Posted by: "Raimund Specht"
> Okay Walt, it is probably not adequate to generalize here too much.
Which is exactly what you are doing, isn't it.
> Of course, it always depends on the specific purpose of your
> recordings and the specific conditions in the field. There are many
> situations where the attenuation at higher frequencies on sounds
> arriving from off-axis directions simply does not matter.
Since almost all the sounds you do record arrive from multiple
directions off axis is part of your recording no matter if you point
your mic with a micro manipulator.
> Sure, there are other negative environmental factors in the field that
> will also influence the quality of my recordings. However, I would
> always try to minimize them and optimize my microphone set-up in order
> to get the best possible results.
The environmental factors are not negative, they are just there, the way
the natural world works. People who don't work with them and understand
them are a negative force.
> For instance, if I record single bush crickets at close distances in
> the field that partly sing in the ultrasonic range
> (http://www.avisoft.com/sounds.htm#insects), it is VERY important to
> point the microphone exactly at the animals. Otherwise, the resulting
> recordings (and also the slowed-down versions for listening) would be
> quite poor.
Obviously the attenuation of ultrasonics is a different problem. And
hardly proof of a general case. And there is less reason to record
stereo because we don't hear them in their natural ambiance.
> It is my impression that many recordists are not always aware of that
> microphone pointing issue because they believe that stereo is 'always'
> better.
It's my impression that many recordists are not always aware of the
advantages of stereo. Because they believe mono is always better and
more "scientific".
> I could also imagine that it might be sometimes useful to be able to
> get additional information on the direction of the incoming sounds
> that can be provided by a stereo recording. But in my experience, most
> researchers use a single directional microphone for their work because
> they usually try to keep their equipment as simple as possible. In
> case they are interested in the specific locations of the vocalizing
> animals, they use a microphone array with more than two microphones.
The biologists I know tend to use mono because that's all they can get
funding for, and it may take them years to get that. As I said they
would use stereo if they could get the funds. As it is they are often
still using cassettes too. (of course that would have nothing to do with
analysis would it? cassettes are scientific aren't they?
Walt
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