Dannie Carsen wrote:
> Thank you for your quick response! Walt, as you predicted, this
> recording hobby is already expensive! I thought I was doing alright
> with a minidisc for around $100, and perhaps borrow the parabolic for
> a while to get started. I thought a stereo mike would be
> nifty to capture soundscapes that might be nice to accompany
> slideshows and play for general ambiance when I return home! That
> Sony ECM-MS957 you suggested costs $185 on ebay! I think I'm gonna
> get that little electret microphone (I'll dig out the binder with
> specs one of these days) powered up to use with the minidisc to begin
> with, I guess I need an amplifier attached to listen to the
> birds before I record, or does the minidisc do that for me?
The price of the Sony varies a lot from auction to auction on ebay, I've
seen that mic go for less than $100, but you might have to watch quite a
few auctions go by to find one that low.
As Rich has suggested, you can build a "stereo" mic using inexpensive
mic capsules. The trade off is usually more mic self noise and lower
sensitivity, and less convenience. The difference between homemade and
the Sony is not a lot in these areas, but there is some. The Sony will
give you a more correctly defined stereo field than most homemade
designs, however. You can also look at less expensive mics, but you
should note that it will take very little time for you to find them very
limiting.
Self noise is one of the primary limiters in nature recording, at
least in less expensive mics and recorders. The sound you want to record
has to be louder than the self noise by a significant amount if you want
it to be the primary thing people will notice in the recording. As sound
attenuates rapidly with distance this means that with higher self noise
you have to be closer, and whatever you are recording cannot be too
quiet itself. Even very noisy mics can do some nature recording, but
this requirement of closeness is a problem when ambiance is concerned.
By it's very nature ambiance is fairly quiet, and is in all directions,
so you can't necessarily move closer.
Good, lifelike ambiance will also need a well defined soundfield. It
needs to form a "image" for the listener. So, it's important to have a
stereo design that does this well. It is possible to form a soundfield
in mono, but the field will be far less convincing.
The stereo field formed is also dependent on the final sound
reproduction method. Your description of playing to a audience watching
pictures implies speakers rather than headphones. The various binaural
stereo techniques don't necessarily work well for this. They are
designed to produce a small localized soundfield via headphones. Through
speakers they are far less convincing. If building homemade, I'd suggest
going with one or more of the standard stereo configurations.
In having a parabolic you can borrow you are doing all right. You will
find that mics are the tools of this business, and there will always be
more and better tools to lust after. The trick is in the early stages
just getting out and getting experience in actual recording. The
equipment by itself does little, it takes developing a feel for how to
use what you have. As you gain experience you will discover what
equipment you need.
Walt
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>From Tue Mar 8 18:23:08 2005
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 16:19:39 -0000
From: "Dannie Carsen <>" <>
Subject: Re: Inexpensive Microphones
Thank you for your quick response! Walt, as you predicted, this
recording hobby is already expensive! I thought I was doing alright
with a minidisc for around $100, and perhaps borrow the parabolic for
a while to get started. I thought a stereo mike would be
nifty to capture soundscapes that might be nice to accompany
slideshows and play for general ambiance when I return home! That
Sony ECM-MS957 you suggested costs $185 on ebay! I think I'm gonna
get that little electret microphone (I'll dig out the binder with
specs one of these days) powered up to use with the minidisc to begin
with, I guess I need an amplifier attached to listen to the
birds before I record, or does the minidisc do that for me?
Walt's Original Answer:
For soundscapes you probably want to go stereo. The one I usually
recommend is the Sony ECM-MS957. By watching Ebay it can be had
semi-inexpensive, and stands above most of the mics in it's price
class. It is better than the similar looking ECM-MS907. Do note that
this will be a mic for local ambiance. If pushed with high gain it's
mic self noise will become evident (true of most all
inexpensive choices).
Walt
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>From Tue Mar 8 18:23:08 2005
Message: 3
Date: Fri, 27 Dec 2002 16:31:56 -0000
From: "Rich Peet <>" <>
Subject: Re: Inexpensive Microphones
If you want to build your own electret that can be done for around
$18.00. If you want stereo then build two and attach them together
with a 8" length of pvc pipe. I have recorded great boreal
chickadees with this mic at 50' which is a quiet bird. The PZM
effect helps the specs. I changed the specs on the components a
little and will update shortly. I will also try to build a real page
for the mic sometime.
See http://home.attbi.com/~richpeet/
Rich Peet
--- In "Dannie Carsen
<>" <> wrote:
> Thank you for your quick response! Walt, as you predicted, this
> recording hobby is already expensive! I thought I was doing alright
> with a minidisc for around $100, and perhaps borrow the parabolic
for
> a while to get started. I thought a stereo mike would be
> nifty to capture soundscapes that might be nice to accompany
> slideshows and play for general ambiance when I return home! That
> Sony ECM-MS957 you suggested costs $185 on ebay! I think I'm gonna
> get that little electret microphone (I'll dig out the binder with
> specs one of these days) powered up to use with the minidisc to
begin
> with, I guess I need an amplifier attached to listen to the
> birds before I record, or does the minidisc do that for me?
>
> Walt's Original Answer:
> For soundscapes you probably want to go stereo. The one I usually
> recommend is the Sony ECM-MS957. By watching Ebay it can be had
> semi-inexpensive, and stands above most of the mics in it's price
> class. It is better than the similar looking ECM-MS907. Do note
that
> this will be a mic for local ambiance. If pushed with high gain
it's
> mic self noise will become evident (true of most all
> inexpensive choices).
>
> Walt
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