Recording sound effects for beginners

T

TheAudiomancer

New member
So, I've very recently started my path to breaking into the audio industry and right now, I don't have the technical skills to record music or the theory skills to write compositions, so I'm focusing on recording and designing sound effects so I can get some basic practice with that. At the moment, I have NO equipment other than my computer so I'm trying to look into the most basic of basic tools I'll need: my recorder. I've been looking at a lot of portable recorders online (the Zoom H4n is definitely my favorite at the moment due to its quality, durability, and pretty much being a Swiss Army knife of recorders that I would use for a very long time, but it seems like it's better suited for a different environment than what I'm looking for), but they all seem to be geared toward recording things like music and performances which is great and all, but not what I need right now. So my question to you guys is what are some good, decently priced recorders that are good for field recording ambient noise and everyday sounds that I would like to splice into some good effects or does it really matter? Could I just buy a high quality recorder and use it any way I wanted to and have it still come out in good quality? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi, The ZOOM R8 or R16 would both be good options with a huge amount of flexibility and the ability to mix your recordings and edit them in detail.
They have built in mics which are reasonably spaced apart and will both operate on battery or mains supply. Whatever the manufacturers emphasize in their point of sale material in respect of application of the equipment, means diddly squat as a sound recorder is pretty much what it says on the packet and the user has the last word on what actually is recorded. Either unit used with the on board or additional mics would provide the option of either recording a single stereo take, or additional tracks depending on which unit, if more than two stereo tracks are required of the same take and if you want to have flexibility when mixing down or have two stereo tracks, one with a small delay and so on.

Regards

Tim
 
is the "recorder" TheAudioMancer is refering to actually an interface would someone confirm for me?
 
I don't know how this would pan out for you but I've been using the Zoom H1 alot recently and I only wish it had existed last century when I was collecting everyday sound effects on a crummy micro cassette dictaphone and more recently on an Olympus. Neither is really any good for anything other than humming ideas into.
The Zoom H1 amazes me and I've captured loads of sounds on my travels ~ kids playing, police and fire engine sirens, car sounds, buses, creaking doors, ambient resturant sounds, shop sounds, dogs barking, birds chirping, seagulls, aeroplanes, helicopters, peoples' conversations, sneezes, snoring, farts, horses hooves, cheers and clapping at a live gig, footsteps, rain........from all kinds of places {driving, my house, in buildings, shops, walking the streets, picking up the kids from school, live gigs, eating out........}.
The thing I've learned is how to capture sounds at a variety of recording levels and lower levels tend to yield the best results because when using the sounds in songs, I'm able to bump the volume up on my DAW. The H1 also can act as a de facto mic plugged into the DAW for lo-fi trashy but brightly effective sounds.
Food for thought, in any event.
 
A couple of years ago, there was a lively thread involving a guy that wanted advice on how to record a fire engine from his local station. He got the piss taken out of him by some, with the advice "just use samples !". Which, of course, totally missed the point.
Sound effects CDs {the equivalent of those old effects tapes that studios like EMI had, that the Beatles and Pink Floyd utilized so well} are quite handy. I've used them in the past for various noises and sounds but there's a certain satisfaction and joy I get from coming up with my own where possible. One gets to be quite adept at recording them on the fly at short notice.
I wanted a recording of a wailing police car siren and the other week, I was coming out of a supermarket when I heard a faint wail and in the distance, saw a police car coming. I raced across the road with my heavy shopping, dived into my van, got my H1 out of the glove compartment, turned it on, waited the 10 or so seconds it takes to come on and get into record ready mode then stuck it next to the window { didn't want to catch wind noise} and pressed record. I got a great 15 second snatch of the police car siren peaking as it sped past and the dying away decay as it got further away. In the song it ends up on, it's part of a brief melange of street sounds and the listener may barely register the sound, but it was fun to get. It was like hunting down the white stag and finally catching it !
 
grimtraveller said:
A couple of years ago, there was a lively thread involving a guy that wanted advice on how to record a fire engine from his local station. He got the piss taken out of him by some, with the advice "just use samples !". Which, of course, totally missed the point.
Sound effects CDs {the equivalent of those old effects tapes that studios like EMI had, that the Beatles and Pink Floyd utilized so well} are quite handy. I've used them in the past for various noises and sounds but there's a certain satisfaction and joy I get from coming up with my own where possible. One gets to be quite adept at recording them on the fly at short notice.
I wanted a recording of a wailing police car siren and the other week, I was coming out of a supermarket when I heard a faint wail and in the distance, saw a police car coming. I raced across the road with my heavy shopping, dived into my van, got my H1 out of the glove compartment, turned it on, waited the 10 or so seconds it takes to come on and get into record ready mode then stuck it next to the window { didn't want to catch wind noise} and pressed record. I got a great 15 second snatch of the police car siren peaking as it sped past and the dying away decay as it got further away. In the song it ends up on, it's part of a brief melange of street sounds and the listener may barely register the sound, but it was fun to get. It was like hunting down the white stag and finally catching it !
Click to expand...
ahaa love it :D
 
That's exactly I want to stay away from samples whenever possible. I like to feel that I'm not just using some generic clip that I found on the web. I want something organic and authentic. I'd much rather go on a hunt for the perfect sound than just take a clip and say I'm done. To me, that's what audio engineering is all about.
 
grimtraveller said:
A couple of years ago, there was a lively thread involving a guy that wanted advice on how to record a fire engine from his local station. He got the piss taken out of him by some, with the advice "just use samples !". Which, of course, totally missed the point.
Sound effects CDs {the equivalent of those old effects tapes that studios like EMI had, that the Beatles and Pink Floyd utilized so well} are quite handy. I've used them in the past for various noises and sounds but there's a certain satisfaction and joy I get from coming up with my own where possible. One gets to be quite adept at recording them on the fly at short notice.
I wanted a recording of a wailing police car siren and the other week, I was coming out of a supermarket when I heard a faint wail and in the distance, saw a police car coming. I raced across the road with my heavy shopping, dived into my van, got my H1 out of the glove compartment, turned it on, waited the 10 or so seconds it takes to come on and get into record ready mode then stuck it next to the window { didn't want to catch wind noise} and pressed record. I got a great 15 second snatch of the police car siren peaking as it sped past and the dying away decay as it got further away. In the song it ends up on, it's part of a brief melange of street sounds and the listener may barely register the sound, but it was fun to get. It was like hunting down the white stag and finally catching it !
Click to expand...

Aaahh amazing.
Reminds me of hammering outside to set up a pair of sm81s during a thunderstorm! Great fun, even if I did look a bit mental. :p
 
grimtraveller said:
A couple of years ago, there was a lively thread involving a guy that wanted advice on how to record a fire engine from his local station. He got the piss taken out of him by some, with the advice "just use samples !". Which, of course, totally missed the point.
Sound effects CDs {the equivalent of those old effects tapes that studios like EMI had, that the Beatles and Pink Floyd utilized so well} are quite handy. I've used them in the past for various noises and sounds but there's a certain satisfaction and joy I get from coming up with my own where possible. One gets to be quite adept at recording them on the fly at short notice.
I wanted a recording of a wailing police car siren and the other week, I was coming out of a supermarket when I heard a faint wail and in the distance, saw a police car coming. I raced across the road with my heavy shopping, dived into my van, got my H1 out of the glove compartment, turned it on, waited the 10 or so seconds it takes to come on and get into record ready mode then stuck it next to the window { didn't want to catch wind noise} and pressed record. I got a great 15 second snatch of the police car siren peaking as it sped past and the dying away decay as it got further away. In the song it ends up on, it's part of a brief melange of street sounds and the listener may barely register the sound, but it was fun to get. It was like hunting down the white stag and finally catching it !
Click to expand...

Definitely a boy scout maneuver. A man on a mission. You obviously got your mind right, Luke.
 
The H4n was certainly awesome when I got the chance to test it out.

Here is my 2 cents: I wanted to get something similar to the H4n, but a little cheaper, so I got the Zoom H2. Honestly, I wish I had pushed for the H4n. I have used the H2 while abroad, recording environmental sounds like various languages, sounds of the subway, nature, docksides, etc. just to build up a little library of sound clips. I thunk to myself, "hey! i could really use this quality in a home studio environment!" that's when I realized it had no XLR jack, and it's 1/8" output I learned to NEVER use as a send. Ever. So I now record with the H2 alongside my other mic, and then have to connect it with USB to transfer the files :(

So...the H4n at least has XLR jacks which makes it infinitely more versatile in case you want to use it nearby your computer or in a recording environment. If you want that extra versatility/room for development, get a field recorder with XLR. If you're not too picky about having to capture sound and then transfer it later (and not being able to use it as an immediate microphone with a mixer), then something like the H2 will get you okay quality on a budget.

Can't wait to hear what you decide to buy
 
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