Does the Squid only work in Iriver?

[David Delaney]

Just wondering if the Giant audio squid mic works in other devices besides the iRiver?

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by David Delaney

Just wondering if the Giant audio squid mic works in other devices besides the iRiver?

Sure - just take a look at their site.

[David Delaney]

I was afraid of that...

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by David Delaney

I was afraid of that...

ROFL .. afraid that it WOULD work or afraid that it WOULDN'T? I'm not saying it's a good mic or a bad one - I haven't used one so I don't have a clue about that, they're pretty popular with the wedding crowd and that says something for them, they must be good enough to pay their way - but I can't believe that a consumer level mic capsule wired to plug into a consumer toy recorder is going to have the quality of a Shure or AKG or Audio Technica or Sanken or Countryman or (insert brand here) professional quality mic costing 10x the price. OTOH, I wouldn't hesitate to use one as a throwaway mic where it's iffy that it would survive the shot.

When you buy high priced goods there's no guarantee you're actually getting any value for your dollar -there's crap out there that's pretty expensive. But when you buy cheap it's almost certain you'll get exactly what you've paid for and nothing more. Brands and models that have stood the tests of time with working professionals are often expensive initially, but the reason they HAVE been successful in the professional world is they usually work out to be the most economical solutions in the long run. Remember the old adage "You can pay me now or you can pay me (a lot more) later."

[David Delaney]

Yeah, I don't have an Iriver yet (waiting on Ebay), but the mic I ordered does not seem to work. I dropped an email to Darren and hope he can help me out. I tried it on my mini DV camera and on a digital recorder and the mic is not working. I thought it might be because it has a stereo input on the Giant Squid, but alas, I tried another mic that I have with a stereo input and it work on both the mini-dv and the digital recorder, so I am not sure what to do...

[Jonathan Jones]

I got a good laugh out of the first few posts of this thread. David, you posted your post text in a form opposite from the way the title was addressing it, and when Steve responded to the post text, it seems you interpreted as a reponse to the way your worded your query in the post title.

At least that's the way it seemed. It just flowed pretty humorously.

Anyway, as I have several iRiver units and matching GS mics, let me just offer a bit of info.

First of all, Steve is right when noting the inferiority of the iRiver/GS combo when compared to true dedicated and higher priced kits. However, I can easily testify (and so can many others in these forums) to the incredible convenience and 'bang for your buck' factor offered through the use of the iRiver units. Although I wouldn't classify it as a 'toy', I think it is important to be aware of its limitations as well as its abilities if you're planning to use it as part of your setup. After all, the iRiver wasn't really intended to be used as a professional grade audio recording device.

AKGs, Countryman units, etc., are higher priced for a very good reason, and in reality, the quality of the iRiver/GS combos isn't even in the same ballpark. But I've also spent 25 years in professional audio, and I can certainly hear the affects of the iRiver recording limitations and its high level of compression......yet for what it is, It is most certainly a duly impressive little unit, and as backup units, they have saved my skin a couple of times.

There are some in the business who use iRivers as their primary audio capture device. Personally, I wouldn't do that, though it will work fine for spoken word in many situations, and a great many end clients sadly wouldn't even notice the difference between a Countryman and two styrofoam cups connected with a kitestring.

My advise would be that if you are planning on getting an iRiver or two, I believe they are a great addition to a wedding videography toolkit. Darren produces very worthy, durable and great sounding microphones for a very reasonable cost. As I noted - its great bang for your buck...IMO.

But beyond that, certainly look at other options in more widely noted, durable and significantly higher quality audio kits, and get the best that your budget will allow. Discerning ears will appreciate it. Take a look at the Senn G2 kits. Quite durable and well priced for the quality....IMO. You can go higher and lower, but they are a really great mid-range product.

To answer the question about GS compatibility, the fact is that Darren offers something through his products that aren't really found elsewhere, and that is a custom made mic solution that specifically accomodates the reverse wiring of the iRiver mic port. Although he makes standard mics wired for regular ports, the iRiver GS mics are a specific product designed for that port, and as such, probably woudn't work with units that have ports wired in the normal matter. My guess is that if you are trying to use it to record into your cameras sound 'in' jack etc, it probably isn't going to work.

When you get your iRiver from ebay, do a search in these forums for recommended setup procedures to dial in the optimum settings on the unit to recognize and record from the GS mic. There are countless threads and posts addressing that specific topic.

Hope this helps.

-Jon

[David Delaney]

I haven't heard back from Darren at Giant Squid Audio yet, hopefully soon - I need to know if this thing is defective or not...

[Steve House]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Jones

I...First of all, Steve is right when noting the inferiority of the iRiver/GS combo when compared to true dedicated and higher priced kits. However, I can easily testify (and so can many others in these forums) to the incredible convenience and 'bang for your buck' factor offered through the use of the iRiver units. Although I wouldn't classify it as a 'toy', I think it is important to be aware of its limitations as well as its abilities if you're planning to use it as part of your setup. After all, the iRiver wasn't really intended to be used as a professional grade audio recording device.

...

By "toy" I didn't mean to imply it was a bad piece of kit, just that it was designed for casual consumer pleasure use and not for serious production use. The fact that it's good enough to be useful in some professional situations such as wedding videography is an unexpected bonus. Put one on the grandkids while taping their birthday party, certainly. Use a bunch of 'em for a fun personal documentary about a group of friends on a river rafting trip, absolutely! But it's not something I'd choose for any serious project intended for general public viewing that I hoped to be paid for (or to use in a reel to get jobs that DO pay), regardless of budget.