Audio Enhancements in Post (for Senn ME2) at DVinfo.net

Corey Welch · September 10th, 2009, 01:59 PM

I'm looking for some tips on how to make the Sennheiser ME2 lav mic sound a little better by tweaking it in post with Premiere Pro CS3. Unfortunately for me, I'm not big into audio so the effects in Premiere mean nothing to me. I can usually find the result that I want by playing with some of the EQ effects, but I really don't know what I'm doing. Hopefully somebody here can share some info on what I can do to give the ME2 a little more depth. Of course the best solution would be to go out and buy a better mic, which I will do at some point, but for now this is what I have so I'm looking for a way to make it work.

Thanks in advance!

Alex Donkle · September 10th, 2009, 10:06 PM

Well, lav mics are designed to not mic up a natural ambience (i.e. room tone or a natural reflection). Only the voice.

So the first two things that can be done is to use a low level room tone (recording taken in the room with no one moving, speaking, anything...) and add a bit of reverb to match the room.

It's difficult. I will say though, that if you're not mixing on monitors in a treated room, the job is much harder to get decent results. And even in a studio with a professional mixer, it's still pretty challenging.

Jeff Kellam · September 11th, 2009, 08:36 AM

Corey, normally the ME2 sounds pretty good, although an aftermarket mic will sound somewhat better.

Can you post a sample of the audio so we can see if it seems "normal" for the ME2?

September 10th, 2009, 01:59 PM	#1
Corey Welch New Boot Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Providence, RI Posts: 21	Audio Enhancements in Post (for Senn ME2) I'm looking for some tips on how to make the Sennheiser ME2 lav mic sound a little better by tweaking it in post with Premiere Pro CS3. Unfortunately for me, I'm not big into audio so the effects in Premiere mean nothing to me. I can usually find the result that I want by playing with some of the EQ effects, but I really don't know what I'm doing. Hopefully somebody here can share some info on what I can do to give the ME2 a little more depth. Of course the best solution would be to go out and buy a better mic, which I will do at some point, but for now this is what I have so I'm looking for a way to make it work. Thanks in advance!

September 11th, 2009, 08:36 AM	#3
Jeff Kellam Major Player Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 656	Corey, normally the ME2 sounds pretty good, although an aftermarket mic will sound somewhat better. Can you post a sample of the audio so we can see if it seems "normal" for the ME2? __________________ Panasonic HMC150/Canon A1/JVC HD1/Sony Vegas 8.0c

September 10th, 2009, 10:06 PM	#2
Alex Donkle Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 38	Well, lav mics are designed to not mic up a natural ambience (i.e. room tone or a natural reflection). Only the voice. So the first two things that can be done is to use a low level room tone (recording taken in the room with no one moving, speaking, anything...) and add a bit of reverb to match the room. It's difficult. I will say though, that if you're not mixing on monitors in a treated room, the job is much harder to get decent results. And even in a studio with a professional mixer, it's still pretty challenging.