Hello all,
I'm new to the group and new to nature recording. I am interested in
recording natural (and not so natural) soundscapes for use in some music
and art projects I have in mind.
I have a modest home studio equipped with a computer, sound card
(Delta 44), and editing software (CoolEdit 2000, Sonar, Acid,
SoundForge, etc.) But I have no equipment for field recording. I've
been searching the web looking for equipment ideas and have come to the
conclusion that minidisc is probably the best choice for what I want to
do.
Of the pro units, I can't justify the cost of the HHb Portadisc. The
Marantz PMD650 is a little more affordable, but still puts a big hurt on
my wallet. (As an aside, I don't see many comments from people using
the PMD650. Is there something wrong with that unit?)
What about the Sony MZ-B100? From the pictures it seems to have a
larger display and larger controls than most consumer models. It seems
to honor functionality over looking cool. But the emphasis on
"business" use scares me a little. I can easily ignore features that I
don't care about like the voice operated recording (can be turned off),
the built in mics (has an external mic jack), and the built in speaker.
But are there other "features" which would make it unsuitable for field
recording natural environments? Is the recording level manually
adjustable? Are the mic preamps excessively noisy or do they have a
frequency response tailored to voice? Does anyone have any experience
with this unit?
Does anyone have any suggestions for other equipment I should look into
(minidisc or otherwise)? My budget is about US$1000. I'd prefer to
include mics in that budget, but if need be, a friend has offered to let
me use his AT shotgun mic and I have some studio mics that could be
pressed into service until I decide on something more appropriate.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
--
Joe P.
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