>Greetings,
>
>I am a new member to naturerecordists. I am currently a graduate
>student studying amphibians and birds at the University of Alberta
>in Edmonton, Canada.
>
>This leads me to my first question. I am starting up my field season
>and I will be recording frog choruses/bird calls. I currently have a
>parabola and am purchasing the M-Audio digital II recorder. I have a
>limited budget, however, am looking to buy microphone. Can anyone
>suggest a mics that would be appropriate for recording frog and bird
>calls? I currently have an old GENEXXA ELECTRET (unidirectional
>condenser microphone.
>
>I have looked in three mics thus far: Audio-Technica AT835b, Azden
>SGM-2X, and Sennheiser K-6/ME-66/ME-67.
>
>Has anyone ever tried the Azden mic?
>
>Thank you,
>
>Brett S.
>
>Edmonton, Alberta
Hi Brett-
Welcome to the list! Sounds like you are embarking on a exciting quest.
I hate to launch into immediate critique, but if you haven't ordered
the recorder yet or could still exchange it, you might want to search
some recorder models numbers through the naturerecordist list
archive. For example: http://snipurl.com/241s4
There's a list of current recorders where you can get the accurate
model numbers here: http://corporatetalkradio.com/pdr.html and here:
http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm
I'd encourage you to look at the Fostex FR-2LE for greater mic
compatibility in the long-term along with improved high-gain noise
performance over the other, lower-cost recorder options.
As for mics/micing, stereo might be useful if you are interested in
the spatiality of the communications taking place. I'm not certain
you'll require a dish or shotgun mic for the amphibians.
What is the goal of your study? There are many ways to approach
recording, some might be more suitable than others. Have you
considered multiple rigs for example?
As you probably are aware, time to move as the Spring Peepers tend to
drown out the other amphibians pretty quickly.
--
|