Welcome Ken.
Unfortunately I can not help you with the Nakamichi CP-4's; I do not have
any experience with them. I am not so sure how they would hold up in outdoo=
r
environments.....
But I do have plenty of experiences with recording large flocks over many
years; I have never used solely shotgun mics. To record flocks and ambient
sounds I currently use a SASS setup, I prefer 2 MKH-20's set into a modifie=
d
crown unit kindly made by the great Walter Knapp.
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_mod_sass.html
Before that I used a mid-side combination of MKH-60/MKH-30 and got great
results. For close-up calls from the flocks I would never go anywhere
without my Telinga Pro V with DAT stereo mic www.//telinga.com
Doug our moderator also sells these here in North America in between being
Mayor :)
Recording outside with a laptop has its benefits and drawbacks, I personall=
y
prefer a recorder, I have tried a laptop but in daylight, the glare on the
screen drove me insane. There are more benefits of using a recorder over th=
e
laptop; one of the main considerations is instant access and time buffers.
Battery power is also easily accounted for; laptops eat the juice and take
forever to re-charge unless you carry back-ups.
This is a recording of Sandhill cranes in Nebraska using MKH60/MKH-30.
http://www.naturesound.org/Sound%20Files/Sandhill%2060-30.mp3
Just over 1 min about 1.2mb
Martyn
Martyn Stewart
Bird and Animal Sounds Digitally Recorded at:
http://www.naturesound.org
N47.65543 W121.98428
Redmond. Washington. USA
Make every Garden a wildlife Habitat!
425-898-0462
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Durling
Sent: Monday, February 21, 2005 6:00 PM
To:
Subject: [Nature Recordists] intro & Qs
Hello all -
I've been lurking here a week or two and this is my first post. I'm
impressed with the level of knowledge, commitment, enthusiasm and
experience here.
Briefly, my background for coming to nature recording is in music and
photography. My training and career is in music, I'm a
composer/instrumentalist who has also some experience in recording studios,=
and with doing my own recording, but mostly of music. I have done some
sampling of natural sounds for use in certain compositions.
I've also been an avid bird person (although not really a "birder") all my=
life. I grew up in Ithaca NY, so Cornell had its definite influence on
me. I now live in California and one of the things that has motivated me
in the direction that led me to this group is the annual experience of fall=
and spring migration through the Central Valley and the Lower Klamath,
particularly the Snow Geese. I've been going and photographing 4 or 5 times=
a season for a number of years now.
Which leads me to one of a number of questions, addressable in any order.
Ever since my first trips to the CV I'm interested in attempting to
capture to some small extent the aural impact of large flocks of Snow
Geese, which as you must know is an awe-inspiring sound and sight. Of
course also many other species - Sandhills and RW Blackbirds come to mind -=
but the Snow Geese (or "snuggies" as my nephew likes to say) serve as a
good starting point. I think probably to get any simulation of the
dizzying nature of that sound (in the Lower Klamath I was once in the midst=
of four flocks probably totaling around 60,000 birds) one would have to use=
techniques and equipment currently beyond my budget and expertise, but I am=
going to start with some simple experiments in stereo. One of the aspects=
of that sound - beyond its pure primal quality - which interfaces with my=
musical interests is the spatial - the large numbers of sounds moving
through space in multiple directions. Eventually I'd like to try multiple=
mics spaced a 1/4 mile apart or so, and at least 4-channel playback.
So I guess that's the first query - I'd love to hear some experiences of
recording large flocks.
Secondly, I realize I'll need more specialized equipment sooner or later,
but currently I'm going make my first recordings with Nakamichi CM-300
mics, going through a Tascam US-122 audio interface onto my laptop, using
Samplitude recording SW. I have cardioid and omni capsules for the mics,
I'll experiment with both, and have considered getting a pair of their CP-4=
capsules - super shotgun - from their not entirely infrequent appearances=
on eBay. In fact there's a pair up now. I wonder if anyone here has
experience or comments on these mics. They're excellent music recording
mics, I realize that probably means next to nothing for wildlife
applications. They are 70's technology. I don't know much about the pres
in the US-122, that may be another limiting factor, but they've been pretty=
good so far.
I've been doing a fair bot of googling other sites, and following along
here, so I do have some idea of what equipment I'll eventually need, so you=
don't need to repeat a lot of that info unless it pertains to my particular=
questions. Of which I have plenty more, but I'll leave it at that for
now. Thanks for hearing me out.
Ken Durling
Berkeley, CA
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
Yahoo! Groups Links
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