I got my start at nature recording by borrowing equipment
through the media loan department at The Evergreen state
College while I was a student. It may be a long shot, but maybe
you could find someone there interested in joining in on your
project.
John Hartog
--- In "wahpenayo"
<> wrote:
> Thanks for the information - very much appreciated. It's difficult
to
> take the financial plunge with so little experience.
>
> I forgot that the ME series needed a power supply, so that
takes it
> out of my range for now. I could probably stretch to $200 for a
mic.
> Here's some more background on what I'm doing.
>
> I am calling the owls in by imitating their calls. They are
reacting
> to me as an intruder in their territory, or as a nearby territorial
> owl. It's part of an experiment I'm conducting to compare
barred owl
> responsiveness to barred owl calls vs. spotted owl calls. It's a
> small slice of the huge research effort ongoing for spotted
owls.
>
> I'm keeping track of how long it takes them to respond, what
calls
> they use, the duration of their response, etc. If I record it, I
> don't have to madly try to write everything down.
>
> But I also want to get quality recordings for digital analysis, and
> be flexible enough to handle the different recording situations
that
> arise. I want to develop a library of vocalizations, complete with
> variations of standard calls. As such, I want these to be as
good as
> I can get. Maybe there is no single solution.
>
> It would be fantastic to have a 2-mic set-up for stereo recording
of
> duets (which can be amazing, sounding sometimes like 3 or 4
owls
> rather than 2), and I would love to do this, but then do I lose out
> on distant calls? But a crisp, clean stereo recording of a duet
would
> be something to hear. In addition to distance differences, there
are
> also varying levels of background noise, from dead quiet to
echo
> situations to interference from nearby streams or passing
vehicles.
>
> Is there less expensive option for a mic, or choice of mics, that
> would allow me to handle most situations? Is a powered mic
necessary
> to get good recordings? I'm probably stuck between needing
very good
> equipment to do what I want to do and not being able to afford
it. At
> some point in the future, I do want to go for highest-quality
> recordings.
>
> Thanks again for your help, Bob
>
>
> --- In Rob Danielson
<>
> wrote:
> > 20 feet! What fun! $500 for a ME66/K6 should get you fine
mono
> > recordings for sure. I agree that stereo imaging can be
useful in
> > figuring out who is talking to whom about what. There are
often
> more
> > owls involved in the discussion than I first detect, both in the
> > field and when listening to recordings.
> >
> > If stereo imaging interests you and the background sound
levels are
> > low, I'd consider binaural Shure 183's ($200 pair). Huge
> improvement
> > over radio shack mics. You could mount them in a dummy
head, a wood
> > block like Curt Olson's designs or buy a SASS fixture sans
mics
> from
> > Crown. M-S is another, more expensive option. The students
here
> fight
> > over our two NT1A/CAD 179 M-S rigs that use MP2 preamps.
I'm trying
> > to get a PIP compatible phantom power supply which would
open more
> > possibilties.
> >
> > Isn't it likely that your presence is a pretty significant topic in
> > their discussions? Maybe there's a lot of road and other
noise so
> > there's plenty of agitation anyway. I'm sure you've thought
about
> > this. If you want to leave the scene, an NH-1 or NH 910 can
be set
> to
> > record in HiSP mode for ~5 hours. Requires a PC for digital
> transfers.
> >
> > To focus on calls coming from two areas, a pair of
unidirectional
> > Rode NT-3's for about $300 are maybe worth considering.
Perhaps
> mount
> > them on separate tripods with nice, swivel mounts, in good
> > shock-mounts with zeps? Anyway, I'd definitely think a bit
more
> about
> > stereo before taking a $500 mono plunge. Rob D.
> >
> > = = = = = =
> >
> > At 11:05 PM -0700 6/24/05, Martyn Stewart wrote:
> > >The mini disk should fit the bill alright and you would
certainly
> be able to
> > >upload your recordings to your computer and software.
> > >If your budget is tight, consider the K6/ME66 combination
made by
> > >Sennheiser.
> > >The ME66 would be a better mic for the long distant calls
but you
> will not
> > >be able to record them in stereo unless you use two mics. A
stereo
> recording
> > >will help you separate the calls much better in an analyzing
> program. To
> > >start off with though, your choice would be a fair
combination of
> mic and
> > >minidisk. At least with the K6 power supply that you need
with the
> ME66, you
> > >can buy the cardioid version (ME64) and this too will run
with the
> K6.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >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:
> > > On Behalf Of
wahpenayo
> > >Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 10:43 PM
> > >To:
> > >Subject: [Nature Recordists] recording owl vocalizations
> > >
> > >I'm working on a study of barred owls in SW Washington
and have
> begun
> > >to record their vocalizations. I want to upgrade my
equipment (not
> > >hard to do) to get quality recordings, eventually to do
comparison
> > >analysis of their calls. I am looking at the Sony MZNH1 Hi
Minidisc
> > >Recorder, which fits my budget.
> > >
> > >I am unsure what kind of microphone would work best.
Right now I
> have
> > >a ~$40 Radio Shack cardioid mic. There are all kinds of
recording
> > >situations that I will have to deal with. Sometimes the owls
are
> very
> > >close (20 feet) sometimes 1/4 mile or more away. I want to
be able
> to
> > >record a pair doing a duet, even when they are on both
sides of me.
> > >
> > >I have been thinking that another cardioid mic of better
quality
> > >would be the best overall mic, and at sometime in the future
get a
> > >shotgun mic for distant calls.
> > >
> > >So right now I am looking at the Sony NH1 and a
Sennheiser ME64
> > >cardioid mic. Can anyone tell me if this is the right choice to
> begin
> > >with, and will the recordings be good enough to run through
digital
> > >analysis software?
> > >
> > >Thanks for any help.
> > >
> > >Bob Pearson
> > >Packwood, Washington
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >"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
> > >Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Rob Danielson
> > Film Department
> > University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
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