Radio One/Morning Ireland Microphones

Wheelsonthebus

I'm sure Radio One have splashed out on top of the line microphones and fair play to them. I'm sure the microphones are the best spec and can all do super dooper things that I cant even begin to imagine but is it possible the microphones that they have are just too good?

Every time I listen to Morning Ireland, I can constantly hear pencil scribbling, nose whistling, finger drumming, lip smacking when someone is talking, paper rustling etc.

Not that it's a major issue but every time I listen to Morning Ireland I can hear it. It's just that once you hear these things for the first time, you listen for them every time. I actually like listening to the news in the morning but have to turn over when the lip smacking and nose whistling gets too much!

It's not a big problem in my life I grant you, I dont wake up in the middle of the night shouting "Those goddamned RTE microphones!" but find it amazing that no producer has picked up on it. You dont really hear it on any other station.

Trick of the Tail

Simple. Wrong microphones for the application/environment.

They're great mics they use, but don't sound good in their studios.

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spank_inferno

If they moved their slobbery gobs away from the mic when not speaking it would help.

All that salivating and note scribbling is them working out what the incorrect time is

More Music

Believe it or not a Beyer M-201 is a great mic for round table studio discussions.

mike65

Do they have those anti pop shields?

mattser

On a not so totally unremoved note....when oh when are they going to do away with that goddam annoying female whispered ," RTE Radio 1 " jingle, usually heard after the News at 1 ?. It's been there for the last 20 years.

AND.. the intro music for the Radio and TV News hasn't changed in a lifetime. Time was they changed every few years, giving listeners who hated the sound, a chance to like something new.

Trick of the Tail

Agreed, the M201 is an excellent mic for that application. That's what I'd propose they used, if asked.

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Bloody*Mary

spank_inferno wrote: »

If they moved their slobbery gobs away from the mic when not speaking it would help.

All that salivating and note scribbling is them working out what the incorrect time is

heh heh it must be difficult , guy in BBC4 Today programme gave the wrong MONTH recently.

Told us it was the 26th of FEBRUARY.

Wasn't corrected either, so don't be too hard on RTE MI:P

QuadLeo

The mics they use are fit for purpose. But there are better ones/more expensive ones out there such as the RE20. I think the main problem lies with presenters' microphone technique. And the way the mics are held in place. From what I've seen on the morning Ireland webcam the mics are on table stands with no cradle/suspension to remove vibrations from the table. This would dramatically reduce noise from finger drumming/table banging etc... The pens and papers are just about awareness. Better mic placement can help remove these noises. I worked in a UK radio studio for years and it can be bloody difficult to hear rustles/clicks/pens in the studio but they are extremely obvious when broadcast. To do with compression etc...

You should write an email to RTE about it because there's no point voicing it here as they won't act on it. If you email you should get a response. At least you can say you highlighted it.

Trick of the Tail

I disagree, the mics they use are not fit for purpose because they don't suit the room and the particular working environment there.

They're good mics, just not in that application.

Once you get up to a certain standard in mics, you can't necessarily say 'there are better mics' because differ mics suit different environments.

The RE20 is a great mic, probably my favourite one for use in a radio studio, especially for DJ use. Not so good for guests who don't have mic technique. The Shure SM-7B is nearly as good. The Heil PR-40 is a fine dynamic mic.

Notice my favourites are all dynamics, rather than condensers. That's because you need to have a really good room and a lot of discipline to get away with using a condenser - also there's nothing worse sounding than a cheap condenser.

The Audio Technical AT-4033 or 2033 is an excellent, forgiving condenser.

However for multiple mic use, when you want to minimise comb-filtering, and when you may have guests who aren't used to talking into a microphone, you can't go far wrong with the Beyer M201.

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