recording ambient sounds

  • Thread starter Thread starter rodrigo21
  • Start date Start date
R

rodrigo21

New member
Hello
I need to record ambient sounds (birds, cars, sea, etc..) with good quality becuse I need them for music making
I thought of a minidisc but Iam not shure of finding a decent miniplug mic. I try the sony stereo ECM-719 but it doesent do the job
Anyone could help me with the equipment I should use?(It has to be portable)
 
recording ambient sound

Hello,

For ambient recording you might either use stereo hand-held microphones or small diaphragm condenser microphones with windshield.

Hand-held are more affordable lighter but generally these are electret microphones with a bit less sensitivity than externally polarized condensers. But they do not require phantom powering. Audio-Technica AT-822 or AT-825 might suit you. If you can afford it, Sanken CMS-7 seems pretty good.

If you want more sensitivity, you need a microphone polarized with phantom powering. Also, there are few stereo microphones in this category. The Rode NT-4 might be a good choice but you might have to buy a suspension at least (because unlike stereo electrets there is no built-in suspension) and even more a windshield (Rycote). Pearl MS-2 seems interesting too (but costs more).

You might also buy two mono cardioid condenser microphones but if you have to put them inside a Rycote most of the time MS stereo is the only configuration possible (one cardioid and one figure-of-eight), so you'll need a MS matrix. But the choice in this category of microphones is huge. Have a look at AKG Blue Line or Sennheiser K6.If you can afford them, Neumann KM series or Schoeps Colette series are better.


Hope this helps.
 
rodrigo21 said:
Hello
I need to record ambient sounds (birds, cars, sea, etc..) with good quality becuse I need them for music making
I thought of a minidisc but Iam not shure of finding a decent miniplug mic. I try the sony stereo ECM-719 but it doesent do the job
Anyone could help me with the equipment I should use?(It has to be portable)
Click to expand...
By design Minidisc recorders compress the sound and that isn't good for what you're trying to record... you need a wave file type recorder, CD-R recorder, or something along those lines. Then add a few different mics to your collection (depending on what your recording) like a shotgun mic, a good stereo mic, and etc... and you should be loaded for bear.
 
Other recording units you could look at would be the Fostex MR8 and the Edirol R1.

As for microphones there are two directions to go.

For recording of general environmental sounds you want a stereo pair of a single mic pair. The simpler route would be a pair of SM57 in an XY pair on a stereo bar with a pistol grip added. The idea of SDCs brings in issues of phantom power and minimizing handling noise.

For small environmental sounds, like a specific bird, you need a shotgun mic and record in mono.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top