Field recording

[lijnenspel]

The best camera is the one you have with you

In that vein, if somebody would make a smartphone with a decent built-in microphone, I’d get one immediately.

A friend has this MicW microphone for his iPhone. I really love their form, but none of their models match my rec. requirements: super sensitive omni. I would love to have something like the EM172 for my ipod, as small and cable less like the MicW so I can just stick it in my pocket next to it.

I also found the Edutige EIM-003 btw and ordered it for a trial. But from their specs I expect them to be quite noisy.

So I continued googling if someone else already tried to combine the an em172 with a smartphone. From documentation it seems like the the EM172 needs min 2V plug in power, but is optimal at 5V (less noise). iPhones have 2.7V on their TRRS socket. I’ve ordered all components and hope to start testing next week if this is actually technically possible.

[vehka]

This is very interesting. Maybe we should start a separate thread on smartphone recording with electret mics? For example, anybody tried the Uši?

[widdly]

You can run usb mic’s using an OTG adaptor with a lot of recent android phones. I’ve not tried a usb mic but I’ve played with a usb sound card hooked up to my samsung note 5 and it works nicely.

[hamildad]

I used a Samson Go mic with an OTG adaptor into my Sony Experia ( Via Mini USB) and used USB recorder app.

It worked but the microphone was not recognised every time, which was a pain.

the tech solution worked, but I had to reorder a smaller cable as you need minimal wires between Phone and mic, ( i was clipping mic to top of phone)

[_mark]

This got me thinking - does anyone know of an inline device that lets you power and connect an XLR to a phone, with a quality preamp?

That would be useful.

I did find this: https://www.provideocoalition.com/connect-a-xlr-microphone-to-your-smartphone/ but seems it never got released.

[lijnenspel]

Lets move the discussion on smartphone fieldrecording equipment to another thread, to keep this thread less specific/gear heavy and more about the art itself?

@vehka already started one:

Smartphone audio recording with interfaces/external mics

Continuing the discussion from Field recording: @lijnenspel, would love to hear your experiences when you get around trying the EM172. Also, like @widdly, I’ve used class-compliant USB recorders together with my Android phone. It’s a great solution to capture a jam session, works in conjunction with video too (Open Camera app allows you to choose your audio source). But I’d love to have something more compact, a small electret mic (or a pair) that I could always carry around to capture an inte…

[vehka]

Yeah, actually somebody with thread clipping rights could merge the above comments into the new thread?

[_mark]

Thanks - just spotted that after posting!

[nuun]

to keep this thread less specific/gear heavy and more about the art itself

about the art itself, any recommendations of good sound artists who use fieldrecordings in their work? like katecarr for example:
https://soundcloud.com/katecarr

[ermina]

You might fall in love with Luc Ferrari’s works.

[edbkt]

I really enjoy Budhaditya Chattopadhyay’s work, which often incorporates field recordings, and also his writing.

[papernoise]

I think it’s a bit obvious to state this, but a lot of 12k’s catalog falls in this category, see for example Taylor Deupree and of course @marcus_fischer.

A friend of mine runs a small label called Kohlhaas, a lot of the albums published by him focus on the creative use and mangling of field recordings, often put in relation with other instruments and musical materials:

See for example Nicola di Croce, Simon Whetham and Stefano de Ponti

[nuun]

[caelmore]

This thread just reminded me that I should either get my Zoom H2 repaired or finally upgrade to something bigger and better (read: more inputs, especially XLR inputs). I’ll be revisiting this thread for recommendations if and when I finally take the plunge on a new portable recorder.

[kisielk]

Apparently the mic pres on the H4N MkII are much improved, but I’ve never tried one to confirm.

[kisielk]

I’m also shopping for a new recorder, my current Tascam doesn’t support external mics, and I want one that can power binaural headphones through a 1/8" input jack as well…

[razzkazz]

apparently the H4N pro has the same pre-amps as the H5 & H6. There’s limited real-world reviews of the H4N Pro, which makes me suspicious, didn’t look for any on the H5. There would need to be serious improvement. But personally I would never choose zoom again. Testing some different brands in-store might help clear up noise related questions.

[stephenvit]

if you do, and wanting more inputs, the Sound Devices Mix-Pre 6 is a good way to go. Having 4 high quality XLR inputs has brought me new found happiness

[Larrea]

the Sound Devices Mix-Pre 6 is a good way to go.

Endorsed.

If you only need two XLR ins, the Mix-Pre 3 is good too.

New Mix-Pre 10 is out as well, if you need, well, lots of inputs.

[caelmore]

The MixPre-6 is a bit out of my current price range but it does look like something I’ll need at some point.