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Re: Microphone on a limited budget?

Subject: Re: Microphone on a limited budget?
From: "Nicklas Nordborg" <>
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 09:22:16 +0100
> The Sony ECM MS 957 (which sells for $629 in Australia) is used by quite a
> few people and seems a satisfactory stereo mic, better when used with a
> pre-amp, people in the UK use the FEL preamp which is about 70-100 pounds
> sterling.  I don't know what preamps are available in Australia apart from
> Mooretronics which I can't get further information on.  The less powerful
> Sony ECM MS907 is not sensitive enough for wildlife sound recording,
> according to those people who have tried it.

I have used that mic (Sony ECM-MS907) on a trip to Borneo. I have to agree 
that it is not the best choice for wildlife recording. The main reasons I 
choose it:
 1) It is small and easy to carry around when backpacking.
 2) It was readily available in shops here in Sweden.
 3) It was cheap enough for me not to worry about dirt, moisture and rain 
during the trip. It turned out to handle this very well...
 4) Beeing the first mic ever I bought, I thought it was wise not to spend too 
much money until I knew what I really wanted or needed.

Sound examples, as well as images and a travel story, can be found on 
http://w1.463.telia.com/~u46310192/. You will need Flash 6 to play the sounds, 
and preferably you should use Internet Explorer 5 or 6 as your browser. It 
should work with Netscape 6 also.

Regards
Nicklas Nordborg (Sweden)

> 
> Another good mic might be the Rode NT4 which is actually made in Australia
> (Swiss design).  Its specifications are a bit better than the
> top-of-the-range Sony ECM MS5 but it is one-third the price.  And the
> specifications also seem rather better than the Sony 957.  The Rode NT4
> retails at $995 in Australia, but was on special in Brisbane, about $700 I
> think.  Rode head office in Sydney seem very helpful, in my experience.
> Maybe if I wanted a new one-point stereo mic, I'd go for the Rode NT4. I
> have heard a very nice stereo habitat recording made with this mic, but as
> yet I have heard no reports of its ruggedness as a field mic.
> 
> Vicki Powys
> Australia 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> on 27/10/02 3:25 PM, hilly512000 at  wrote:
> 
> > I am about to buy a reasonable quality Mic, and really do not know
> > much about what is on the (Australian) market. The budget is limited
> > and I kind of liked the look of the Sony stereo condensers.
> > Does anyone have any recomendations, either for or against? This is
> > just a fun thing for me at the moment, I am recording onto tape and
> > am into recording frogs for species identification. Any advice is
> > apreciated.
> > Thanks.
> > 
> 
> 
> 
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>From   Tue Mar  8 18:22:55 2005
Message: 11
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2002 20:42:16 -0500
From: Walter Knapp <>
Subject: Re: One for Walter!

Shaun wrote:

> Hey There,
>          Everytime me and my father come on here reading the posts or 
> posting ourselves, there always seems to be someone who has just came 
> from a recording vacation or gettin ready to go on one, like this 
> fella has just gotten back from rio, and this fella is gettin ready 
> to go to the ever glades, but everytime you are recording it seems 
> that it is always near or in your own back yard at around 3 or 4 in 
> the morning, and almost always testing , my father figured this out 
> on our drive to the mountains, you do all this recording during the 
> wee hours of the morning because you have to be on the computer all 
> day to answer our questions :). Think your long over due for a 
> recording get away bud.  Just thought i would toss a little humor 
> into the fourm. 

I'm actually in the habit of recording late at night for two reasons. 
First, frogs mostly call only at night. Second, less man made noise in 
the middle of the night. Particularly after 2 am. I do record during the 
day as well, but right now the day is not very good for natural calls. 
The insect calls are better at night at the moment. Not defining like 
summer, but interesting.

It's testing this time of year because the frogs are pretty much silent. 
This is the season for fixing up equipment, making new equipment and so 
on for me. Try me in spring, I'll be all over Georgia recording. I have, 
in fact, been out scouting some as we have had lots of rain. Some frogs 
will call in late fall under such conditions. And I have several people 
primed to call me if something calls. I've been known to drop everything 
and drive hundreds of miles for one recording of something rare. 
Everything lives in it's field packs, and the batteries are kept charged.

Right now I'm on break, just finished the clip for Pine Barrens 
Treefrog. I only have 40 seconds of that call and needed 20 for the CD. 
Some of it I was editing the sound literally sample by sample to remove 
some clipping at some of the call peaks. Also removing the Cope's Gray 
Treefrogs, the loud ones anyway. That one took most of the day to do. I 
have to take frequent breaks or my ears quit being precise enough. Since 
I'm at the computer, I often go online and see what's happening with 
ebay and my email for a break. (or go out and do a little more machining)

I'm not looking for much from ebay, having kind of cleaned up this year. 
But I'm still looking for carbide inserts for my lathe and milling 
cutters, delrin and other material to machine. Little auctions scattered 
through the day and night. I'm also on right now for a auction, 12" of 1 
3/8" delrin AF, not easy to come by, and I just got it. Time to go back 
to the frogs. Barking Treefrogs next.

> PS: Do you sleep..lol

Yep, I'm not one of the early risers, however. Nice thing about being 
retired.

Walt




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