At 3:13 PM +0000 4/1/08, oryoki2000 wrote:
> > There are some very useful observations made
>> in some of the Transom reviews, but I'd be
>> very careful trying to apply their conclusions
>> to nature recording. Their conclusions often only
>> to the recording of robust sounds.
>
>Agreed. In fairness, the Transom site audience
>is people working in ENG. So close mic placement
>would be the norm.
And I bet there are readers/contributors on this of list who are
important exceptions.
I feel that its very important that more and more field recordists,
by their practices, are questioning a "normal" that does not include
capturing location/acoustic space. The worlds of sound around me
happen in space. Sure, I enjoy posting and mixing but I can also have
a growing relationship with what the real spaces and living creatures
are doing.
Low-noise mics and digital media have made it possible to "turn up
the gain"-- which, I feel, is analogous to a photographer using a
filmstock with a wider latitude in order to bring home more shadow
detail, more options. I apologize for being blunt, but rating a
recorder on the basis of close micing with an RE-50 is way more
close-minded (high contrast) than the ENG recordists I know. They are
often fighting to stop and record "more nat sound." We can help them.
The directions are fairly clear: the attitude that says gain and
noise are "crazy" and "excessive" will be changing and those who are
curious about this technology means to the recording arts will be in
growing company.
>It's worth noting that people who don't have an
>interest in nature sound recording think we're silly
>for our focus on how a mic preamp sounds with the
>volume cranked all the way up. in my experience,
>most all digital recorder preamps have satisfactory
>self noise if you keep the volume at 50% of maximum.
Which, of course, means the sounds are high level. Remember, many of
the new recorders we have to choose from have low gain to start with,
so one-half is not an option for nature recording.
>For concert recordists, the problem is often the
>reverse. The sound pressure level requires signal
>attenuation, not amplification.
And punishing playback levels to get above very high ambient
background levels. "Quiet" is political. One might ask oneself,
"Which side am I on?" Rob D.
>
>Different strokes, as we used to say.
>--oryoki
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