At 6:34 AM -0700 6/24/10, Patrick Cooper wrote:
>
>I believe Sony currently produce one Mini Disc model but I wouldn't
>be buying such a device brand new. There's something that I should
>have mentioned in my introductory post. Money is tight so I'm on a
>very small budget. I'd be willing to spend up to $120 on the
>recorder although I may be tempted to spend a little more if I'm
>tempted by someone's particular recommendation.
Hi Patrick.--
Thanks for creating the new subject line. There are quite a few
available on eBay for under $100, used. New, the cheapest model was
about $160USD. All of the lower cost models appear to be sold-out,
world wide. More inserts below.
>I have read on the Wildlife Sound Recording Society's website that
>Mini Disc recorders are a good option for nature sound recordists on
>a small budget. Though they do have some inconviences that one has
>to put up with!
One must use Sony's data transfer application, SonicStage which is
more involved and subject to lost recordings. You have to adopt some
very specific habits and use them regularly. The software is PC only
except for the last few HiMD models they produced.
>I would be particularly interested in the Hi-MD models as they
>record audio that is uncompressed. According to the WSRS, some
>models have very low noise mic preamps though they don't specify
>many models that have such a technical refinement. Can anyone here
>list some particular Mini Disc models that have good mic preamps?
All of the Hi-MD models have the same low-noise/high gain mic pre-amp
than can be crucial for applications where recordists must use very
low noise mics. Your needs may not match these or mics you will ever
use. That remains to be explored.
Here's some more on the plusses of these recorders:
http://tinyurl.com/yyzrnfa They we're quite popular. I taught 100+
people to use them every semester so I know their plusses and minuses
pretty well.
> Of course some models don't have manual recording levels or mic
>inputs so that would also be something to look at.
Most do. With the first models, it required quite a few steps to get
into manual mode. And they didn't retain the manual setting upon
re-powering. The last 2-3 Hi-MD models had major upgrades but still
require SonicStage.
re:
> I'll leave the discussion of microphones to another post.
Mics are the hearts of all recording systems, even inexpensive ones.
Researching microphone options is the best place to start. Buying the
recorder first, its a bit like buying a paint brush before you know
how large your canvass will be, what colors you are going to be able
to afford and what you are painting. There are many folks on this
list who use lower cost mics and recorders and get very good species
recordings. One they know what your budget is, they can help you
research today's options and come up with the best investment(s) you
can make. People pride themselves in getting high quality with modest
gear. Rob D.
>
>--- On Wed, 23/6/10, Mitch Hill
><<fmhill%40capcod.org>> wrote:
>
>From: Mitch Hill <<fmhill%40capcod.org>>
>Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] New to the group
>To:
><naturerecordists%40yahoogroups.com>=
m
>Received: Wednesday, 23 June, 2010, 1:48 AM
>
>
>
>Greetings Patrick Cooper,
>
>Welcome to the Nature Recordists group...
>
>I'm a newcomer to wildlife sound recording and to this group also, I've
>just started down this fascinating road of nature sound recordings startin=
g
>with the purchase of a new recorder on the first of June.
>
>Seeing as you comment about thinking of getting a mini-disc recorder and
>microphone, I would like to offer a few suggestions based on what I have
>learned in the past three weeks of experience gained along my path as a
>newcomer into this fascinating endeavor.
>
>First let me explain, I'[m a white haired old retired geezer having retire=
d
>from a career in Oceanography as an equipment designer and somewhat of an
>underwater acoustics expert. My reason for explaining this is to offer an
>explanation as to why I have a very good understanding of sound recording
>equipment and related technology. I have also been doing wildlife
>photography as a hobby since I was a young boy and like you, became
>interested in adding the capability of recording their sounds.
>
>However, starting out with this present endeavor with the rapid technology
>advances that have occurred since my active days in the field, its a whole
>new ball game equipment wise.
>
>A couple of pieces of advice, when selecting a recorder, you want to be
>looking at music type recorders not voice recorders. Bird sounds range fro=
m
>about 500 hertz up to 14,000 hertz and you want a recorder enough range to
>be able to record clearly the full spectrum of a birds sound.
>
>Second bit of advice, you mentioned a mini-disc recorder. The mini-disc is
>a bit of technology that has fallen by the wayside and been replaced in th=
e
>market place by the new digital PCM recorders. I doubt you will find any
>new mini-disc recorders on the market today.
>
>When I was looking for a recorder, having recently upgraded my camera
>equipment to DSLR cameras that use SDHC cards for image storage, one of my
>criteria for a digital PCM recorder was that it use the same type card tha=
t
>my cameras use and as I have a good card reader set up on my computer to
>download the recorder sound files as well as image files.
>
>Last but not least by far is the microphone. The selection of the right
>microphone for your application is the most important part of the process,
>again, you want a microphone designed for recording music, not voice and
>for the same reasons mentioned above and you can expect to spend more for
>the right microphone than you will the recorder,
>
>There is a whole gamut of microphones to select from, and this is where
>this Nature Recordists group can help you a lot as they did me. The most
>important issues to look at when selecting a microphone is the that the
>microphone should have a low noise floor figure, high sensitivity, and a
>compatible interface with the input of the recorder. i.e. how does the
>recorder and microphone match up as far as balanced or unbalanced input an=
d
>input impedance as well as how is the microphone powered, either by an
>external battery, its own internal battery, or by the recorder itself.
>
>Sounds more complicated than it really is.
>
>After weeks of looking at specifications and asking lots of questions, I
>was looking at a Zoom H4n, a Sony PCM-M10, and an Olympus LS-11
>recorder. Any one of these three PCM recorders would have been a
>satisfactory choice however I chose the Olympus LS-11 recorder as its
>features seemed to fit most closely my needs as I saw them. At the time I
>bought the LS-11, I also bought a Sennheiser MKE 300 shotgun type
>microphone based on articles I'd read about people using this microphone
>for making bird sound recordings and it works reasonably well although it
>seems a bit insensitive to me.
>
>About that same time I discovered the Naturerecordists group and joined
>it. One of my first questions to the group was about microphones and I
>received very good advice that led me to the immediate purchase of a
>Sennheiser ME66/K6. This ME66/K6 microphone has much higher sensitivity as
>well as the ability to be used with either a balanced input recorder or
>unbalanced as well as being powered either by an internal battery or
>phantom power from the recorder or an external power supply. As the LS-11
>is a compact recorder, it has an unbalanced input and it does not have
>phantom power making the ME66/K6 about as close to the ideal microphone as
>I could find to use with this recorder.
>
>As this all has worked out for me, I'm very pleased with the sound
>recording setup as I have it and you can follow the "Wildlife" link
>following my signature below to hear a number of my recordings made with
>this setup.
>
>Enough of this running on, I've written all this in hopes that it will
>provide you with some insight as to getting started.
>
>Again, Welcome aboard, and I hope you get as much satisfaction form nature
>sound recordings and this group as I do...
>
>At 01:59 AM 6/22/2010 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>Hello there! As you see, I'm new to the group and also new to 'serious'
>>sound recording. I admit that I know next to nothing about audio but am
>>keen to learn. Thinking about getting a Mini Disc recorder and external
>>microphone.
>>
>
>--
>
>Thanks,
>Mitch & Shadow...
>
><http://www.4shared.com/dir/UTASxktL/wildlife.html>http://www.4shared.com/=
dir/UTASxktL/wildlife.html
>
>Shadow's area:
><http://www.4shared.com/dir/ecfWjyZb/Shadow.html>http://www.4shared.com/di=
r/ecfWjyZb/Shadow.html
>
>
>
>
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