Tag: Shure

The case for handheld mics

Here’s why every field recording hobbiest should own a decent handheld dynamic omnidirectional interview mic:

  1. They’re inexpensive. A really good one might be $220 new if you go for the long-handled neodymium magnet high-output ones, but most are $100-160. For a mic that will outlast you. For comparison, an AT4022, a competent but mid-range condenser omni is $350. It will need a furry at least but a baseball is much better so add $100ish for that. In fact, they’re inexpensive enough you might find yourself trying a few different ones out. They also hold their value.
  2. They’re inherently wind resistant. You won’t need to get a furry or blimp for it. A foamy might be useful on really windy days, but those are cheap (Wind Tech foams are typically $7-10).
  3. They work the way you thought your handheld recorder would work. You can handhold it! While recording! You can adjust things and press buttons on the recorder without clobbering the recording with creaking & popping plastic noises. There will be much much less noise from changing your grip to moving the mic hand to hand, and many applications drown what little noise there is completely out.
  4. They’re small. My newest mic, a Shure SM63 is less than 5.5″ long and 1.25″ wide. The Electro Voice 635a is a bit bigger. The RE50 is 7.75″ by 2″. Compare that to a blimp – the Rode is over 19″ long and 5″ in diameter.
  5. No fur to get caught in zippers. No furry to get pulled off as you pull it out of your pocket or bag.
  6. They are optimized for voice. Now if you’re a hobbiest I’m assuming you’re recording your family/friends/kids/even yourself at least some of the time. There’s a reason these mics are optimized for voice and that’s because it’s easier to understand recordings made with them over an instrument mic like the AT4022.
  7. They’re durable. You don’t need to worry about them. Shove it in a bag, no case is necessary. They’re designed to be used by people who simply do not care about the equipment. They’re heavy (to reduce handling noise) and feel like you could pound a nail with one. Some people have pounded nails with them.
  8. Dynamic mics do not have self noise. The downside of this is the high gain required, which used to be a disadvantage when amps were noisy but these days all but the lowest end recorders have enough gain for most of these mics, and that gain is far more quiet than it’s ever been before.
  9. They don’t require phantom power. So if you’ve got a recorder that has only 1/8″ inputs or one that doesn’t have phantom power you’re in luck.
  10. They tend to be omnidirectional. That does away with proximity effect, which is more natural sounding when you’re handholding it and not keeping a steady distance from a source.
  11. They’re mono. While there’s lots of great things to record in stereo, recording while you’re handholding the mic and moving around is a lot more pleasant to listen to in mono because the orientation is consistent. It’s very distracting to listen to recordings where people speaking are moving from one ear to another because the mic was being moved. Mono does away with this. When combined with an omnidirectional mic, it does a much better job of capturing the sound of a place when the mics can’t be stationary.

Shure VP88 Thoughts

On our recent road trip I wanted to bring a recorder, and the focus was going to be the family and audio journal entries. A handheld recorder would be the obvious choice, but there are some reasons to avoid them:

  1. Handling noise. While I can handhold a recorder quietly with some effort, my kids can’t.
  2. RF interference. The DR40x in particular, but also the Zooms can be susceptible to RF noise from a phone. I don’t have any problems with real microphones and the Sound Devices recorders.
  3. Wind resistance. Handheld recorders are harder to protect from wind.
  4. Sound. The MixPre just sounds better. No, it’s not enough to keep anyone from listening to the results of other recorders and I doubt even I could tell the difference in the finished product except maybe with headphones, but still I like the sound better.

I like using a reporter’s stick mic, but that isn’t stereo and often I like having stereo. The ideal travel mic would be a the size of an Audio Technical AT8004 with similar resistance to handling noise, but in stereo. Mid/Side would be great so I could just grab the mid channel when I want mono. Such a mic doesn’t exist. The closest thing that I’ve found is the Shure VP88.

The Shure VP88 is a monster – almost 12″ long, heavy and fat. Seen from a distance it could easily be mistaken for a billy club. The size is an advantage when using it interview style because it is easier to get close to someone’s mouth.

It has high self-noise on paper – mid-20’s db, and it’s audible too in very quiet environments, but it’s actually comparable to many handheld recorders.

I’ve been eyeing this mic for a long time because a handheld mic is nice for a lot of the stuff I like to do. At $800 new it’s an expensive experiment so I kept looking for a used mic and finally bought one on eBay to try it out and see once and for all if it was a fit for me.

I brought the VP88 and MixPre6ii, a Gutmann wind sock, and a short stereo cable. I recorded daily journal entries along with the kids, a storm that flattened our tent along with the aftermath, and a very little bit of national park ambience. Here are my thoughts:

  1. The VP88 works well as an interview mic. Not much if any noticeable handling noise, although like most handheld mics holding a loop of cable keeps cable noise down. It’s long so it’s easy to get close to someone’s mouth. That
  2. The Gutmann sock was not as effective as hoped. It let more wind through than was acceptable in many cases. Next time I will bring the foam with the Rycote sock over it. I should note here that when I’m recording this kind of stuff I generally don’t monitor. It’s poor practice, but because I usually wear a hat I use in-ear monitors, and they rarely help me catch wind noise anyway.
  3. The self noise was not an issue, but I wasn’t trying to nature sounds or anything very quiet.
  4. It was big and heavy enough that I didn’t record sometimes when I wish I had.
  5. The stereo field is a bit odd at times. This is mainly because it’s easy to set the mic down in a way where the side mic is pointed up/down instead of horizontal.

The purpose of the trip was not audio, and although my family does appreciate the recordings later they’re not always enthusiastic about it when they’re being recorded. In fact, usually it’s a great stimulus for giving Dad a rash of shit about his nerdy audio hobby. That means I don’t get recordings of everything and that’s ok. It’s hard to record well and be present at the same time, although it’s much, much easier than trying to record video and be present.

Ok, on to the samples. None of these were recorded with the intent of demonstrating the mic – they are simply bits from the trip to represent what the mic sounded like. The first two bits are just using it reporter style, then a few where the mic was laying on top of the recorder in our tent during a storm, and lastly one that is just campsite chatter.

Will this be the mic I’d take in the future? Maybe, but to be honest a mono reporter’s mic like the RE50 or M58 or AT8010 is so much easier to carry and use, and I’m not sure the stereo field is worth it most of the time. For ambiances, sure. For most other things I’m on the fence.