Thanks, Martyn, fascinating stuff. SASS's are new to me, and a Google
reveals a few brands out there. As I'm poking around, anything to look out=
for, stay away from?
Yes, eventually a DAT or MD is in the cards. I agree about the visibility=
of a notebook screen, although I have one with a "Brightview" screen - an
HP zd7000 - that is remarkably good. I've only used it for reading maps
outdoors so far though.
Yep, those are Sandhills allright! :-) Excellent recording. I'm
listening to it through near-field studio monitors, and there's also sorts=
of good separation in that recording. Thanks for sharing that.
I'm going out in the field tomorrow, so I'm very curious what my CM-300s
will pick up.
Speaking of specialized mics, in an issue of the Wildlife Society Bulletin=
(Fall 2002) I'm reading about an interesting omni system consisting of two=
horizontally oriented parabolic dishes facing each other's convex sides,
with a "CVX" mic at the center. The CVX's mentioned in the article
described as
"combining the acoustic properties of a pressure-zone mic and an acoustical=
transformer. Sensitivity is increased because sound is reflected from a
hard surface, creating a zone of increased sound pressure. The microphone
also acts as an acoustical transformer, in which sound enters a large
aperture and then is compressed into a smaller area, increasing sound
pressure and thereby gain.. Both techniques amplify sound mechanically,
thereby avoiding distortions due to electronic amplification."
The mics are made by River Forks Research Corp. Their purpose, at least as=
described in this article, is as a "fire and forget" field mic designed to=
be installed and left for long periods of time for population studies, so
the emphasis is clearly on sensitivity, not necessarily quality. Anyone
familair with any of this?
Ken
At 07:40 PM 2/21/2005, you wrote:
>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 outdo=
or
>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 modifi=
ed
>crown unit kindly made by the great Walter Knapp.
><http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_mod_sass.html>http://fro=
grecordist.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 personal=
ly
>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 t=
he
>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>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>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 fal=
l
>and spring migration through the Central Valley and the Lower Klamath,
>particularly the Snow Geese. I've been going and photographing 4 or 5 time=
s
>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 mids=
t
>of four flocks probably totaling around 60,000 birds) one would have to us=
e
>techniques and equipment currently beyond my budget and expertise, but I a=
m
>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 prett=
y
>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 yo=
u
>don't need to repeat a lot of that info unless it pertains to my particula=
r
>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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>
>
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