New York, NY (August 4, 2015)—Location sound engineer Ben Nimkin recently added a customized B6 omnidirectional lavalier to his arsenal of stock Countryman mics.
“I started using Countryman products in grad school about six years ago,” Nimkin recalls. “We used the company’s EMW omnidirectional lavaliers and I loved working with them. This led me to the B3 omnidirectional lavs along with the B6, which has since become my ‘go-to’ microphone for much of my work. In all cases, I use my Countryman mics with Lectrosonics SMQV and Wisycom MTP40S wireless systems and, together, they make a great setup.”
Recently, Nimkin has been working on ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary about pro golfer John Daly’s life and his impact on the game. According to Nimkin, “Daly is a very interesting and amazing character, but he does whatever he wants and, in order to follow him, the crew must be very flexible and move quickly. That means I need to mic him up quickly—sometimes while he’s on the move.”
In order to address these challenges, Nimkin consulted with Countryman’s engineering staff and arranged for a customized B6 lavaliere that offered him additional flexibility. “One reason why the B6 is so great for narrative work,” he continued, “is that its small size makes it easier to hide. But its small size has an additional benefit—there is less surface area and, therefore, less chance for the microphone to rub and make clothing noise.
“My customized B6 has the added benefit in that I can push it through a tie knot easily, bend it around a button hole, or shape it under the brim of a hat without excess tape; and I can do it all faster and with greater assurance that it will sound great. I have even bent it into a little spring shape to help isolate the capsule on a particularly noisy outfit.”
Countryman Associates
www.countryman.com
