FIELD RECORDING
grandpa_shig
5,799 Posts
i want to buy something to do some audio field recording with. any cheap suggestions?was thinking of getting a md recordable with some binaural mics but i am open to other options. especially with the mics. please help! thanks
Comments
its good? im kinda on the fence about these flash drive mp3 recordable joints. i know it says it records in wav or whatevers, but is the sound quality better than recording straight to disc?
I use one fairly regularly and have been very impressed. You really don't want a MD recorder - being able to use WAV files is a blessing and storage is dirt cheap. You can also use a phantom power mic directly with it without an external mic pre.
I'm sure there are other options out there though when it comes to portable CF recorders. I know Edirol makes one too, and Marantz was in the game back when it was tape-based.
im not really knowledgeable of this shit nor do i intend to be so i really dont need pro equipment or anything. but perhaps prosumer grade gear.
also, i will be recording shit on the sly which is why i like those earbud binaural joints. any mic suggestions?
yes, thank you. this is exactly what i need. its not for making rapsongs n shit. i just want something to walk around town with it and capture some of the shit people say and stuff. i also plan on getting room tone and background noises like freeways n shit or something like that. nothing too technical like bootlegging the next phish concert. but it has to be a decent sound recording. and by decent i mean not over about $300.
please, i still need help with this!
Okay, now I get what you're trying to do.
The recorder does not matter - it's just the convenient medium for storing the sound that you capture. What does matter is the microphone that you use - to capture sounds and background noises you need a highly directional mic with a good wind screen, like a shotgun mic. They aren't cheap, but you could get one for about $120 I bet. B&H Photo & Video is the spot.
The reason for this is that if you're walking around town, and want to capture a conversation, or a sound that is coming from a particular place, your ears are able to focus on that one sound, tuning out the cars driving by, other people talking, etc. With a shotgun mic, you point it towards what you want to hear, and it's magic - you only hear what it's pointing it. With really great ones you can actually hear a distant conversation better than with your own ears. Scary.
Not good for making rapsongs and shit though.
im not trying to be a superspy or anything. just like, if i was on the bus and the dude sitting next to me starts talking crazy, i want to be able to save it for my grandkids.
thanks for the help. i dont know shit.
http://www.brickhousesecurity.com/shotgunmicrophone-uem-88.html
Or this page:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controll...h=&cltp=&clsgr=
I mean honestly, that kind of thing is just plain hard to do. I'll bet you'll be able to get some decent results with the stereo mic that is included with the Microtrak, but they will assuredly be noisy, especially on the bus.
Doing it all properly for under $400 is kinda
b/w
LESSON OF THE DAY: Big fuzzy boners aren't good for making rapsongs on the sly.
too bad you dont have a bigger budget.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PCMD50/
There is some decent pro-sumer recorders on the market at the moment though.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--ZOMH4
this one is nice due to having the two condenser mics built right in. But the only downside is its zoom, whose products usually have a shitty build.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/R09/
edirol has decent stuff.
the m-audio is alright but only one mic. Stereo is nice with field recording.
but it most likely cheaper to get the ones with the mics built in instead of buying a seperate mic and a recorder. Just when buying a mic try to get a condenser for these application. You can pick up signal farther then a dynamic with better fidelity. Also try to get a recorder that is 24bit.
Isn't there something that records into an ipod? I remember someone on here talking about some small mic attachment they bought that somehow recorded into an ipod, they used it to get drops for mixtapes at shows and do interviews. It was a couple years ago though.
Any MD recorder will do, i got one for $10 at a thrift about 6 months ago.
And then get one of these mics:
Audio-Technica PRO 24
Sony ECM-MS907
The only pain in the ass is that you have to digitize real time because MD format is proprietary so you can't just plug it into your computer and drag and drop. But it's really no different than digitizing vinyl and people do that here all the time.
Good luck!
jaysus
THe MZ-M100 (also sold as the M-10) is the perfect MD. It's Hi-Md, which means you can record 80 minutes of uncompressed audio, which is then transferred via usb as a .wav file to your computer. Absolute lossless transfer. A single Hi-Md disk will run you about six dollars. I have about eight, and I do lots of recordings, so two should be fine to start. Another advantage of the Mz-M series is the fact that it comes with a battery sidecar. What does this means? Well, you throw one double 'a' battery in the sidecar and you get extended power when you're running off the internal battery, or you get power when the internal battery is out of juice. No such option on the M-Audio.
Yes, MD is supposedly going the way of the 8-track, but as long as you have enough media you'll be fine. in the five years that I've been making recordings I've never ONCE lost a file, or had a disk break, or crap out.
Now, rig wise:
soundprofesisonals.com is the spot for buying in-ear binaurals. Super stealth, and under $80.
Try these sites for hunting down your MD:
audiocubes.com
minidisco.com
minidisccanada.ca
If those don't work just froogle it. However, I don't recommend buying the MZ-RH1 (the newest Hi-MD) because it does not come with a sidecar.
Send me a PM if you want more info.
Um, what? So as someone who A) previously owned and used a MD recorder B) Uses portable digital recorders on a regular basis for radio work C) Used to do audio for video production using a wide variety of mics...
My contributions shouldn't be taken seriously? And this is coming from the staunch Anticon fan / dude who tried to recommend a common turd as some kind of great Psych record?
A.) My taste in music has nothing to do with my knowledge of audio gear. The fact that i like Anticon does not affect the Mz-M100's ability to record in uncompressed PCM, and then transfer via usb to a computer as .wav file.
B.)I will ride for the Love song off of my psych turd while you recharge the batteries on your M-Audio. You can hear me and my sidecar vanishing in the distance through your crapola on-board mics that most likely have a terrible stereo image. A stereo image is necessary for field recordings.
C.) Being that your experience is for broadcast, a high compression medium, yes I am suggesting that you know little to nothing about field recordings. Am I trying to diss you? No, simply saying that I know more than you about field recording.
That said, I see no reason to have beef with you. You consistently come with input that I read and enjoy. However, throwing my musical taste at me with a holier-than-thou turdage at the end is just lame. I never claimed to know anything about raer records, but I know enough about listening that I'm not shook off of you calling my taste into question.
but then again, if you are dumping it onto a cpu, then it probably isnt the most convenient method.
i have used one of those ipod mic thingies which works really well. however, it has the sound of a fricken youtube video.
i have noticed a lot of compression on a lot of npr stories and if theyre using flash drive recordables, id rather stick with the md. i mean, if i notice the compression, then it must really be fucked up. ok, thanks to everyone for the help.
and no fighting in my threads you babybitches.
I phoned him up to get my R-1 fixed, but don't let that put you off!!!! He said the R-1's are much better, but now discontinued you can still get brand new ones if you look hard enough...
Yeah im no authority but i work at NPR and I used to work at CBS/NBC running audio with minidiscs. THEY ARE COMPLETE SHIT. I never used any of the current flash recorders, so i cant testify if they are titties or not, but spec wise they arent bad for the price. I just provided new equip that you can buy in your price range. And the convinces of the USB transfer will save you mad time and headaches. If you are trying to discretely record someone its easy to use a small unit like them instead of setting up 2 mics X-Y configed. But hey you guys seem to have it all figured out.
I actually use a sony DAT or an HHB CD-R in the field with 2 sm-81 condensors, which is way out of the budget. And i dont just do broadcast recordings.
i do all my recording with an iriver 340 and an AT822 .
iriver 340 is great, 40gb hdd, straight to wav with great ADAC. AT822 has some boner factor, but is pretty sweet assuming it is not too conspicous for you. i just hide the thing up my sleeve when i need to be low pro. the whole setup is tiny, easy to use, monitor, conceal, can record a ton of shit, etc.
WELL HOLY SHIT!
man we all should hang out when jeffie gets back from bosnia or wherevers.
that iriver thing, it sounds alright? ive used an ipod to do field recording but it sounded like shit. coulda been the shitty mic but it sounded all compressed too.
I haven't heard any good things aboutt hat zoom h4. If you're buying md you should really be buying Hi-md.
I don't know anything about that iriver.Steer clear of these types of products, because they aren't intended for recording. The ability to record on these is an afterthought that is used for marketing. Non-dedicated recorders are going to give you crappy rsults. Their compression algorithms are going to be crappy. You want minimal compression for field recordings because less compression equals more detail, and more spatialization.Yes, this is the truth right here. I'm actually thinking about picking one of these up so I don't have to check out a recorder from the station when I do interviews, and cause I don't have any portable music player at the moment. iRiver gear always sounds GREAT, they're one of the few portable music player companies who spend time making sure that their products actually sound good and have decent analog stages behind their converters.
I can't urge you enough to steer clear of Minidiscs. All these people on here keep talking about compression algorithms without having any idea what they're saying - if you're recording straight to a WAV file, there is no compression. I have had minidiscs and players break, as have many other people I know.
anyways, thanks everyone for the help. i might still have some questions later.