From: "Martyn Stewart" <>
>
> Walt you say
>
> <I work on the concept of "good enough". It's all fine and dandy to waste=
> lots of money chasing perfect if it amuses you, but what really counts
> is "good enough". If it will get the job done well, why spend extra?
>
> This seems to be something that is all too frequently ignored. People
> agonize over fluff and trivia. Make huge tempests in teapots. They spend=
> huge sums of money on it. And they try to drag others into the game.
> It's well worth being practical and asking what level is "good enough">
>
>=20
>
> This is something that hits close to the heart with me Walt. So many peop=
le
> in this group worry about the latest recorder and what it can do that the
> other can't, blah, blah blah.. The thing is, what you already have is oft=
en
> good enough! To find a recorder better than say a Portadisk would be very
> hard indeed, and if you have one, why bother about going out to buy
> something else untried and tested to give results that nobody in the grou=
p
> really hear!
It is in the nature of a group like this to discuss the latest stuff,
and to discuss the effects of various things like ATRAC on our
recording. What has been lacking in recent years in the group is real
connections to real field experience. Some is there, to be sure, but it
gets to look like the hobby is technical discussions and buying new
equipment, not using it.
> Apart from the very few, nobody really posts any good recording sound byt=
es,
> I try to put up as many examples as I can but as far as a group goes, apa=
rt
> from maybe 4 or 5 people here, do you really record nature sounds or are =
you
> to wrapped in the latest technology?
I've grumped about this a number of times. The focus of the group as a
average has moved away from it's early roots in practical nature recording.
> I have maybe 4 or 5 very decent recorders and each one is as capable of
> delivering a good recording. Why bother in getting a new $2000 recorder?
That's one I've never understood. I've got to have a good reason to
justify a new recorder. Especially to she who must be obeyed, to quote
Rumpole.
> Challenge to the group.
>
>=20
>
> Lets hear what you have and let others listen to what is already out ther=
e.
I'm limited by server space and have not put up much new recently, it's
been kind of off season. There is a little from the last couple seasons
here:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/mic_samples.html
The CD that contains my recordings:
http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/docs/ga.frog.cd.html
Sorry, you have to buy that one and support GA's herp research and
education efforts.
My frog pages contain sound clips last revised when I was doing the CD:
http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/GAFrog.Toad.html
Beyond that, all 37 CD's worth of MD recordings I contributed to the
Georgia Herp Atlas research project will eventually end up in some
natural history museum available to researchers. A major portion of
what's known about the distribution of frogs and toads in Georgia. We
are having a workday shortly for a final hunt for errors in the entire
GHA database before work begins on the Field Guide of Reptiles and
Amphibians of Georgia that's going to be the final result.
Hope that's enough to keep me from being flogged and keelhauled ;-) I
really do use my equipment in field recording both for Scientific and
Enjoyment purposes. Other than myself my primary audience focus is on
researchers, educators, students studying the animals, and the public
that's interested in learning more, not the technoids of this group.
> Now, if you want to talk about mics, then that is a different question!
As equipment goes, the key issue of nature recording. Much neglected in
those tech discussions. Agonize over the tiny details of a recorder,
fight tooth and nail over quantization noise, use a cheap mic with it
that you know little about correctly using. That seems to be the
standard pattern. Most people overbuy on recorders for the mics they
underbought on.
And, of course wind protection and suspensions seem to be unknowns to
most. A mic for nature recording is incomplete without that.
I have some pages here too:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_mod_sass.html
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/quickparabolic.html
And a photo of a PZM mic to think about:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/naturerecordists/Crown_WSA_Proto3-=
6.JPG
Walt
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