I'm one of the NPR engineers who does field recordings for "Radio
Expeditions". (Yes that work gets shared by a half dozen or so of us.)
We don't have one set choice for miking of these recordings: we do a lot of
MS, which has great mono compatibility and localization for close to mid
distant subjects. But omnis come in handy in high wind situations where even
a zeppelined MS pair will break up. We've also done some things with ORTF
near-coincident directionals, and occasionally with parabolas. I've even
done some MS ambiences with a parabolic omni mid and a fig8 mounted behind
the dish.
For any non-coincident miking like spaced omnis, you will get comb filtering
due to arrival time cancellations and reinforcements. A baffle (a la Jecklin
or Schneider) can help cut down on that. But the width of the spacing will
affect which frequencies get boosted and which get suppressed, so the
decision on spacing is often a call on which coloration sounds OK.
There is no perfect miking system, particularly in the rough-and-tumble world
of hit-and-run field recordings. We're also often switching back and forth
between sound gathering and close-miked interviews at a second's notice, so
we have to have miking available to accommodate both needs. And as often
pointed out on this list, battery efficiency is paramount on long recording
trips far from AC power.
But by continuing to read and participate in this list you'll get the benefit
of the experience of a lot of dedicated biophiles who are also audiophiles! I
enjoy and use the info I get here.
--Flawn Williams
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|