Hang shotgun mics.

[hyperbuddha]

Would it make any sense to clamp a shotgun mic to an electric in order to pic up action about 20 feet upstage of the electric?

 

[Footer]

What kind of mics and how high is the electric? Usually for this type of thing you want to go with a specific built hanging microphone such as the crown CM31 that you can drop down lower and has a small footprint.

 

[NUSound]

Would it make any sense to clamp a shotgun mic to an electric in order to pic up action about 20 feet upstage of the electric?

No. Shotguns are not really made for being hung. The CM31 is a good mic for this though.

 

[museav]

No. Shotguns are not really made for being hung.

Can you elaborate?

 

[NUSound]

Can you elaborate?

Given their extremely directional nature and poor off-axis (albeit, deliberately so) frequency response, they are just not an ideal choice for overhead hanging mics IMO. Will they work as overheads? No doubt, but their are definitely better options out there. That having been said, since starting to read these forums, I've realized that you guys (no offense intended ) who primarily do theater audio seem to have an entirely different bag of tricks than those of us in the portable SR field.

 

[gafftaper]

For my backstage monitor source. I have a Senny Shotgun. I took a spare C-clamp and yoke from an old light fixture and built a wooden "tray" and bolted it inside the yoke where the fixture used to be. Mounted the Shotgun to the tray... careful about position so that you don't screw up the way it collects sound. Mounted a video camera next to the shot gun for my backstage monitor feed. Simple, cheap, easy to reposition.

 

[Chris15]

For my backstage monitor source. I have a Senny Shotgun. I took a spare C-clamp and yoke from an old light fixture and built a wooden "tray" and bolted it inside the yoke where the fixture used to be. Mounted the Shotgun to the tray... careful about position so that you don't screw up the way it collects sound. Mounted a video camera next to the shot gun for my backstage monitor feed. Simple, cheap, easy to reposition.

Looks like Gaff did things the hard way... You can get a bolt easily enough that has the same thread as a 3/8 " mic stand. So you put that through the clamp and then for a nut you use a mic stand thread adapter, half the clips come with one. The clip screws on then and you throw the mic in the clip. Done.

 

[museav]

Looks like Gaff did things the hard way... You can get a bolt easily enough that has the same thread as a 3/8 " mic stand. So you put that through the clamp and then for a nut you use a mic stand thread adapter, half the clips come with one. The clip screws on then and you throw the mic in the clip. Done.

Although technically, the mic is then not secured in any way other then the friction of the clip, which could in turn be very dependent upon the type of clip and the fit to the mic body.

 

[Chris15]

Although technically, the mic is then not secured in any way other then the friction of the clip, which could in turn be very dependent upon the type of clip and the fit to the mic body.

I tend to find if you use the manufacturer's clip appropriate to the mic, then you usually get a reasonably tight fit. Else a cable tie can work miracles...

I also wrap a loose clove hitch in the cable around the bar after leaving enough slack for the mic. Given a mic is not heavy, it's acting as a quasi safety cable...

 

[AlexD]

Although technically, the mic is then not secured in any way other then the friction of the clip, which could in turn be very dependent upon the type of clip and the fit to the mic body.

I do this sometimes, what I do to secure the mic in the clip is to use a little lx tape to secure the mic to the clip. The lx tape wont leave any skanky sticky stuff on the mic witch is good