OT: audio setup for inauguration

rs170a wrote on 1/21/2009, 7:21 AM
A few people had questioned what type of mics were used for this event.
It wasn't SM58s or Beta 58s at the podium.
The company handling it was Maryland Sound and here's an article about it.
From the current issue of Pro Sound News:
"Speeches will be captured on Schoeps mics with a pair of Sennheiser 816 sotgun microphones waiting on the sidelines as emergency backups."
Unfortunately neither article specified which model Schoeps was used.

To musicvid who said But hey, the guy's from Chicago. You thought maybe they'd put him on a German mic?.
As yo probably know, Schoeps and Sennheiser are both German companies :-)

Mike

Comments

stevengotts wrote on 1/21/2009, 7:44 AM
great article. thanks for sharing
Steven
Coursedesign wrote on 1/21/2009, 9:47 AM
Yes, I just saw that PSN article also (I'm a bit behind on my reading due to a heavy workload).

I don't remember if it was PSN or one of the other pubs I get that had a lengthy piece about Obama's acceptance speech, and how they picked the 58s based on how it made his voice sound best. Of course that was Chicago...

Schoeps' mikes are quite wonderful imho, but sometimes "lesser" mikes actually sound better for specific uses (as you'll no doubt have noticed if you do sound professionally).

Apologies for my failing neurons, I've been working nearly 24/7 for three days (or is it four? I don't even remember.). Just gotta grab one last mug of coffee to do the very last bit, then it's off to get some non-impedance Zs.
richard-courtney wrote on 1/21/2009, 10:03 AM
I thought it was well done, aside from the emergency vehicle sound hindering
the president from hearing the oath. Not only did the Schoeps mics sound
great, they looked good too.

I was watching ABC's HD coverage and noticed some sync issues. Anyone else
have sync issues viewing?
Coursedesign wrote on 1/21/2009, 10:16 AM
The audio sync issues are in the signal distribution, all the way to the processing in your TV.

SMPTE is working on it...

Since some time.

rs170a wrote on 1/21/2009, 1:04 PM
As Course says, this is an on-going issue.
Every time a video signal goes through a framestore, it introduces a 1 frame delay relative to the audio that's easily corrected.
However, if it continues to go through more framestores without subsequent correction, it obviously gets even worse.
This is why some new TVs and home audio receivers have an "audio sync" button in them :-(

Mike
musicvid10 wrote on 1/21/2009, 1:41 PM
Yep, now that I look at my dvd of the speech, they certainly could be something else under those big muffs.
If they're Shoeps, I say someone "shure" missed out on a PR opportunity.

It must have been something later in the day that stuck with me as looking like betas. I remember seeing the classic round cage (not foam windscreen) on some handhelds.
Simonm wrote on 1/21/2009, 4:08 PM
I'm a little surprised it was Schoeps, but they're good.

What was the polar pattern - hypercardioid? It's interesting, as for years Schoeps were known for omnis - not wonderful for PA!

The other thing was the temperature. Standard capacitor mics (well at least the AKG ones) tend to misbehave in the presence of damp, because of the polarizing voltage, Taking them out in the cold isn't a good idea because of condensation. Sennheiser have a different system involving RF resonance, and aren't affected in the same way, but it may well be one reason why the US presidential podium has always had those ghastly (Shure?) mics on it - dynamic, and built like the proverbial brick wotsit.

Hopefully this might usher in a new age of proper hi-fi and aesthetic beauty from the presidential microphones... :-)