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Re: Best stereo solution for nature recording while backpacking thro

Subject: Re: Best stereo solution for nature recording while backpacking thro
From: "Jeremiah Moore" jeremiahmoore99
Date: Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:40 pm ((PDT))
If you can bear dropping down to two mic pres, leaving the 302 home
will save you a lot of weight and power management.

Yes, the 416 is noisy in a nature scenario.  Wonderful beast, but a bit noi=
sy.

My travel rig now consists of 702T, MKH-8040/MKH-30 pair in a Windpac
(rycote stereo is better but large and fragile.)  The 8040 is so short
I have to insert an XLR barrel to get it to line up against the 30
properly in the Windpac.

It's a nice satisfying rig for ambience and basic SFX.

If you want to record spot FX at a distance, you'll need a quiet
shotgun or consider a dish.  Try to borrow a dish to experiment with
if you haven't; they're different, and interesting.

On the other hand, a spaced omni pair is heavenly for ambience and
plays nicely into Dolby Surround etc.

A friend travels with 788, pair of MKH-20s, MKH-70 and MKH-800.  A
pair of tripods and a pair of Sennheiser blimps.  With that, he's
pretty much covered.

No easy answers.  ;)

-jeremiah


On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 2:25 PM, Daan Hendriks <> wro=
te:
> Howdy!
>
> I'm not a field recording expert or guru in any sort of way, but I am
> surprised you say that the 416's are too noisy?
> When recording low volume sounds, I think it's important to keep in mind
> that they should be auditioned at a similarly low volume as well. Noise
> should be much less of a problem in that case, especially when recorded w=
ith
> mics that have such a low self noise such as the 416s. I believe the mant=
ra
> of nature recordists is everything below 16 dBA self noise is suitable fo=
r
> nature recording, and your 416s are at about 12dBA i think?
>
> As for MS, you could pretty much get a MKH30 side and have one of your 41=
6s
> and the mid. It will sound great, although you will be confined to about =
90
> degrees width of 'proper' stereo image due to the polar pattern tightness=
 of
> the 416. If you have some cash lying about, I would get a MKH 8040 as you=
r
> mid mic together with a MKH 30. Then you can simply make beautiful
> recordings that have a fantastic stereo representation, and low noise as
> well - but not lower than what you are already used to (unless your 416s =
are
> broken, but that seems unlikely).
>
> If you want extreme portability and have plenty of money, maybe get a
> Schoeps MS, as they're so damn small... you could get one of those baby
> ballgags wind shields then. Although I've heard from various corners that
> Schoeps can be troublesome when it comes to humidity (but have similarly
> heard the exact opposite as well, so that seems a bit of an open debate).
>
> Alternatively, the most simple and portable solution would be to get a So=
ny
> D50 I suppose!
>
> Hope it helps a bit,
> Daan
>
> On Tue, Jun 28, 2011 at 10:08 PM, zen_leprechaun
> <>wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I'm new to this group and excited to have been accepted. I joined becaus=
e
>> I'm having difficulty finding the answer to my question elsewhere and al=
l
>> posts seem to lead back to this group. I'm headed out next month to hike=
 the
>> John Muir Trail in central California (from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney). I =
am a
>> location sound mixer and sound effects editor and am looking to gather s=
ome
>> new material while I'm on this hike. I'm looking for an answer as to wha=
t
>> people think might be the best solution for gathering stereo recordings =
on
>> the trail.
>>
>> My current location rig (that I take backpacking as well) includes a Sou=
nd
>> Devices 302 mixer, 744t recorder, 2 Sennheiser 416's, stereo mount, and =
an
>> Aquarian Audio hydrophone (can be cool as a contact mic every once in a
>> while).
>>
>> I love my 416's but the self noise gets to be really problematic when th=
e
>> element I'm trying to record is low (which unfortunately kills a lot of =
what
>> would otherwise be nice bird bg's, etc.). This also leads to excessively
>> EQ'ing or denoising the end product, when the recording is low, and it
>> really affects the overall depth of the recording in a negative way. I'v=
e
>> been looking into an MS setup, but am curious what people would recommen=
d
>> for this? On the trail I'm hoping for a generally dry experience (will o=
f
>> course prep for water as needed) but I'm trying to take that into
>> consideration for which mics are the best candidate. I've also looked in=
to
>> the Telinga parabolic setups (the DATmic Twin Science looked particularl=
y
>> intriguing) and am curious if anyone has used those before?
>>
>> Any advice on this dilemma would be greatly appreciated! I look forward =
to
>> sharing some recordings when I get back, and hopefully they'll be even
>> better after receiving advice from the experts here in the nature record=
ing
>> niche. Thank you for reading this post, and in advance for any advice gi=
ven.
>>
>> Durand Trench
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Daan Hendriks - Audiomotif
>
> Sound Design | Music Production | Audio Editing
> http://www.daanhendriks.co.uk
> <http://www.audiomotif.co.uk/>
> http://www.audiomotif.co.uk
> +44(0)7842917821
> skype: humanworkshop
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>



--
-----------------------------------------------------------
jeremiah moore | SOUND | 
http://www.jeremiahmoore.com/






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