At 8:00 PM +0000 6/29/09, brucethehoon wrote:
>Thank you so much for your reply. The number of private email
>replies I got rather overwhelmed me and as such I didn't get back to
>the group in my usual speedy manner.
>
>To update, I have purchased the PCM-D50, realizing that I really
>don't care how much this costs, but ruggedness is a factor.
>
>That said, as requested below, my first and most important use will
>be to record one hour or more of waves / surf at a california beach
>with 30mph winds gusting to 50mph.
>
>I will have the unit on a sand compatible tripod (legs buried) and
>would like to record the EXPERIENCE of being there. While not
>necessarily suggesting a binaural setup, I would like to play it
>back later and be fairly able to close my eyes and be there again.
>
>If I was able to pack the whole setup (excluding tripod) into an
>average sized backback, that would be "portable" for me.
>
>Spending ANOTHER $300-500 on microphones seems reasonable to me. I
>can appreciate that it might seem absurd to drop so much in advance,
>but I would rather take the risk of spending too much money than
>take the risk of getting a lower quality recording during a once in
>a lifetime trip.
>
>I am using Shure E5C's as my listening method, so I suppose anything
>they can't play, I don't care about, when it comes to quality :)
>
Hi Bruce--
In the $300-$500/pair price range, the rigs that John Hartog and
variations others have made for Rode NT1-A's have produced striking
recordings and these ultra low-noise mics provide the ability to
record very quiet locations too.
http://www.rockscallop.org/how/barrier10.html Any condenser mic will
require phantom powering which the PCM-D50 doesn't have. The cheapest
way to provide phantom powering (with no compromise in quality) is
with a portable phantom power supply like an Art Phantom II or Rolls
PB224.
For dealing with steady winds that strong, Rich Peet has some designs
made with "Shop Vac" filters that work very well. [Contact him
directly at If you go with a traditional
zeppelin approach, I'd favor a larger than usual "basket" size with
3-4" of dead air space around the capsules, an inner liner made of
taut panty hose stocking and an outer layer of long pile fake fur (2"
or longer). Here are some NT1-A ideas:
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rode_NT1-A_Mics/NT1-A_index.htm
Another thought. Surf and wind are quite loud so you can get by with
small electret mics and put some energy into making wind protection
for them. The tiny Panasonic WM-61A's mics are very accurate in terms
of tonal response and can be purchased in a variety of packages well
under $100 a pair:
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/PanasonicWM-61A_OtherBinauralRigs/docs/CompareCommercialLavs_1_2009.doc
The popular Shure WL-183's are larger and quieter. You'll find lots
of discussion about the WL-183's in the list archive. These electret
mics will produce considerable "hiss" if used in quiet locations
where the record level is turned up high but they are fine in loud
locations. Rob D.
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