Sennheiser MKH 50 Boom Microphone for indoor dialogue recording
In this week’s episode, we have a look at and listen to the Sennheiser MKH 50 supercardioid boom microphone. The film and TV industry has generally considered the MKH 50 as a staple boom microphone for many years. This microphone has the unique characteristic that it captures bass frequencies, even when used at at distance of 2 or even 3 meters. This makes it useful for wide shots in addition to more traditional booming distances of less than 50 cm. In my experience, the MKH 50 is a rich sounding mic which is well suited for indoor booming. Its RF bias design and overall build make it incredibly reliable. Its gentle roll-off filter and -10dB pad also make it useful for closer mic (10 - 40 cm) or really loud situations. The MKH 50 also holds up really well when compared to the much newer MKH 8050 and Schoeps CMC641 boom microphones which we compare it to in this episdoe. The $1200 USD price seems very fair for the quality offered by the MKH 50.
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. Our latest courses cover Sound for Live Streaming with the ATEM Mini and an Intro to Izotope RX.
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Gear used or mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVEStore, Perfect Circuit, Trew Audio or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:
- Sennheiser MKH 50 boom microphone — B&H, Trew Audio, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Sennheiser MKH 8050 boom microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon
- Schoeps CMC641 boom microphone — B&H, Trew Audio, Sweetwater
- Sound Devices MixPre audio recorder — B&H, Trew Audio, Sweetwater, DVE Store, Amazon
- Rycote PCS Microphone Quick-Release System — B&H
- Aputure LS 300X used for background light — Aputure, B&H, Amazon
- Aputure Spotlight Mount — Aputure, B&H, DVE Store, Amazon
- Rosco Gobo creates the pattern on the back wall — B&H
- Canon C70 cinema camera — B&H
- Canon RF 24-70 f/2.8L lens — B&H, Amazon
- Schneider Radiant Soft 1 diffusion filter — B&H
- Panasonic GH5 camera — B&H, Amazon
- Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 II lens — B&H, Amazon
The intro and outro music for this episode is from Musicbed - “Dynamo” by Virgil Arles. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself.
Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd
Sennheiser MKH50 Microphone Overview: Super Cardioid Mic for Indoor Dialogue
What are the best microphones for recording dialogue indoors? I’ve been using the Audio Technica AT4053b for a little over a year with very good results. But one of the microphones often used in productions with a decent sound budget is the Sennheiser MKH50 super cardioid condenser microphone. A few episodes ago we compared these two mics and found that there was no clear winner amongst viewers, at least when recording my voice.
But when would you want to move up to a microphone like the Sennheiser at $1,200 USd? Let’s take a closer look at this mic and see which circumstances and for which types of voices it works best.
