Sanken COS11x: background noise

[Pietro Jona]

I love my Sanken COS11x for its open sound but I'm having some problems with a job I'm doing. The Job was supposed to be pretty simple, sitting interviews (boom and lav) with a black limbo on the back, but the location is noisy. After a first test the client told me that the sound is perfect BUT there is a bit too much ambient. He would like the sound to be more news-like, isolated. Next time I'm going to
-ask the people to speak louder
-boom from very close with a CS3e

Now the question: would it make any difference to lower the sensitivity of the sennheiser 100 transmitter (now it is at -20) in terms of picking background noise? I'm 99% sure it wouldn't but..

pietro

[Pietro Jona]

Forgot to say: I recorded the first interview at a pretty high level, with peacks reaching -3db. The difference between the speaking person and the background noise is huge, I'm sure that the audio is perfectly fixable with some compression/filtering but I'm not an expert of post.

[Marco Leavitt]

If you've got the bucks you could try the Sanken cos-22 and use the phase reversal switch in your mixer. If your mixer doesn't have a phase reversal switch you could record to both channels and do the phase reversal in post.

Sanken | COS-22 Double Capsule Lavalier Microphone | COS-22

Ultimately, it sounds like the location is simply too noisy. That's not your fault. Sometimes you have to remind the client that you can't change the laws of physics for them.

[Pietro Jona]

Thanks Marco I agree about the laws of physics.
I'm stuck with the COS11 because it has to be hidden, otherwise I'm sure that a Senn MK40 (is it that the name? The big one anyways) would do the job being a cardioid.
The problem is that the ambient is noisy but the black limbo doesn't show it..

[Ty Ford]

Hello Pietro,

Try to place the backdrop and talent so that the noise is behind the on camera talent. I have found that a body can block some noise from getting into an omni lav mounted on a person.

If you are trying a hyper or super cardioid, fine tune the angle of the mic so that the noise is more to the off axis tilt.

I have been successful with my Schoeps cmc641 in tilting the mic slightly away from the noise.

In both cases, you need to listen carefully while you fine tune the position and if th enoise is coming from too many angles, you're somewhat screwed. You might take some HF sting off if you use reflector boards or sound blankets between the noise and the mic.

As to lowering the sensitivity of your mic, no, that won't lower noise without also lowering the signal you want. I hear this from time to time. "I used another less sensitive mic and the noise was reduced." Well, no, mics aren't like that. You also reduced the signal. Different mics may have different patterns and/or frequency responses. This may have an effect of signal versus noise, but you can't just turn down the noise.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Pietro Jona]

Ty:
the noise was actually coming from everywhere: the door going to another office, a window on a street and so on.
As for sensitivity, I was sure about the answer I was going to receive. Less sensitivity would mean higher AF out, more gain or a higher level with the fader of my SD302 so no point..
I'll do my best on the next location tomorrow hoping that it will be less noisy. Backdrop and talent to shield somehow the noise source, better and closer position of the shotgun. As you said.
Actually I feel ok with the job I did. The sound was clean, the lav was not rubbing. More ambient from the CS3e of course. I was just wondering how to get the job done better but I cannot give a VO like sound in a set which is not a set with a non dynamic mic..
Thanks for the imput
pietro