[Peter Fiveland]

Hi all,

I'm looking for suggestions for mics that stand up in moderate to high
electrical noise environments (computer monitors, UPS units, wireless
internet, elevator motors, etc). More specifically, one to be used for talk
only (radio interviews) and about in the $100-$200 US range. We're using a
Shure SM57 and EV RE-50 and both are giving rather noticable hums depending
on positioning in the room.

I've come to the determination a condenser mic is the only option at this
point.

I'm thinking of the Shure SM86 based on Shure's ruggedness reputation (or
the cheaper version the Shure BG 5.1 off Ebay)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

-Peter

[David Gravereaux]

Peter Fiveland wrote:
Hi all,

I'm looking for suggestions for mics that stand up in moderate to high
electrical noise environments (computer monitors, UPS units, wireless
internet, elevator motors, etc). More specifically, one to be used for talk
only (radio interviews) and about in the $100-$200 US range. We're using a
Shure SM57 and EV RE-50 and both are giving rather noticable hums depending
on positioning in the room.

I've come to the determination a condenser mic is the only option at this
point.

I'm thinking of the Shure SM86 based on Shure's ruggedness reputation (or
the cheaper version the Shure BG 5.1 off Ebay)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

-Peter


I hate to say it, it a Neuman U89 is hella good in bad environments. Sorry
about the cost.


--
David Gravereaux
[species:human; planet:earth,milkyway(western spiral arm),alpha sector]



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[Peter Larsen[_2_]]

Peter Fiveland wrote:

Hi all,

I'm looking for suggestions for mics that stand up in moderate to high
electrical noise environments (computer monitors, UPS units, wireless
internet, elevator motors, etc). More specifically, one to be used
for talk only (radio interviews) and about in the $100-$200 US range.
We're using a Shure SM57 and EV RE-50 and both are giving rather
noticable hums depending on positioning in the room.

Hmmm .... with enough of a gradient a humbucker coil may not null an
external field. The third dynamic to try would be the MD21, it is an omni
with a 5 kHz boost and does a very good close job. A golden one, oem'd for
Grundig was recently sold on Ebay south of the border, ie. ebay.de ... it
sure had been flashy for the job! - actual state of the mic unknown, I was
just checking prices on the site. Old microphones can be a gamble.

I've come to the determination a condenser mic is the only option at
this point.

I'm thinking of the Shure SM86 based on Shure's ruggedness reputation
(or the cheaper version the Shure BG 5.1 off Ebay)

Try before buy.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

You may be rignt, it just could be so that there is too much iron in a
dynamic mic. The environments you suggest ... you *do* know where the
elevator motor is? ... are also likely to be acoustically noisy, so headset
mics come to mind. You can then - according to unverified hearsay - have DPA
from DPA or DPA oem from Shure .... the Rock and Roll guys over you way seem
to like something Crown.

-Peter

Kind regards

Peter Larsen

[Scott Dorsey]

Peter Fiveland wrote:

I'm looking for suggestions for mics that stand up in moderate to high
electrical noise environments (computer monitors, UPS units, wireless
internet, elevator motors, etc). More specifically, one to be used for talk
only (radio interviews) and about in the $100-$200 US range. We're using a
Shure SM57 and EV RE-50 and both are giving rather noticable hums depending
on positioning in the room.

You have a cable issue somewhere. The SM-57 is pretty good about both
magnetic noise and RF rejection.

I've come to the determination a condenser mic is the only option at this
point.

Why? You're more apt to have a problem with a condenser mike, in fact.

I'm thinking of the Shure SM86 based on Shure's ruggedness reputation (or
the cheaper version the Shure BG 5.1 off Ebay)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

What kind of preamp and cable are you using? Does the noise persist when
you unplug the cable from the mike?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Scott Dorsey]

David Gravereaux wrote:

I hate to say it, it a Neuman U89 is hella good in bad environments. Sor=
ry
about the cost.

BUT, you gotta use a cable with the female connector case tied to pin 1.
The manual specifically warns you about this, but a lot of people seem to
forget.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[anahata]

Scott Dorsey wrote:

You have a cable issue somewhere. The SM-57 is pretty good about both
magnetic noise and RF rejection.

The only time I've seen obvious hum pickup in a mic recently was an
SM57. It was hanging in front of an electric fiddle players stage
amplifier which was a Peavey Solo with AC adapter (i.e. transformer) and
it certainly picked up hum from the transformer. I'm not saying any
other dynamic mic would be better, though. We just moved the transformer
away a little and all was fine.

Why? You're more apt to have a problem with a condenser mike, in fact.

If the condenser has a transformerless output and the hum is coming from
a magnetic field I'd expect it to work better. And for cable pickup, the
higher output of a condenser should help with S/N ratio.

Of course cables should be checked first as you suggest, but the above
applies if the cables are free of wiring faults.

--
Anahata
-+- http://www.treewind.co.uk
Home: 01638 720444 Mob: 07976 263827

[Scott Dorsey]

anahata wrote:
Scott Dorsey wrote:

You have a cable issue somewhere. The SM-57 is pretty good about both
magnetic noise and RF rejection.

The only time I've seen obvious hum pickup in a mic recently was an
SM57. It was hanging in front of an electric fiddle players stage
amplifier which was a Peavey Solo with AC adapter (i.e. transformer) and
it certainly picked up hum from the transformer. I'm not saying any
other dynamic mic would be better, though. We just moved the transformer
away a little and all was fine.

That's a magnetic field pickup issue. The SM-57 is not too bad about that,
but the 421 is better.

Magnetic fields drop off very quickly with distance, much much faster than
RF. So usually moving the source is an easy way to deal with that kind of
problem, or replacing the transformer with a higher quality one.

Why? You're more apt to have a problem with a condenser mike, in fact.

If the condenser has a transformerless output and the hum is coming from
a magnetic field I'd expect it to work better. And for cable pickup, the
higher output of a condenser should help with S/N ratio.

Right. So the first goal is to determine if it's a magnetic pickup issue
or an RF issue. RF issues tend to be more common but magnetic noise is
out there, especially around CRTs.

Of course cables should be checked first as you suggest, but the above
applies if the cables are free of wiring faults.

In high RF environments, star quad cables can be a help too. Of course,
the real key to RF rejection is proper grounding and a preamp with good
filtering and high CMRR.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."