Dusty Chalk Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 No, I don't mean concerts, I actually do mean recording stuff "in the field" -- I heard a really cool sound last night, and I didn't think of my iPhone (duh!), but even if I did, I want to get serious about this. I want to have access to a quality portable digital recorder at all times (I.E. if not actually with me, then with me as much as my iPod is). So, I realize this is not the best place to ask, so the question is mostly -- where should I go to ask this? Harmony Central? Any place else? I can't remember the music makers and producers forum that I used to frequent -- gear-freaks or something like that? Here are my choices so far, that I can figure: Tascam DR-1 or DR-07 Alesis ProTrack (requires iPod) Zoom H4 Edirol R-09 Olympus LS-10 Any others I should be looking at? Would like Hi-Res (either DSD or high bit-rate PCM).
aardvark baguette Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 Sweetwater Forums - Powered by vBulletin Also the Sweetwater sales guys and gals.
grawk Posted March 24, 2009 Report Posted March 24, 2009 I've got a microtrack I could give you a deal on
utilisateur Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 You should definitely have a look at Taperssection.com - Index There are quite a few choices in wiiide price range .. If you want DSD the Korg MR-1 is probably the cheapest you can get Do you want a one box solution with attached mic? I think especially for ambient sound recordings an external mic and low noise preamp would have many benefits! What's the budget? I kinda tried to forget about my own search for such a device when i realized i started lusting for a sounddevices recorder :S Oh i think the name you were looking for might have been gearslutz ? ,) EDIT: The micro Track could be a nice introduction and you have the digital in you can always use with possible later upgrades
jinp6301 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 No, I don't mean concerts, I actually do mean recording stuff "in the field" -- I heard a really cool sound last night, and I didn't think of my iPhone (duh!), but even if I did, I want to get serious about this. I want to have access to a quality portable digital recorder at all times (I.E. if not actually with me, then with me as much as my iPod is). what cool sound was it?
Dusty Chalk Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Posted March 30, 2009 (edited) Right now I am trying grawk's microtrack -- still need to get a microphone/pair of microphones to go with it. Yes, Gearslutz was the name I was looking for, thanks! Yes, MicroTrack or H4 are high on my list. Budget is a couple hundred US$. Might go up if I start doing this seriously, but that will happen later -- I need to see if, once I have the equipment, that I actually use it. Haven't decided between grawk's suggestion of Church Audio microphones or go straight to serious binaural microphones like Dallas Simpson uses. (I believe he uses DPA 4060's, which are a clone of something else, some well-known brand, and are very good.) But I'm thinking the latter is not a good idea with my allergies, as I make a lot of noise (straightening throat, coughing, sniffling, etc.), and he sticks them straight in his ears and walks around with them. I don't necessarily need a one-button or built-in mic approach, but I need an all-encompassing approach -- I.E. everything needs to fit in one bag, so that I can remember to just grab that one bag. But yes, a one-button, built-in mic approach would definitely satisfy that criteria. The cool sound was: they were doing some construction in the garage, and had left one of those large ventilation fans running. A piece of plastic tarp must have been waving near it, because a harmonic (7th, I think) of the fundamental of the fan was fading into and out of existence. I think it's the 7th for a very specific reason -- that's a particularly eerie harmonic to hear. It's utilized in one of the Prophet 5 patches with which I am familiar. It was particularly musical. Sounded like something a musician would try to accomplish on purpose, and it was just there. Or it might be the 7th harmonic of the 2nd harmonic (in other words, pretend the fundamental was really a divide-down subharmonic of the fundamental), since the fundamental was already pretty low. Edited March 30, 2009 by Dusty Chalk
grawk Posted March 30, 2009 Report Posted March 30, 2009 dpa4060s aren't hte clone, they are very good, very sensitive, small microphones. Talk to me about budget and size requirements and I can point you in the right direction.
Dusty Chalk Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 I thought DPA was a bunch of ex-employees of ...that other big microphone company, whose name I forget -- M&K? H+K? EDIT: B&K? Yes, it appears to be B&K. Okay, yes, it appears they weren't "cloning" the B&K mics, so much as picking up where Br
grawk Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Send a message to church through ebay, he can set you up wtih exactly what you want for a great price (and way better than the sony mics for the same pricerange)
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I use a pair of Core Sound omni mic's with my iPod and an iTalk by Griffin and they record just fine. I'm sure those Church mic's are just as good.
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Here is a small field recording of the Disneyland Train going by from left to right. Made with the gear I posted above. The mics were attached to the top of my ears. Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem! I have managed to make a dummy head, an 8 inch holophonic mic, a 4 inch holophonic mic and a jecklin disc. IMHO, the 8 inch holophonic mic made the best recordings for speakers and headphones. If your interested, I can post recordings made with the holophonic mics.
grawk Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 The church mics share a lot in common with len's mics (core sound), but are considerably cheaper
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 The church mics share a lot in common with len's mics (core sound), but are considerably cheaper Good to know for future projects.
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 What do you mean, 'if'? If your interested. I'll post some later tonight.
Dusty Chalk Posted March 31, 2009 Author Report Posted March 31, 2009 Of course I'm interested in hearing what someone like you (I.E. someone with a good ear) can do!
LFF Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 Here is the sample. It is unprocessed, direct from my custom made 4 inch holophonic microphone to you. The recorder is a 5G iPod. Press play and turn up the volume. Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem! The picture below will give you a reference. Microphone is the red dot, placed about 15 - 20 feet away from the musicians. The arrow points to the direction the microphone was facing. The green dots are the musicians, brass facing away, woodwinds facing towards the mic, drummer in the middle. The purple spots are the path the musicians take before taking their spot. Notice they go behind the mic and then move around the left side before standing in front. The directional movement is much more noticeable on headphones but it still sounds good on speakers. There are people all over the place and you can hear the ticket scanning machines on the left. Hope you like it! Let me know what you think.
Dreadhead Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 I've been looking at these off and on: Stereo microphones, USB Microphones, Preamplifiers, Digital Recorders, Cables and more at Rock Bottom Prices from The Sound Professionals - Great deals on Microphone, Preamplifier, Digital Recorder, Cable and more! I like the ear inserts (though I'd be using these mics for a very different purpose).Though the church stuff off ebay looks good too: STEREO MICROPHONES & PREAMP 4 R09 MT2 DAT AND MINIDISC - eBay (item 250296589780 end time Apr-15-09 14:41:33 PDT) Core is a lot more expensive but well respected.
LFF Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 The first one would produce results similar to those of a dummy head. The second mics are a bit more versatile as you could set them up in various configurations. Be aware that a dummy head recording is wonderful for headphone listening but not so great for speakers. EDIT: By various configurations I mean Jeklin Disc, OSS, etc.
Dreadhead Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 The first one would produce results similar to those of a dummy head. The second mics are a bit more versatile as you could set them up in various configurations. Be aware that a dummy head recording is wonderful for headphone listening but not so great for speakers. Yeah I know. They do offer them in the more "normal" bi-naural setup as well. I want them for doing in-situ headphone and speaker measurements and getting HRTFs.
grawk Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 Yup, for natural stereo recordings, I prefer ORTF or mid-side recordings. But for what chris wants, it's a different matter My goal is to one day own a soundfield ST350 (or whatever replaces it) for location recording.
LFF Posted April 1, 2009 Report Posted April 1, 2009 Yup, for natural stereo recordings, I prefer ORTF or mid-side recordings. But for what chris wants, it's a different matter My goal is to one day own a soundfield ST350 (or whatever replaces it) for location recording. ORTF produces some gorgeous results when done right. For field recordings, I love the dummy head and the 8 inch holophonic microphone I made. My dummy head produced AMAZING results. The front and back location of the dummy head completely beat out anything else I tried. Too bad my dog ruined it. Due to money problems and time constraints, I built a holophonic after that and have been very pleased with the results. Hopefully, I'll be able to build another dummy head soon.
HeadphoneAddict Posted April 2, 2009 Report Posted April 2, 2009 Would something like these be any good? ThinkGeek :: H2 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder ThinkGeek :: H4 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder
LFF Posted April 2, 2009 Report Posted April 2, 2009 Would something like these be any good? ThinkGeek :: H2 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder ThinkGeek :: H4 Pocket-Size Digital Audio Recorder I've heard and read good things about the H2. Don't know much about the H4 though.
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