Posted by: "Danny Meltzer"
> Has anyone used AKG 414's outside? Obviously they are a classic
> utility mic in the studio, but what would they sound like for nature
> recording? I don't have any so I can't try.
I'd think the biggest problem would be in suspension and windscreening,
their specs are not the best, but would work for some recording.
You have to weigh the cost vs the risks that it might or might not work.
> I suppose the gear that everyone uses for field work has been
> developed and pared down over the years to include only the stuff that
> really works best.
You make it sound like we know what we are doing, far from it. For each
of us I'm sure there are many false starts and errors. I know it has
been so with me. Over time, with a effort that's at least partially
trial and error, you do develop a set of tools that you use for a long
time and which work well. That is if your focus is on recording nature
that will happen. If you are highly interested in the technical aspects
of nature recording you'll keep experimenting, it's a separate hobby
with separate goals. We have examples in the group of folks focused on
one or the other hobby, or on both.
Yes, there is certain equipment known to be almost certain to work well.
The Sennheiser ME and MKH series mics have that reputation. Certain
models of minidiscs have that reputation. The Telinga stereo parabola is
very hard to beat in it's class for nature recording. The Sound Devices
recorders may gain a permanent standing.
We do tend to gravitate to what works.
Even in choosing within the known good stuff, some will work for you
others may not. It's a match of equipment, recording style, subjects and
so on. So each person needs to work out their own "best equipment", not
just imitate what someone else uses unless they know it will work for
what they are doing too.
My first needs in quality nature recording equipment were for scientific
survey and documentation. I had had it with tape in any form, so went
with minidisc, this about 10 years ago. While I've replaced my original
consumer minidisc recorders with a pro minidisc recorder I still am
using minidisc. In mics I went through several tries before building a
homemade mono parabolic. I used that for several years, then decided I
was serious enough to spend the money for the Telinga. I bought both the
mono and stereo mics, thinking the stereo would be more for fun. But it
quickly became apparent the stereo was best for everything. From there
on I've only considered stereo.
It was as the 5 year survey project was coming to a end that I decided
to expand my mic choices to be able to record more whole ambiance's. I
experimented with a number of lower cost mics, but was not satisfied
with either their sensitivity or self noise. I decided to standardize on
MKH mics as I wanted to do M/S and the series included a figure 8 mic
while the ME series did not. It took several years haunting ebay to
obtain the mics. My standard kit includes, in addition to the Telinga, a
Modified SASS using MKH-20's, and three M/S: MKH-30/40, MKH-30/60,
MKH-80/80. This gives me several choices of field coverage. In addition
I have a couple hydrophones, and some inexpensive contact mics. All
these come along in the truck on field forays.
I am still experimenting some with other mics. My latest is a pair of
Rode NT2000's and a matched pair of NT1A's. These primarily to
experiment with M/S with larger diaphragm mics. I also have a pair of
Shure MX-183's, when I need small mics for experimenting.
While it may seem daunting to afford even one quality mic setup do not
be surprised if you eventually end up with several. There is a lot of
parallel between nature photography where you have a set of lenses and
nature recording where you have a set of mics for different purposes.
Taken stepwise it can be done. The big advantage being that quality mics
are very long lived things.
The biggest advantage of quality equipment is reliability. Not just that
it is durable, but that you can expect it to do a good job of recording
every time. Even if the sounds you have to record are not good. It's
getting to where it's much more expensive to get out and record (gas
prices, etc.) and in addition the times when you do get out are more and
more likely to have problems with man made noise. So, when conditions
are right and you are out there, reliably being able to record is important=
.
Walt
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