Pro Location Sound LLC

I often get emails on what is the best all around wind protection my answer is always Rycote Overcovers and Undercovers. They are cheap easy to apply and easy to remove. Undercovers are used in lower wind situations and Overcovers are used in higher wind situations. The best part of using them is you can easily trim them down to size. So if you haven’t tried them out give them a try.

http://www.rycote.com/products/personal_mic_solutions/undercovers/

http://www.rycote.com/products/personal_mic_solutions/overcovers/

I got an email asking how I approach sit down interviews. The first question that needs an answer is what type of interview is it? Talent only on camera or is it a 1 on 1 or a 2 on 1 or many with one correspondent. The easiest interview to mic in talent only on camera unless I am in a noisy environment I hardly ever use a lav mic. My mics of choice for interviews are my Schoeps Cmit for a wider frame and the Schoeps CMCMk41 set up for a standard interview frame. Both these mics provide an outstanding audio quality far superior to a lav mic. If I am doing a 1 on 1 interview The Cmit goes over the correspondent and the CMC over the interviewee. The Cmit sounds better in a wider shot then the CMC. If I am doing a 2 on 1 I will use (2) CMC and (1) Cmit. Anything over a 2 on 1 is usually too wide for boom only coverage and the lavs come out. I take pride in getting a great sounding interview and the Schoeps help me do that.

The term “Game Changer” is often over used however this is a situation where it really does apply. In the 12 years I have been a professional sound mixer nothing has changed the way I work more then this machine. This past week I really pushed the routing abilities of the unit to its limit. For a multi cable interview I was able to feed 3 Camera, record transcription via Mp3 and record at full multi channel back up via Bwav files while also providing a IFB feed as well. Doing this even a year ago would have required 2 mixers, 2 recorders and some Y adapter cables, while this older set up worked it wasn’t efficient and looked like a rats nest. The 664 does it very clean quickly and also provides me with return mounting and metering for all 3 cameras. The machines flexibility, low power use and easy to navigate menus  are its most important attributes though. I have had more then one client comment on how they were impressed that one machine could do so much. I look forward to many more years with the 664 providing me and my client with great service.

To Better Serve our Customers we have added a Schoeps CMC 6 pre amp with a MK 41 Hyper Cardiod Capsule this microphone combination is outstanding for recording interviews music and pretty much anything . We look forward to using it.

Every April 1st Lectrosonics releases a new product this year is no exception. I introduce to you the WXLR Solar Powered Transmitter below is the press release.

Rio Rancho, NM – April 1, 2013… Lectrosonics is introducing the world’s first solar-powered wireless microphone transmitter, the WXLR. The new transmitter is based on the idea that today’s solar cell technology is sufficiently advanced for use on portable electronic devices. The new WXLR was based initially on the previously introduced WM water-tight transmitter.

Being fanatics, Lectrosonics engineers aimed to simplify the design even further and make the housing even more bullet proof by eliminating the battery compartments and associated doors altogether. While discussing solar power as a potential option, one engineer realized that solar insolation is almost exactly 1 kW per square meter or 0.65 Watts per square inch in full sunlight. Solar insolation is the available power from the sun that strikes the earth’s surface after atmospheric losses.

The WXLR case is 2.98″ by 2.55″ equating to 7.6 square inches. With new multiple-junction, single crystal gallium arsenide solar cells approaching 39% efficiency, a custom cell sized for the WXLR case could produce 1.92 Watts in direct sunlight. Since the unit only uses half a Watt to operate at the two lower power settings of 50 and 100 mW, there is more than enough power to run the transmitter and charge permanently installed internal Li-Ion batteries, even after overcoming small conversion losses.

What really makes the concept workable is the 30% Federal Tax Credit for solar installations combined with the 10% State Tax Credits. The 10% tax credit is allowed by progressive states such as New Mexico and fortunately, New Mexico is where Lectrosonics is located.

Lectrosonics has always been a leader when it comes to providing accessories for our customers to enhance utility and user experience. The first accessory, the WXLRMAG “supercharger”, is a 10″ magnifying glass that is used to concentrate the sun’s rays onto the WXLR case, reducing charging time (vs. plain sunlight) from two hours down to 30 minutes. The user is cautioned that the WXLR will become extremely hot when charged in this manner. A special set of insulating gloves is included with the WXLRMAG.

The second accessory, the WXLRNIGHT, is used when the WXLR must be charged at night or in rainy weather. It uses a 300 Watt OSRAM Ultra Vitalux sun lamp tanning bulb. This bulb with its stand and reflector can be plugged into any AC outlet such as those commonly found in hotel rooms and on sound mixer carts. This accessory charges the WXLR in approximately 2 hours and can charge 4 WXLR transmitters at once. Other accessories will be released in the near future.

Lectrosonics intended to release the WXLR in time to coincide with the Vernal Equinox on March 20 (first day of spring) when the sun is directly above the equator. However, unforeseen supply issues caused a delay of 12 days for the introduction. MSRP: $2,395 for the WXLR, $79.95 for the WXLRMAG and $295 for the WXLRNIGHT. Spare bulbs are $90.