Dynamic Mic Noise - Update
On 8/29/2018 2:30 PM, PStamler wrote:
It sound like your problem is not RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) but EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference) Another mic with a hum-bucking coil is the Electro-Voice RE15/RE16 (same basic capsule, but the 16 has a pop filter and a slightly brighter sound). But small transformerless condensers (like Oktava MK012s) will ignore the noise too -- why exactly do you prefer to use dynamics in this situation?
Here's what I've found. The problem is definitely EMI. There's a cell
phone tower less than a block away. Moving the mic in the room can
exacerbate or eliminate the noise. Unfortunately there is not a
practical position that will eliminate it. So, I took an RE15, RE18,
MD421U, and Beta 87A. All of the mics eliminated the noise although
there was still a little with the 421. Since the 87As were the only ones
I had two of, I used those. They didn't sound so good for this
application and need to be replaced.
Upon further research, I discovered that the PR40 (my favorite
spoken-word mic) and the RE20/27 have humbucking coils. With God as my
witness (ala WKRP), after all this time, I never knew about the coils.
How I overlooked it escapes me. What this experience has taught me is
that it is a REALLY good idea to use mics with humbucking coils whenever
possible - particularly in unfamiliar territory. Since I almost always
use a PR40, I've avoided the problem in most cases. However, the PR40 is
very large for on-camera use, so I'm thinking about a couple of RE16s,
unless someone can suggest less expensive alternatives that also include
effective humbucking coils.
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