how to make a LAVALIER SENNheiser ME2 better

[David Aliperti]

One of mine 2 sanken cos 11 died, so having 4 me2 in my gear i need a second lavalie, of course there is no way to get it to sound as a cos 11,

the sanken is clean and is quite free of clothes rustle, the ME2 is awful or probably I really don t know how to fix .
plase any your advice is welcome.

[Richard Crowley]

Originally Posted by David Aliperti

... the ME2 is awful or probably I really don t know how to fix .

In English, the word "fix" has two different meanings:
1) "Repair" - is the ME2 broken and you are asking about how to repair it?
2) "Attach" - are you asking how to attach the ME2 to reduce clothes noise?
Which one do you mean?

[David Aliperti]

attach, i meant attach, i am aware that i want to use a me20 with a sanken cos 11 and trying to have a similar acceptable sound,

[Paul R Johnson]

To be honest, I don't think you can. the ME2 is a rather basic, but functional mic, and people have to adapt to the design issues. If you touch them with anything, the mechanical noise gets through - so the best you can do it try to isolate the housing. Not sure if the look matters, but those Rode small dead cats have quite a bit of spring in the material and that helps isolate the housing - but looks pretty poor. The other solution is to fix via the cable, and arrange for the capsule to dangle free. Again, not very elegant. They're just average 'throwaway' mics, that really need swapping - as you already know.

[Gary Nattrass]

A doubt you will ever make an ME2 sound as good as a cos11, even our ECM77's at work don't sound as good as the cos11.

But is you have four ME2 you would be better using the same mics together as at least they will match better and you can add equal sweetening in post.

As Paul has said the ME2 is an OK mic but they are still useable and I have done broadcast work with them but have had to work hard in post to make them sound better.

[Bruce Watson]

Originally Posted by David Aliperti

One of mine 2 sanken cos 11 died, so having 4 me2 in my gear i need a second lavalie, of course there is no way to get it to sound as a cos 11,

the sanken is clean and is quite free of clothes rustle, the ME2 is awful or probably I really don t know how to fix .
plase any your advice is welcome.

The way most people fix the sound quality of the me2 is to replace it with a better mic, like the cos11. Considerably less cost, but quite good quality can come from mics such as the Oscar SoundTech 801 or 802 for example. These are excellent mics that are surprisingly affordable.

As to attaching the mics, there are many ways to hide (attach) a lavalier under clothing. The thing all these methods have in common is making a strain relief for the mic cable (make a loop in the cable close to the mic about the size of a euro coin and tape it to something, cloth or skin). Then you can use things like Rycote Undercovers to protect the mic from clothing rubbing against it.

You will of course have to experiment with placement and attachment methods because every single case is different. In other words, don't be afraid to try new methods until you find what almost always works for you.

One of the big things you can try is to get your talent to avoid wearing synthetic fabrics. You'll usually get a lot more clothing rustle noise from nylon than from cotton for example. Let your talent know, or your wardrobe department know (if you're working a production that has one). This isn't obvious, but once you've educated people they can be surprisingly accommodating.