need a hypercardiod microphone like an Audix SCX1HC

[@eterestudio]

Random question, but, where was this film? Those buildings in the back look a little familiar

[@AudioUniversity]

This was recorded at the Sennheiser Headquarters in Germany!

[@eterestudio]

@@AudioUniversity Thanks. Great videos, new follower, reallly blowing my mind, congrats on your great work!

[@Soundxajay]

Cool ❤

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks for watching!

[@jibjibam]

That was roughly 12cm, not 5, sir. 😊

[@jonasweiss5817]

Lav is better, less ambient.

[@aledum1815]

Cheers.

[@AudioUniversity]

Thanks for watching, @aledum1815!