Rode M3 as Reporter's Mike?

[Jase Tanner]

I'm about to do a shoot where I'll have a reporter doing interviews using a handheld wireless mike. Have yet to shoot in this way. I like the idea of using a condenser mike. All the other mics I'm aware of that are used for reporters are dynamic. I've read a few brief reviews of the M3 and it seems like a definite option.

The only thing I don't like is that its 9" long plus the wireless attachment will make it pretty big.

I'd like your opinions on this and any other recommendations.

Thanks

[Andy Tejral]

The only thing I can say is that the reason the EV RE-50 is so popular is that it can double as a hammer and still sound just fine. Dunno what your reporter is like but if their anything like the ones I've worked with...

I had one come into the live van and sweep my mic/ifb setup off the table and onto the floor before I could say word one.

(Any condensor, by design, is going to be more fragile than a dynamic.)

[Greg Bellotte]

Sennheiser MD42 (omni) or MD46 (cardioid). Sounds much better/natural than the RE50...

[Battle Vaughan]

A shotgun is a bad choice for a hand mike, for a number of reasons, maybe the most important being that you will get handling noise. It is designed to be used in a shock mount, not handheld. The RE50 is designed with internal shock mounting specifically for the purpose. Its output is typical of dynamic mikes, which is to say, somewhat lower than a condenser. This does not keep it from producing a signal sufficient for wireless or wired use, however.

Having said that, I have successfully used the condenser-type Audio-Technica AT8010 (omni) and ATM-33a (cardioid) mikes with success with a Sennheiser xlr-plug transmitter; they are priced in the same neighborhood as the RE50 and have a higher output. They are reasonably compact and are very competent mikes.

But consider: The RE50 is sort of a defacto standard for tv interviewers because it is extremely rugged, is weather-resistant, resonably sensitive, and does not need the exact pointing that a very directional (shotgun) mike would require. Hey, could 5000 standup people with nice hairdo's be wrong? / Battle Vaughan

[Jase Tanner]

Thanks for all of the responses. I was thinking condenser because of the greater sensitivity, getting the mic close enough to the person being interviewed but I hear what you're all saying. FWIW, according to Rode, the M3 does have good handing noise.

Taking a look at some of your recommendations I realize i have an EV 635a. Been so long since I've used it, I completely forgot about it. How would you compare that with the RE 50?

[Jon Fairhurst]

If you use it as a hand mic, make sure to turn on the low-cut filter. That will help reduce the handling noise and p-pops.

[Allan Black]

The surrounding atmos noise can dictate the interview mic. EG: for interviews at airshows an omni doesn't cut it. We use a cardioid Sony SM58+pop filter into a Sony UWP wireless rig.

Cheers.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Originally Posted by Jase Tanner

...I realize i have an EV 635a. Been so long since I've used it, I completely forgot about it. How would you compare that with the RE 50?

A 635a is an RE50 without the shock mount and windscreen. It sounds exactly the same, but isn't quite as robust for use in wind. The issue of handling noise, not being shock-mounted, doesn't seem to show up under normal use.

FWIW, an RE50 / 635a meets people's expectations of what a hand mic is supposed to sound like. Being an omni, during an interview the mic doesn't have to be pointed in exactly the right direction to pick up. Being an omni, it doesn't really suffer from proximity effect (enhanced bass when close-micing). Being an omni, you do have to close mic in noisy/reverberant locations to get isolation.

Being a dynamic with a hefty diaphram, it's pretty resistant to wind and plosives. The 635 needs just a little more care or close micing can result in plosives (popped "p" & etc.).

The RE50 proved itself during the Viet Nam war under trying conditions, I guess we've had 40 years with that mic and it's still a top-shelf choice as a hand-mic. I think the only innovation during that time is that now you can get it in black.

[Adrian Frearson]

I have an M3 which I use for for number of different things and that's the real strength of the mic, it can cover a number of different situations and do them all reasonably well. If you're looking for a mic purely as a presenters mic, then there are better options, as the other posters have said already. But that being said I'm sure it will do the job pretty well, the handling noise is very low, it's only draw back would be it's size and weight, it's a bit of a canon!

[Battle Vaughan]

Suggestion: put your M3 on the camera as a second channel mike for (1) backup and (2) ambient pickup. I often have used a wireless lav or a boom mike one one channel, and a Senny ME66K6 on the camera as insurance; has saved my bacon in breaking news more than once, and can also pickup a little "room presence" when blended with a too-bland lav pickup. Good for going to a wide shot cutaway as the sound goes "wide" also.../ BV

[Jase Tanner]

Going with re 50. thanks everyone!

[Terence Morris]

This thread is almost a wee fossil now, but I had to put my 2c and say I prefer the M3 over any dynamic I've tried (including Buchanan's) for talking street heads: Higher output, great clarity and less street, because of the cardioid pick-up. It's self propelled by a 9v battery (lasts ~200hrs) so I don't suck the life from my PMD 661 suppling phantom power.

Okay, while being wrestled to the ground by third world freedom fighters in a hurricane I might get the built-like-a-tank-no-power-omni thang.

Terence

[Nicole Hankerson]

I love my Rode M3. Works great and really helps with background noise. I use it for indoor setups and various voice overs when on location. I have used it outside as well with great results. Recorded a live band to my Fostex FR-2LE with it and it sounds amazing.

Nicole