> That's quite an expensive hobby you got there.
>
It's my work......
I calibrate my mics to cope with the unexpected and I certainly would not l=
eave a set up at the base of an elephants trunk, I would be more worried of=
the mics getting crushed than distorted.
The natural world is totally different to what you are talking about here, =
airplanes, brass bands, but you can still calibrate mics to suit their surr=
oundings.
I have recorded at the base of Victoria falls without clipping with the sam=
e calibration I would use in the deserts of Egypt.
Martyn
Martyn Stewart
.........................................
www.naturesound.org
www.soundofcritters.com
.........................................
425-898-0462
Sent from my iPad
On Nov 1, 2010, at 6:07 PM, James Shatto <> wrote:
> But how would you know that you didn't? Natural sounds don't normally re=
peat and sustain at their max SPL. Where a trombone does sustain so you ca=
n tell by the flat line of peaks over a duration. Plus you'd have to hear =
it live and be intimately familiar with said sound to know that it doesn't =
sound like it did live. Not that you'd know why without a repeatable test,=
but you'd know that it wasn't quite right. Granted that we aren't as crit=
ical about natural sounds because we aren't as familiar with them. And wit=
h the varied venues and orientations to the sounds it'd be difficult to tel=
l if it was the location or the mics. Plus that whole proximity issue. An=
yone up for putting a decibel meter in front of an elephants trunk when it =
trumpets? How about a reading from the base of niagra falls?
>
> And then there's unnatural sources. 200dB air horns, 160dB shotgun, and =
I could swear than one flight I was on that the ding for the stewardess was=
at least 140dB. I was about ready to start dismantling an airplane by the=
end of that flight.
>
> 40,000 hours is about 13.7 years of 8 hour days of recording 7 days a wee=
k. As I wonder how many batteries that translates into. And at 1GB per ho=
ur of stereo audio (rough estimation) in digital form. 40TB of data. Not =
quite a home wrecker at todays prices. But five years ago 20TB would run y=
ou $5 per GB. $100K in storage alone. That's quite an expensive hobby you=
got there.
>
> - James
>
> --- On Mon, 11/1/10, Martyn Stewart <> wrote:
>
> From: Martyn Stewart <>
> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Re: Binaural Upgrade
> To: "" <>
> Date: Monday, November 1, 2010, 6:43 PM
>
>
>
> Trombones? Brass band? I thought this was a nature Recordist group? I hav=
e never maxed out my mics in nature after recording over well over 40000 ho=
urs. As far as I know lightning makes no noise but thunder does. :)
>
> Martyn
>
> Martyn Stewart
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> Please excuse any spelling mistakes on this tiny keyboard.
>
> www.naturesound.org
>
> On Nov 1, 2010, at 4:34 PM, James Shatto <> wrote:
>
> > 140SPL, because proximity can and will exceed that level. I've maxed ou=
t a 125dB SPL mic at 18" with a trombone. And I still had more to give. Put=
a group of 100 trombones in front of that mic and no good can come of it. =
With proximity. Even without proximity you'll have someone clapping within =
a few feet of your mics. Maybe even some gun fire, door slams, screams of h=
orror, and whatever mayham is modern life. Not quite a nature requirement, =
but a wolf howl at less than 5 yards? Lightning? Gun fire? A fallen tree? O=
r just a million plus insects, it all adds up. Even if no one source is > 8=
6dB (safe levels), when combined their chorus is deafening.
>
> >
>
> > And then there's the distortion factor. When mics operate at their limi=
ts, they change character. Having higher limits makes them sound better at =
most sane levels IMO. Which is the main reason I got rid of my SM81's. With=
a brass quintet, nice mics. With a brass band(40+ members), who replaced m=
y mics with something not as good. Plus you can't have 110dB+ of dynamic ra=
nge if your mics suck past 100dB. Not that noise floor means anything at th=
ose levels, but they can be reached in nature. Rock slide, volcano, ... per=
haps not an everyday thing, but it can and ultimately will happen. You only=
need it once to need it.
>
>
>
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