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Re: newbie field recording question

Subject: Re: newbie field recording question
From: Charles Bragg <>
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2004 22:57:25 -0700
At 09:53 PM 4/21/04 -0700, Qua Veda wrote:

>Hi,
>I just joined the list today. I'm thinking about getting gear to use
>occasionally to record CD quality nature sounds, and found sounds, to
>use behind music that I record on my PC at home.  I believe that I'd
>need .wav format to transfer to my PC (using Sonar).

        Why do you need CD quality for backgrounds? Perhaps your definition of 
CD quality is not the same as the techies would use, and I hope not, because 
recording WAV format uncompressed on a portable with equally high-quality 
microphones is not cheap. 
        What is Sonar? No matter what you choose as a recorder (cassette, wax 
cylinder, hard-drive recorder), there are ways to get the sound into your PC. 

>I'd like something easy to use, very portable. It won't get a lot of
>use, so it would be ideal if I could use the recorder as an mp3 player.
>Perhaps a small hard drive recorder and a stereo mic (e.g. Rode NT4).

        If you will settle for sound that 99% of the world would consider as 
good as CD quality, and you want it very portable, then minidisk is the answer. 
Even a really good portable like the Sharp DR7 is only about $300 new. 
Excellent (not professional) stereo mics start at about $100. I can't imagine 
you would need to pay more than that to get very good recordings for your 
purpose. You might want to look at the newest HD format for minidisk, but I 
think it's overkill for (again) your purpose. Save your money.
        A minidisk is not as good for holding and playing mass quantities of 
music as an MP3 player. But hey, you've only spent $400 - use the rest of your 
budget and get a real MP3 player. You'll have the best of both worlds.

        -- Chuck


========
Chuck Bragg, Pacific Palisades, CA
Membership Chair
Newsletter Editor
Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society:
www.smbas.org 
========



________________________________________________________________________
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"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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