Attenuators, I'm confused?

1. trevorbliss
   Member

   

    Hi,  Can anyone help and advice on Attenuators.  So many out there  I'm con fused.

   Bliss from London

   Posted 4 months ago # Login to Send PM

2. composite1
   Moderator

   

   Trevor,

   An attenuator is an electronic device that helps reduce sound without distortion. You can also passively 'attenuate' sound by reducing it's 'flow rate' by blocking or filtering the incoming sound. For examples of passive attenuation, foam mic coverings, fuzzy muffs and chamois are used to cover a mic to cut down on the strength of the sound coming in and sound blankets arranged around the intended sound source block the wavelengths of incoming unwanted ambient sound.

   For electronic attenuation, your prosumer and pro recording devices usually have built-in attenuators but you can purchase additional external devices such as power attenuators or coaxial connectors. Built-in attenuators in such cameras and audio recorders are activated by switching your audio recording selector from 'manual' to 'auto'. Some devices will have an 'attenuator' switch on the device instead of 'auto'.

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

3. trevorbliss
   Member

   

    

   Thanks for the advice, can you recommend supplier or make as they cost from a couple of dollars to tens of dollars for electronic attenuators.

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

4. MazdaMan
   Member

   

   Would it not depend on what you are trying to film? Filtering out high frequencies wouldn't do much good if you were recording in an area with a lot of low frequency background noise.

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

5. composite1
   Moderator

   

   Trevor,

   The attenuators I most commonly deal with are either built-in or 'mocked-up'. The best mocked-up attenuator I've worked with is leather chamois. I do a lot of work in high-end industrial environments and you'd be surprised at how just wrapping a mic in 2 or 3 layers of chamois can help filter sound. If you're looking for electronic attenuators, try outfits like Markertek or Radio Shack.

   Mazda,

   The main thing you utilize an attenuator for is to get 'usable' audio. Having worked in super noisey environments like factories, aircraft carriers and racing venues I can attest that your not going to get 'clean' audio from your subject. But, in such environments you can get usable audio using a combination of electronic attenuation and mocked-up filters like the one I just mentioned. If the ambient noise level is so high that even attenuation doesn't help, your only other option is voice-over if your subject is speaking on camera.

   Posted 3 months ago # Login to Send PM

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