At 1:54 AM -0800 2/23/07, dwight muller wrote:
>Hello all you passionate and friendly folk!
> =A0
> My name is Dwight Muller and I am living in
>South Africa in a rural area formerly known as
>the Transkei. Here are the co-ordinates so you
>can 'fly in' on Google Earth if you want to see
>the place we are transforming: 32deg 18' 52.38"
>S 28deg 17' 46.45" E. I have returned to where I
>grew up after many years spent pursueing a
>carreer in computer systems analysis and
>database administration that dragged me from
>Cape Town to Amsterdam and all round Europe and
>the (not so) United Kingdom. My grandfather set
>up a trading store (i.e. a general dealer shop
>in the middle of nowhere) on this site in 1901.
>Its about 20 min drive from Butterworth in the
>Eastern Cape and our family built up and
>maintained a thriving business there until 1976
>when my dad decided due to inter-racial tensions
>to sell up and relocated the family to East
>London which is a small city on the east coast
>of SA. This was the period in our history when
>the anti-apartheid, african freedom movement was
>beginning
> to get more militant and people in our
>situation were under threat of their lives. I
>never wanted to leave where I grew up and so
>last year when my friend and I were looking for
>a piece of land on which to set up a forest
>garden, the old trading store was the first of a
>list of possibilities that we investigated. As
>the area is a tribal area it was essential to
>get the permission of the local people. We
>approached the local tribal council and since
>all of them know our family and myself from when
>I lived here as a boy the decision was unanimous
>that we should return. They had really never
>wanted us to leave in the first place! I was
>born here and so was my father and that fact
>alone was enough to close the discussion! As the
>buildings have been allowed to fall into ruins
>after the last occupants were murdered here
>(they were dealing in cannabis and
>reconditioning stolen cars on the site and must
>have got into a disagreement over money with
>their 'partners' who arrived in a
> mob one day and gunned the whole family down!)
>the government officials that rent these old
>trading stations out to businessmen decided they
>could not charge us anything for the use of the
>place! So we are living on 4.5 hectares of
>beautiful land that we have the use of as long
>as we are in residence for absolutely free and
>creating a paradise forest that in time will
>deliver all our food needs with enough to share
>with the local peope too! We are surrounded by
>the most amazing nature and it is teeming with
>birds and creatures of all shapes and sizes.
> =A0
> I have had an interest in nature and the
>sounds of nature since I was a small boy growing
>up here. I remember making recordings down at
>the river near our home with a clunky cassette
>deck that was leading edge in its day - that was
>back in the early '70s when I was just entering
>my teens.
> =A0
> I came across a book and cd by Bernie Krause
>about five years ago and was so taken by it that
>I started to make recordings whenever I came
>home from Europe for the Xmas break with the
>family. That cd has the jaguar giving us a
>lecture on it - what a fantastic sound, the
>creature's use of harmonic singing is amazing!
>Anyone who claims that there is no meaning in
>that is deaf and blind - Bernie we are forever
>indebted to you for allowing us to share that
>extraordinary recording! Thank you!
> =A0
> Now that I am living in a relatively unspoilt
>natural environment again I am keen to make and
>share quality recordings via the net. The local
>tribal people have also still a measure of their
>cultural heritage intact as far as the singing
>and language are concerned. I am hoping to get a
>lot of that on media too. My friend and I have
>recently embarked on a training to become
>traditional healers/shamans or what they call
>Sangomas here and the ceremonies we attend as
>part of our training are rich in song and dance
>- magical and powerful sounds that have hardly
>been heard outside the confines of the tribal
>areas.
> =A0
> I have the most rudimentary of equipment at
>the moment and would like to get as much info on
>how to make the most of it and I suspect I am in
>the right place for that! :) In time I would
>like to invest in higher quality equipment and
>hope to find the right combo in consultation
>with you all. What I have at the moment is as
>follows:
> =A0
> Sony Minidisc recorder MZ-R30 (out of the digital ark!)
> Sony Stereo microphone ECM-MS957
> Sony Sound Forge Audio Studio version 8.0b (build 77)
> =A0
> I run the software on an Acer Aspire 3620 notebook with the following s=
etup:
> =A0
> Operating System
> Platform: Windows XP
> Version: 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
> Language: English
> System locale: English
> User locale: English
> Processor
> Class: Intel(R) Celeron(R) M processor 1.60=
GHz
> Identifier: GenuineIntel
> Number of processors: 1
> MMX available: Yes
> SSE available: Yes
> SSE2 available: Yes
> SSE3 available: No
> Display
> Primary: 1280x800x32
> Memory
> Physical memory: 514.4 MB
> Paging memory available: 1,254.8 MB
> Virtual memory possible: 2,097.0 MB
> =A0
> The recordings I have made to date are not bad
>but suffer from a constant low level noise
>signal and a definite DC offset. The offset I
>have been able to remedy easily enough but the
>noise I am at a loss as to how to eradicate
>without eliminating valuable content at the same
>time. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I am
>still a relative newbie in the use of the sound
>software and am looking forward to a lot of
>learning about sound 'doctoring'.
> =A0
> Regards
> Dwight Muller
>
Hi Dwight--
Exciting. Welcome! In terms of noise, your mic
with 25 dB(A) self noise and low output
(sensitivity) of 8 mV/Pa is the weakest link in
your current rig. There are many options and to
achieve a _system_ of components that will
address your immediate and future needs can
require some study. Of course, it helps to give
us an idea of your budget. I think it can make
streamline the process a bit for you to consider
your priorities, including factors like these:
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