Dry hire · Singapore
For visiting mixers and productions who need kit that is already legal where you are standing.
This is the package I work with. It is maintained because I depend on it, it is current because I replace things before they become a problem, and it comes with knowledge of what you are actually allowed to transmit on in this part of the world.
Who hires it
You are flying in and would rather not fly your kit in with you. Wireless that is legal here, timecode that talks to whatever camera package has been booked, and someone local to call if something goes sideways at 6am.
You have a sound recordist already and need the package locally rather than shipping and clearing your own. Common on shorter blocks where the freight and carnet cost more than the hire.
You are already running a package and need more channels, a second bag, or a splinter unit for a day. Happens more often than anyone schedules for.
The package
Hired whole or in parts. Tell me the channel count and the format and I will tell you what you actually need rather than what is most expensive.
Sound Devices 833 with SL-2 expander. Sound Devices MixPre-10 II as backup and overflow, triggered from the 833 by timecode. Dual recording throughout.
Wisycom MCR54 receivers, MTP61 beltpack transmitters, MTB40S plug-on transmitters for booms. Twelve channels available. Wisycom MPR50-IEM for monitoring.
DPA 6061 and 4061 lavaliers. Sanken CS-3e and CS-2 shotguns, Sennheiser MKH50 for interiors. Rycote WS3 modular windshield system.
Ambient NanoLockit units with ACN-CL Bluetooth bridge, Deity TC-1 boxes for cameras. IFB sends to director and script. Smart batteries with runtime telemetry.
Why hire locally
This is the single most common reason productions end up hiring here rather than shipping their own wireless, and it is almost always discovered too late.
Permitted bands for wireless microphones are set country by country. Singapore's are set by IMDA. Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam each have their own, and none of them line up neatly with the United States, the United Kingdom or Australia. A transmitter that is entirely legal in Los Angeles can be illegal to switch on in the country you have just landed in, and the fact that nobody is likely to check does not make it a good position for a production to be in.
Beyond legality there is the practical problem. Singapore in particular is dense, vertical and spectrally busy. A channel count that behaves perfectly in a quiet location will start dropping out in the CBD or in a hotel ballroom. Coordination here is real work rather than a formality.
Hiring the package locally removes both problems at once. The kit is already legal where you are, and it has already been coordinated in these buildings.
Send me the model numbers and the frequency blocks of what you were planning to bring. I will tell you in one message whether it is legal in your shoot country. It is a two minute conversation that has saved productions an entire day.
Dry hire is the equipment without an operator. You or your sound recordist run it yourselves. Wet hire means the kit comes with the person who owns it, which in this case means me. Both are available, and which one is right usually comes down to whether you already have a sound crew.
Regularly. The package is airline-checkable and travels across the region constantly. Cross-border movement needs a carnet or a temporary import arrangement depending on the country, which has to be organised in advance. For work outside Singapore it is often simpler and cheaper for me to travel with the kit than to ship it separately, so ask about that option before assuming freight.
Yes. Partial hires are common, and channels are the thing people most often run short of. Tell me how many you need and for how long.
It depends on duration, channel count and whether the hire stays in Singapore or travels. Weekly hires are priced below the daily equivalent. Send the dates and the channel count and you will have a figure the same day rather than a rate card that is wrong for your job.
Hiring the kit and wondering whether you also want the person who knows it: production sound mixing in Singapore, and the credits it has been used on.
Dates, channel count, and whether it stays in Singapore or travels. That is enough for a firm answer the same day.