Not like a lavaliere, a shotgun requires somewhat extra package to make it work correctly. On this tutorial, you may study stands, windscreens, shock mounts, and extra.
Mic Clips and Mounting Programs: Tips on how to Connect a Shotgun Mic to a Stand
Let’s undergo the gear you may have to mount your shotgun microphone to a stand.
Shock Mount
Greater than doubtless, your microphone got here with a mic clip. If that microphone goes to be on a growth pole that somebody is shifting, you in all probability are going to wish to use a shock mount. It is somewhat microphone holder, with some rubber bands that isolate the microphone from the rumbles that may be generated from the growth pole.
So in the event that they’re in a daily mic clip and it is on a growth pole, you may choose up the faintest actions within the growth pole. Typically, you may even choose up fingers shifting on the growth pole or cable noise. So to assist isolate that, a really fundamental shock mount is all you want. A fundamental shock mount will price perhaps US$12. You’ll be able to definitely discover fancier mounts, however I discover a fundamental one completely sufficient.
So what do you connect that mic clip to? On the very fundamental degree, you will get away with a regular microphone growth stand. It is quite common to see on stage and within the recording studio. This isn’t very best for the shotgun microphone as a result of it is fairly lengthy, so that you do need to get it up fairly excessive. It really works in some conditions, so I wished to say it as a result of I’ve used it a number of occasions completely properly, and you will discover these fairly inexpensively on Craigslist or at your native music retailer. So it’s an choice to concentrate on, nevertheless it’s not very versatile.
Increase Pole
This very best setup for a shotgun microphone is a growth pole. It will can help you get the microphone means on the market. You could find growth poles in lengths from 5 toes to over ten toes, maybe as a lot as twelve toes and in a number of sections.
The growth pole I exploit is made out of aluminium, which might be probably the most cheap growth pole materials on the market. This pole solely price about US$150, and it really works very properly—it is light-weight, and it collapses down.
There are many cheap DIY choices on the market, like getting a painter’s pole for about US$30 and an adapter for one more $10 or $15. Or, as you progress up in worth, you get into supplies like fibreglass and carbon fibre, and the primary benefit with these is weight.
You may see some growth poles with an inside cable inside and a few with out. An inside cable goes so as to add to the fee. For those who’re doing loads of run-and-gun stuff—organising quick, tearing down, and operating from place to put—an inside cable might be the way in which to go.
Increase Pole Holder
So how do you droop a growth pole like this? Effectively, you employ a growth pole holder. It is a very crude system, nevertheless it’s very efficient. The growth simply sits in it, and when there is a weight on the different finish, it is held down.
Microphone Stand
However what do you connect your growth pole holder and grip head to? Historically you employ a beefy stand, one thing like a C-stand. You may get away with some form of light-weight stand, like an aluminium gentle stand.
However I do warning you to make it possible for it is sturdy. You wish to make it possible for there may be sufficient weight on the stand, within the type of sandbags. I would not put a growth pole, a grip head, and growth pole holder on a $14 stand that I received on eBay. You wish to make it possible for it is a beefy stand that may truly take somewhat little bit of stress and torque, as a result of when that factor is up there eight or ten toes within the air after which boomed out, there’s a fairly good quantity of stress that’s placed on the stand. So this isn’t the realm to go tremendous thrifty. I typically put mine on a C-stand and generally a beefier aluminium gentle stand.
Wind Safety
The final main accent class to speak about in the case of shotgun microphones is wind safety. I’ve a windscreen that got here with my microphone, and it slips proper on the top. It is not improbable, nevertheless it’s higher than nothing.
Shotgun microphones are fairly delicate to wind noise—so delicate that once I use this microphone for a voiceover, I put the windscreen on it, even inside. It would not have an effect on the sound too drastically.
Primarily, after all, windscreens are used to guard the microphone from the wind. Outdoors, you need extra substantial wind safety than the fundamental windscreen supplies. You may get one from an organization known as Movo that has a much less dense foam on the within and a rubber gasket and a giant furry protecting on the surface that does a significantly better job of decreasing wind.
The final word in wind safety for shotgun microphones is a blimp with what’s normally known as a “lifeless cat” on the surface. The principle thought with a blimp is to offer the microphone loads of safety and shock mounting in opposition to wind.
I exploit a do-it-yourself blimp, which truly has two layers of wind safety. The outer part of fur does the job of decreasing many of the power from the wind. Then, on the within, I’ve one other layer of wind safety, after which there is a cage, the identical that you’re going to discover in a business unit, and contained in the cage there’s a shock mount.
I constructed my very own as a result of a business blimp, one thing made by Rode or one of many different large names, would run between $300 and $350, and I constructed two of those for about $40. If you need the most effective wind safety on the market, it’ll be within the type of a blimp.
Wrapping It Up
So now that you understand about all of the various things you might have to get your shotgun mic working for you, look out for the subsequent tutorial on this collection, through which you are going to study lavaliere microphones.
