Posted by: "evs"
> the sennheiser idea is a good one, didn=B4t thought about that because =
> i thought the mic are too big and i don=B4t want to carry too much
> around. but the mkh 30 40 50 don=B4t look too long...
The MKH mics are fairly light and small. The suspension and
windscreening for using them outdoors will be most of the bulk and a
good part of the weight.
The MKH mics have been at the top of nature recording for a long time.
They combine a high quality mic with outdoor durability in a way that
few other mics do. Nature recording is not studio recording. Going into
nature recording you should become familiar with the capabilities of MKH
mics and why they are desirable even if in the end you decide on other
mics. The majority of nature recording you hear was probably done with
these mics.
> on the other hand you can tweak the ms signal if it should be wide or =
> not so wide. and you have it both in one suspension. thats a plus for =
> MS. hm. a lot to think about.
For nature recording I always try and have my setups hand holdable. That
improves portability a lot. You can also follow sounds much more quickly
that way. I do use a tripod sometimes, but primarily just for the tall
tripod technique.
M/S takes some learning. And the sound is partially dependent on the
decoding. You can get a fairly wide variety of soundfields out of a
single setup depending on how you decode the M/S. For this reason it's
always preferable to record the M/S signals and decode later.
> right at the moment i have a mkh 416 here. theres a option that i can =
> have it cheaply. but i guess the mkh 40 or 50 is way better, and less =
> noisy?
> or is the combination mkh 416 / mkh 30 also a good way?
The MKH-416 is of a previous generation of the series. You would be much
better off to go with the MKH-60.
> i just was on the web site from walter kanpp (http://
> frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/samples.html) and the
> combination mkh 60/mkh 30 sounded for me much better than the mkh 40/ =
> mkh 30 combination. i guess the mkh 50/ mkh 30 combination sounds
> more like the 60/30 than the 40/30...? the mkh 80/mkh80 combination
> sounds the best. oh my good. but thats too much money right at the
> moment. but this is sounding incredible!
You might want to note that those samples were recorded shortly after I
set those mics up. I've learned a little more about getting the best out
of them since.
The MKH-60 & MKH-80 (and also the MKH-70 & MKH-800) form a subgroup in
the MKH mics that's more sensitive and lower noise than the MKH-30, 40,
Message: 50.
Subject: The MKH-20 is lower noise but not greater sensitivity than those
three. The MKH-416 is a entire previous generation of MKH and while
having pretty good sensitivity has higher self noise and a more
irregular polar pattern than the MKH-60. You can download the info here:
http://naturerecordist.home.mindspring.com/MKH_Brochure.pdf
My first choice mic for ambiance is the modified SASS/MKH-20. At least
if the ambiance field is wide. Look here:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/mod_sass.html
I use the three M/S as intermediates in ambiance field width between the
SASS and the stereo Telinga parabolic. Obviously the MKH-60/30 M/S is
the narrowest field. Note here I'm talking about the field you are
recording, not the field out of your playback system, though the two do
relate.
> maybe there is another mic option which are as silent as the
> sennheiser? maybe a little more cheaper that them?:-) anyone any ideas?
It's one of the areas where you get what you pay for. And the Sennheiser
are almost in a class by themselves. I see folk try numerous options
trying to be cheaper than the Sennheiser. In the end some of them would
have certainly spent less money just going Sennheiser to start with.
Work out a plan for what you want and how you are going to get it before
spending money. I got all my extensive collection of MKH mics off ebay
at less than half price. But it took years to do.
The ME series Sennheiser are also good nature recording mics. Though
there is no figure 8 in that series. They are a little noisier than the
MKH. Here's the part of their mic brochure on them:
http://naturerecordist.home.mindspring.com/ME_Brochure.pdf
The Rode NT1A cardioid has been used successfully as a nature recording
mic. The multipattern Rode NT2000 can provide a figure 8. The jury is
still out on their outdoor survivability, but they will run outdoors.
I'm fiddling with both of those to build up a suitable outdoor
suspension and windscreen for M/S, primarily to play with large
diaphragm mics. That's one problem with them, they are big, and side
address. No commercial full up suspension & windscreen available that I
know of so you are into DIY for that.
Note it's as critical that the mic survives in the outdoor environment
as how it might sound. Many studio mics have problems with things like
humidity. That's the big advantage of the Sennheiser MKH on top of their
high quality sound, they are very capable of handling outdoor
conditions. Before buying any mic for the purpose of nature recording
try and find out how it's going to do on this. You don't want a mic that
lasts seconds in outdoor humidity.
Walt
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