I have shot several weddings using a lav on the groom with one camera and a second camera with the onboard mic to record every thing else. Well , I bought an adapter(BeachTek DXA-4) for my vx2100 and I want to use the lav and the Rode NT3 on the same camera. I have tested it at home and it seems to work OK. I have notice a lot of hum/room noise on the Rode that I was able to eliminate in post with Audacity. Is this normal? Also should I record in stereo(lav recorded on the left channel and Rode on the right channel) or should I record in mono and let the adapter mix the signals? Are there any other things that I should watch out for? Chad have you used this setup? Thanks in advance.

Billy

I would definitely record one mic to one of the stereo channels and the other mic to the other channel. That way you can make volume adjustments in post and mix in the groom mic most of the time and the wide mic when the principals aren't saying anything like when they are pronouced and you want the crowd noise to stand out.

You can mix the two channels together into a single mono channel in post or a stereo channel if you prefer. You will just have a lot more power to mix as you choose with two separate channels. If you record both mics to both channels at the wedding then you will have zero chance to change the relative volume of each mic in post.

Also if you're getting hum then chances are you have a grounding issue. I'd check the connections and cables and if that doesn't give you the answer you might try a ground loop isolator that you can get from Radio Shack for less than $20 I believe.

I've recorded different things like this. I've recorded a person singing on one channel and the guitar he was playing on the other channel for example. It's a lot better than trying to mix them together on the fly IMO. It probably requires more work this way but the results are much better.

Thanks King for your prompt reply. I am not sure if my editing software(Sony Vegas Movie Studio) or Audacity can edit the two channels of audio separately but I will look at this today. Thanks for the suggestions on the hum. Also I may have to use the Rode mounted on the camera if I can't get a suitable location near the wedding party. I will try to get as close to the party as I can. Do you see this as a problem?

Billy

I would think you could edit sound tracks separately in Audacity. If not Goldwave will do it.

As for mounting a mic on a camera just remember that the mic moves with the camera so if you do any panning the sound changes as you pan.

Thanks King , great suggestions. I will look at Goldwave.

Billy

You got to keep 'em separated.

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