Field recording

[ecfike]

My Uši Pro’s and Priezor should be arriving today…

[rvense]

I’ve always thought I didn’t much mind the sound of my original Zoom H2, which I’ve used mostly as a master recorder using the line-in and for “jotting down” quick sketches… but I’ve been doing some different things with it lately, recording ambient noises, a lot of trafic, etc., where the character of the mics is maybe more important… and I’m beginning to notice a certain boxy, distant sameness to most of what I capture, regardless of where they are from. I’m thinking maybe in this case it’s right to blame the tools? I realize it’s pretty bottom of the barrel.

[xidnpnlss]

Its not you. The first time i used my Usi Pros with my H4n was a revelation.

[SPIKE]

just saw this thread…

i recently updated my recorder from a Sony PCM M10 to a PCM D100.

the D100 is way bigger but of course it’s a lot nicer than the other model.
(just not as mega portable)

i was in the Mediterranean for a month and gathered a lot of sounds with the D100 and a pistol grip.
however…it was a bit of the pain to not be able to have a quick draw with the pistol grip which meant i did not use the grip all of the time.

upon my return i added a quick draw mounting clip for camera accessories that’s working REALLY well.

[tristan_louth_robins]

A regular spot in Yankalilla (South Australia) that I make recordings at is this section of Carrickalinga Creek: a small beach that was formed during a severe storm in the winter of 2016. It comprises of a natural mound made up of sand and small stones. It’s a beautiful spot to sit and observe the creek and the surrounding environment. In the past, I’ve made ambient sound recordings capturing the flow of the water (or lack thereof in Summer) and the array of birdlife that frequent the area.

This particular recording was made in the first week of August. There hadn’t been a great deal of rainfall in the past couple of weeks, but the creek still flowed strongly with a rough sibilance.

For this recording on my Sound Devices MixPre3, I dropped a pair of Aquarian Audio H2a hydrophones into the water and recorded for half an hour. When the creek’s in good health and flowing I’m always struck by the how lively the insects are! There’s a hypnotic quality to this recording; with their vocalisations/stridulations forming polyrhythms which criss-cross the stereo field. Against this, you can hear the current of the creek (esp. on the right channel).

[rvense]

I think currently using in-built mics is a hard requirement for me for practical reasons for now. I’m wondering if something like a second-hand Sony PCM series or Marantz would be a significant step up.

[SimonK]

Such a beautiful recording Tristan! Always nice to see an Adelaide face pop up on lines too. Whenever I’ve encountered your work it has felt like a epiphany as to the incredible natural beauty that is right under my proverbial nose.

[tristan_louth_robins]

Thank you, Simon!

Yes - likewise, nice to find some local folks on here.

[xidnpnlss]

I have not used one but the Sonys are highly praised. So most likely, yes.

[hermbot]

Two points of conversation:

I don’t see a lot of talk about the H6 here, I’ve found it to be a great way to get nice sounding field recordings with the built-in X/Y pair as well as the M/S module. Not only is it great for field recording but I also used it as a mobile central hub for recording an on-location podcast a few weeks ago. Two condensor mics, one dynamic, the X/Y pair, and no laptop!

Also: I didn’t know designingsound.org went on “perma-hiatus”. I wrote an article for them in the past and was looking forward to doing it again in the future some time. They were a great resource for field recording information.

[pleurodesis]

I love my H6. It’s the first that I’ve owned, but it does right by me. I use the X/Y and a pair of clippys, some janky contact mics, and a stereo hydrophone that can also be a contact mic. There’s plenty I can capture in the foreseeable future with these and some DIY rigging solutions, but I’m wondering if a homebrew pre-amp for the contact mics would get me more mileage out of them. Does that make sense, a contact mic-specific pre-amp between the H6 and the mic itself?

[sns]

Does that make sense, a contact mic-specific pre-amp between the H6 and the mic itself?

You can just use a buffer to match impedance. Piezo discs have a really high output impedance, and it creates a kind of hi-pass filter with classic microphone inputs.
Radial engineering makes two different DI for piezos (PZ-DI and a simpler one), but you can also go DIY and get more or less the same results for a few dollars : http://scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html
I have both a PZ-DI and a few of those circuits I built in small boxes, I tend to use them more than the radial as they’re really small.

[pleurodesis]

Right! the mintbox. I think I confused pre-amp and buffer. Gonna see if I can’t build one of them this weekend. Thank you.

[ecfike]

So I have my Uši Pro’s and a stereo bar. Very excited to get out recording some things, but I’m interested to see if you have any thoughts on mic placement. In these photos, they are positioned as far apart as possible pointing straight ahead. Is this good practice, or would it be bettered if the mics were angled out?

[tristan_louth_robins]

So I have my Uši Pro’s and a stereo bar. Very excited to get out recording some things, but I’m interested to see if you have any thoughts on mic placement. In these photos, they are positioned as far apart as possible pointing straight ahead. Is this good practice, or would it be bettered if the mics were angled out?

This would depend entirely on what spatial aspect you’re trying to capture. For my ambient recordings, I tend to have a stereo pair angled out at anywhere between 30-45 degrees. But this depends entirely on the environment and what you’d like to document! I can’t stress enough that listening first and referencing via your mic placement and headphones is the best way to go.

[tristan_louth_robins]

For this recording on my Sound Devices MixPre3, I dropped a pair of Aquarian Audio H2a hydrophones into the water and recorded for half an hour. When the creek’s in good health and flowing I’m always struck by the how lively the insects are! There’s a hypnotic quality to this recording; with their vocalisations/stridulations forming polyrhythms which criss-cross the stereo field. Against this, you can hear the current of the creek (esp. on the right channel).

Further to this post and my notes, if anyone can assist with identifying the insects in this recording, that would be greatly appreciated! I’ve never been able to get conclusive info on what they might be. Thanks!

[stephenvit]

Further to this post and my notes, if anyone can assist with identifying the insects in this recording, that would be greatly appreciated! I’ve never been able to get conclusive info on what they might be. Thanks!

If you don’t get a reply here, a place I’ve gotten help with that kind of thing is the Nature Recordists list-serve:

http://www.naturesongs.com/naturerecordists.html

Lots of knowledgeable field (nature) recordists there.

[tristan_louth_robins]

If you don’t get a reply here, a place I’ve gotten help with that kind of thing is the Nature Recordists list-serve:

http://www.naturesongs.com/naturerecordists.html

Lots of knowledgeable field (nature) recordists there.

Ah, excellent - thank you!

[_mark]

pointing straight ahead

They are omni directional, so the direction they point should not make a huge difference.

Personally, I would like the option of wider placement re:

Hearing this made me re-think how wide a pair of omnis can go in the field:

BEACHES

But you could also experiment with a SASS style barrier between them as part of the setup perhaps…

[Hovercraft]

The stereo bar looks a bit short to me. For omni’s in an A-B stereo config, I usually like at least 18" of separation. Would recommend you experiment with spacing and angles, and see what works for you. It also depends on the distance to the main sound source, and frequency content of the sounds. Agree it’s also worth experimenting with a Jecklin-type disk.Have fun!