[stuartr]

Hey all, I was wondering if anyone had done any field recording. I really like listening to field recordings, whether from the city or countryside. I travel a fair bit, and I think it would be fun to record some of the places I go to...binaural recordings would be especially interesting. I would love to make some recordings from my favorite trout stream at home, as I really miss it out here in California -- even here in Santa Barbara there is so much noise. you never just hear the nature like you do in Vermont or Connecticut...I really miss it, so I want to go out and record it in the highest quality possible so I can bring it here with me to california. I think it would be cool to have some recordings from Susukino in Sapporo or Ginza, or even Vladivostok (if they don't give me problems about bringing in recording equipment...).

Any thoughts on this stuff? What is the best stuff onto which to record this, how portable is it? Do you need a dummy head to do binaural, or could you even use your own head? Are there any resources for this out there?
Thanks,
Stuart

 

[SBomm]

I've just started to record ambient sounds. Using a Sharp MD recorder and home made mics using RadioShack mic capules soldered on to an old headphone cable. It's a very cheap setup and easy to use. I just hold the mics on the frames of my glasses and check the sound levels occasionaly.
Using Ety ER-6s is a good way to monitor what is being recorded because of their isolation.
The results are surprisingly listenable.

 

[chadbang]

Make sure the mic you buy has a low frequency roll-off filter. It will save you a world of headaches. Helps cut the rumble that always seems to sneak into ambient recordings. Of course a good wind screen is a must. I've always lusted after one of those nifty feather jobs made by Rycote. Foam doesn't do diddly out in the wind. The wind just batters the foam and creates rumble. My Sony R-900 MD does a surprising good job. Quiet enough for birds chirping and brooks babbling. I bought a Audio-Technica AT822 stereo mic (around $240) that uses the same condensers as the Core Sound mics. I wasn't too concerned about stealth, as I don't go to concerts anymore. It's okay, but I'm not blown away by it. A little "dry" sounding to me. I shouldn't saved up more for some Sennheisers.

 

[xtreme4099]

some cool sites

archive of peoples field recordings

http://radiantslab.com/musiek/phonography/


On Binaural Field Recordings with Links to other sites..

http://www.krisbee.com/Field%20Recording.html

 

[Orpheus]

Quote:

Make sure the mic you buy has a low frequency roll-off filter.

i would omit this from your signal chain initially, and do this post-recording as an effect. if you buy a separate mic preamp, then it'll probably have the filter built-in, and you can use that one. but if not, i bother spending the money, and just eq the results on your computer.

 

[minya]

Stuart, I can't help you with making your own field recordings, but I can recommend a couple artists. For some heavily-manipulated and interesting (but not really ear-friendly..) recordings, try Francisco Lopez. Hazard is another great artist; all his albums are based on his field recordings and are very interesting to listen to.

Investigate these labels if you're interested: Ash International and Touch.

- Chris