#808

You’re right; I don’t know what I was thinking there - my brain just got a bit muddled, I guess!

#809

Hi there, I’m not sure if this is the right thread to post this in but anyways. I have a Sony PCM-M10 and I’ve noticed that lately the difference in gain level varies between the left and right channel. It takes a little cranking the gain wheel to bring it back to normal but I’m wondering what could be the problem, since sometimes the difference in gain is considerable enough to make the recording useless. It makes no difference if I record with the built-in mics or with external ones. Thanks in advance for any tips.

#810

might be a long shot but… this also assumes that you have tried new batteries/external power and that the recorder didn’t come into contact with water or something like that… if the volume difference changes all the time maybe a component in the mic pre has gone bad, like a capacitor? my line of thinking is how old or bad/out of spec caps in a synth would say make it impossible to stay in tune, because the capacitor may be able to hold some charge but not the correct amount and be fluctuating all the time throwing the entire rest of the circuit off. unfortunately because of how its built and all the small SMD components its not quite as easy to open up and look inside and spot a bulging or leaky capacitor.

what might help is trying to identify where in the signal flow your problem is if its possible. not sure how the units input/preamp is designed but does the same thing happen if you use the line input? or is that only mono?

1 Like
#811

If messing with the gain wheel brings it back to normal it sounds like the potmeter is bad or dirty. It maybe needs replacement. What i sometimes helps with a bad potmeter is trying to clean it by turning it a lot. Like 100 times up and down.

1 Like
#812

Thanks for the advice. I really hope you’re right and it’s a dirty potentiometer instead of a faulty capacitor. I did what you suggested and everything seems fine. The problem is that since it happens occasionally, I’ll only be able to tell after a week or so.

#813

Thanks for your detailed response and your advice on determining where in the signal flow lies the issue. I tried using the line input (it’s stereo) and there weren’t any issues but right now there are none using the mics neither, so I’ll have to wait for the issue to appear again to do an A/B test. I really hope it isn’t a faulty capacitor though!

1 Like
#814

I recently received a pair of Lom mikroUši Pro’s, so I decided to make a short recording of the machines at my place of work.

11 Likes
#815

I recently got the Sennheiser Ambeo headset and sold most of my recording gear. They’re super handy and I’m happy with the recordings I get with them using my iPhone with MetaRecorder. The stereo image is pretty amazing. I just got tired of lugging gear around and realized that most of my field recordings end up heavily processed when I get around to using them anyway.

5 Likes
#816

Paging Dr. @crueldiagonals to join the field recording discussion.

1 Like
#817

Some people here have said they enjoy my podcast about field recording so I thought I’d just let you all know that the final episode is now up, hope you guys enjoy it:

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#818

Would you be willing to share something you’ve recorded with the Ambeo? I’ve had my eye on it for some time and would love to put an ear on it instead.

#819

Sure! Traveling atm, but when I get home next week I will put something up.

#820

No rush, and thank you!

#821

image
ED4F92E9-B407-4FD7-BA64-0782386D51B5.jpeg4032×3024 2.61 MB

Recording print shop sounds

10 Likes
#822

couple of electromagnetic detectors:


not shown: an elektrosluch v2.
in 1992 a friend introduced me to this kind of sensors when he showed me his primitive detector assembled using a big laminated core transformer salvaged from an old PSU.

8 Likes
#824

How big are the differences between all these devices?

#825

i’d say the frequency ranges differ between all those devices, although they overlap somewhere.
the elektrosluch and the detektor need to be close to the source(s) being investigated. the elektrosluch has two coils for EMF detection and has a stereo output. the detektor has one coil for EMF signals and an antenna for higher frequency signals. it has two minijack outputs, one being the two mono signals summed, the other output gives you the two sources separated one per channel.
the priezor picks up stuff even from the atmosphere but, being passive, it needs HUGE gain/amplification, really. if you have something like a sound-devices, with clean preamps and 65db of gain, you’re set.
the small telephone pick-up is, i think, the same kind of coil as the elektrosluch and the detektor but is passive. the same principle of taking a guitar pick-up and wiring it to a jack plug.
the soma ether also picks up stuff from a distance no problem, but without the need of cranking the gain of your recording device (similar to elektrosluch and detektor, but with a wider freq.reange). i got it a month ago or so but i didn’t had yet the time to test it extensively.

4 Likes
#826

This is a recording I made with my mikroUši Pro’s and the MixPre-6. I stood beneath a large bridge and the cars passing overhead made quite a pronounced and dramatic thumping sound as they drove across a join in the road. I thought it was quite a neat atmosphere.

5 Likes
#827

I just found a reference to this blog post and thought it might be of great interest for anyone interested in under-water recording but not knowing what’s going on or why the results can be patchy at times…

6 Likes
#828

Sad to see it go, but you had a good run.

1 Like