Kimberly Dingess wrote:
> Keeping in mind that I am on a restricted budget,
> what type of recorder, microphone, amplifier and
> speakers would you recommend?
Dear Kimberly,
The consumer minidisc recorder is the best bet for
field recordists on a budget.
Minidisc advantages include:
-- very light and small, easy to carry
-- uses battery power very sparingly
-- excellent quality recordings
-- proven reliablity under tropical field conditions
-- inexpensive compared to alternatives
-- recording medium is inexpensive and very durable
-- cheap enough to buy two and keep one as a spare
Disadvantages of a consumer-grade minidisc machine are:
-- relatively poor quality pre-amp section
-- tiny size means control buttons are small and hard to use
-- small LCD screen can be hard to read
-- does not supply 48v Phantom Power, so many mics
will need their own battery
My personal favorite minidisc machine is the Sharp MD-DR7 and its
successor, MD-DR77. They have a small buffer that continuously
captures the last few seconds of sound while in record/pause. This
feature, called a pre-roll or trace-back or pre-record buffer, is a
common feature in professional recorders, but is absent in all
consumer minidisc machines with the exception of the DR7 and DR77.=20
Here's a typical field recording scenario: You're waiting to capture a
specific sound. As the minutes tick by, you wonder if you should
start recording, but you don't want to waste disc space and battery
power. Then the vocualization starts, and you miss the first few
seconds of sound as you scramble to start recording. The recording is
incomplete, and you have to wait some more. If you had a pre-roll
buffer, you just release pause when you first hear the sound, and the
first few seconds will be captured. It's a very useful feature.
The recording format used by most minidisc recorders is ATRAC, a kind
of compression scheme developed by Sony. In the early days, ATRAC was
controversial for scientific purposes because it modifies the original
digitized sound data. In time, new versions of ATRAC reduced the
criticism. Today, while critics still exist, ATRAC has become
accepted. Many commercial recordings use tracks originally captured
in ATRAC form, and major research libraries like Cornell's Macaulay
Library and the British Library Sound Archive accept ATRAC recordings.
I know of no professional journal that has rejected an article simply
because the data came from ATRAC recordings.
That said, Sony has created a new minidisc recording format called
Hi-MD. A Hi-MD disc provides enough storage space to make practical
the recording of sound in uncompressed form. So this option is
available to you if you prefer. The Hi-MD discs are considerably more
expensive, recording in Hi-MD mode uses battery power faster (you're
writing 5 times as much data to the disc), and Hi-MD recorders lack
the pre-record buffer that makes the Sharp recorders so attractive.
The pre-amp section in consumer minidiscs is of mediocre quality, and
if you turn up the pre-amp to try to make a recording louder you will
affect the recording quality. The solution is (1) get closer to your
subject so you don't need to boost the volume; (2) use a parabolic mic
setup like the Telinga Dual Science (see
www.naturesongs.com/Telinga.html for a graphic description of the
advantage of this mic); or (3) use a small amplifier like the
Felmicamps FEL 3.5 series. The best solution is to do all three!=20
If a parabola proves to be too cumbersome to carry around, then
consider a shotgun microphone. The Sennheiser ME67 with K6 power
module is a cost-effective and field-proven solution. The shotgun mic
emphasizes the sound you're pointing it toward, while minimizing
sounds coming from other directions.=20
Using speakers for playback to attract an animal is a controversial
subject. There are many locales where playback is prohibited. At the
very least, any recording made in response to playback needs to be
clearly labeled so it won't be confused as a naturally occurring
vocalization. The chief advantage of using playback to attract
animals in a study area is that it reduces the necessity of cutting
trails throughout an otherwise pristine environment. However,
creating a gridwork of trails is a time-tested method of getting close
to groups of animals while minimizing disturbance to natural behavior.
Be sensitive to the use of playback!
Good luck with your project!
--oryoki
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