Your stone beach recording is very nice, thanks for sharing.
Oftentimes the ocean itself is a source of constant high-frequency hiss, as
the tiny bubbles of the surf continually pop. I mention because I've
occasionally perceived fault with my equipment, and then discovered it was
actually the acoustic source I was hearing.
enjoy!
-jeremiah
On Wed, Jun 2, 2010 at 4:16 AM, redteamwins <> wrote:
>
>
> Hi everybody!
>
> I just wanted to update you all. I went ahead and bought a Sony PCM-M10 -
> it's beautiful, graceful, and just generally wonderful.
>
> Rob, after your nudging, I followed your advice and did the right thing a=
nd
> soldered up a pair of WM-61A's that I bought from Digi-Key (I've got 8 mo=
re
> that I've got to figure out what to do with :). Thank you for those
> instructions! I got an old pair of Sony walkman headphones (right angle
> plug!), desoldered the little baby speakers, and soldered the ends of the
> wires to the microphone capsules. I shrink-wrapped each capsule, put a
> non-shrink wrapped sleeve on the end so that it will all mount on my
> eyeglasses, and put some foam at the end with a rubber band for crude win=
d
> protection. Building mics like this is probably routine to you badasses b=
ut
> I felt pretty proud of myself when it was all done.
>
> I made a recording this past weekend on a beach near Rosarito, Mexico
> covered in small rounded stones. During high tide, the waves crash on the
> stones - as the water recedes the stones roll and collide and make a
> wonderful sound. I was sitting on the rocks higher up on the shore and th=
e
> water was about two feet away from my feet when big waves came.
>
> My friend took a photo of these stones years ago:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidg/30181933/
>
> I have posted a recording of these waves here:
> http://soundcloud.com/redteam/mexico-rocky-waves-96-24
> (file currently uploading - it should be up about 35min after this messag=
e
> is posted)
>
> The microphones sounded pretty good until my ears tuned in to the hiss.
> This was rather soul-crushing as it's something that's hard to un-hear.
> Also, many of the sounds have a rather hollow quality - as if the mics we=
re
> mounted at the bottom of two plastic cups. There were actually mounted wi=
th
> only foam windscreens at the front of my eyeglasses. Regardless, this
> recording is the achievement of a dream I've had for at least 8 years and
> you all helped me get there. Thank you all.
>
> Now I'm considering buying the Telinga Clip-Ons for my trip to Europe tha=
t
> begins in a couple of weeks. I haven't really been able to get much
> information about them from Telinga. I think they're actually too big to =
be
> discreet with in public, but some of you say such nice things about Telin=
ga
> that I'm willing to give them a shot despite their size - I really need
> higher quality mics. Anyone have pictures of these microphones? Any specs=
?
>
> Thanks again, folks!
>
> -Christian
>
>
> --- In <naturerecordists%40yahoogroups.co=
m>,
> Rob Danielson <> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Christian--
> >
> > This is how I see it: You're spending thousands on a once in a
> > lifetime trip. You are excited about recordings acoustic nuances of
> > settings that range from loud to very quiet. The recorder and mics
> > are $200 under your budget,.. The ~$300 Telinga mics will be a great,
> > safe investment that will not lose value and I know you'll be glad
> > you made the investment many years from now. Solder-up a pair of the
> > WM-61A's for $30 http://tinyurl.com/2fr2p6r or pay $80 for them this
> > week and hear what you think.
> >
> > Sorry about throwing the numbers at you. Here's a description about
> > mic self-noise:
> > http://tinyurl.com/2ws926p
> >
> > 32dB(A) Noisiest mics
> > 22 dB(A) Average
> > 16 dB(A) almost quiet enough for quiet location
> > <10 dB(A) lowest self-noise you can get, best.
> > To convert signal to noise, subtract the S-N number from 94. e.g. the
> > MM-HLSO specs,"Signal to noise ratio: 65dB, 1khz at 1pa" so, 95-65 =3D
> > 30 dB(A) self-noise.
> >
> > There's no point in spending a penny more on these smaller mic
> > options unless you can see they'll give you an improvement in noise
> > performance. Here's a list of the basic retail repackaging options
> > for the smaller mics except for Klas' "Clip Ons" which use Primo
> > EM-172's which are new and not on the list. You can contact Klas at
> > <>.
>
> > http://tinyurl.com/ykdesaj
> >
> > Soldering steps:
> >
> https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/116/Trek01/BuildingMics/WM-61A_Brook=
BuildsMics/WM-61A_BrookBuildsMics.html
> >
> >
> > At 9:52 AM +0000 5/17/10, redteamwins wrote:
> > >
> > > should I get one of those little 9v battery supplies for whatever
> > >microphone I buy?
> >
> > No.
> >
> > >I'm concerned about a car or bus completely overwhelming my
> > >microphones in somewhat loud street environments. From what I've
> > >learned, that situation is helped by some kind of "pad" or
> > >attenuator cable and/or a battery supply giving more power to the
> > >microphones to avoid clipping. Am I going in the right direction
> > >here?
> >
> > Not a worry. Turn the gain down, go to low sensitivity setting if need
> be.
> >
> >
> > >At the same time, I wonder if there is some nice place in between
> > >the Sound Professionals' ~US$80 offering and Telinga's ~US$750+
> > >offering! Does anyone have anything favorable to say about Core
> > >Audio's ~US$250 offering? How about products from Microphone
> > >Madness?:
> > ><http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmhlsomsenmi.htm>
> http://microphonemadness.com/products/mmhlsomsenmi.htm
> > >I haven't read any real reviews of their products.
> >
> > >I have heard nothing but good stuff about Sonic Studios' products
> > >but jeeeeeeeez ... I can't afford those either.
> >
> > See the doc above. I'd consider these instead for 1/3 cost and same
> > noise performance.
> >
> https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/audio-reports/Shure-WL183s/index.htm
> >
> > But 14 dB(A) performance from the Clip-ons at ~$120 more makes
> > better sense to me. Rob D.
> >
> >
> > >So here's my point - maybe Sound Professionals' US$80 products are
> > >good, but if I can get anything substantially better for ~US250 I'll
> > >totally do it.
> > >
> > >And again - folks - thank you for sharing your advice and expertise.
> > >I'm sure newbies post in here for this kind of advice all the time
> > >and yet you have been so patient with me. I can't wait to make some
> > >recordings for you all to listen to.
> > >
> > >-Christian
> > >
> > >p.s. Can anyone point me to a good primer on learning what you guys
> > >are talking about in terms of dB's? I'm trying to learn how to
> > >distinguish between microphones and I can't decipher all the values.
> > >I think I have a pretty good idea about what a noise floor is and
> > >what self-noise is ... but after that I don't really know what to
> > >look for.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
jeremiah moore | SOUND |
http://www.jeremiahmoore.com/
|