Hi Curt and Klas
Thanks for your useful comments.
In 2006/7 I was tempted to buy a pair of WL183s after reading encouraging p=
osts here regarding their use. I was put off because of their high retail =
price in the UK and invested in some Rode mics instead. I eventually bough=
t a pair of AT3032s when they were being sold off cheaply prior to being di=
scontinued.
You can imagine my delight at being able to get the MX391s via the ebay off=
er. I am extremely pleased with them.
At the end of February this year I was able to test out the MX391s in what =
can only be described as a "robust soundscape". I visited my Daughter and =
her family in Elmshausen, S.W. Germany. Elmshausen is a small village in t=
he Oldenwald about halfway between Frankfurt and Heidelburg. It is situate=
d in a hollow surrounded by steep, wooded hills. From earlier visits I new=
the area was good for woodpeckers of both the spotted and green type so I =
planned to record them on this trip.
Because I was travelling by air this was a good opportunity to field test t=
he newly constructed lightweight head spaced boundary, fitted with MX391s f=
eeding the Olympus LS-10. Photos of the rig are in this album
https://picasaweb.google.com/G0SBW.PM/MX391MicRig?authuser=3D0&feat=3Ddirec=
tlink
I walked up a nearby hill into the wood and set up the boundary rig on a li=
ghtweight tripod and waited for my woodpeckers. It was quite a wait and th=
ere was not a lot of action. I walked back to the rig and as I got there a=
woodpecker started drumming above and just to the left of the mics.
http://soundcloud.com/g0sbw/tripod-woodpeckers
This made it all worth while despite the background noise which was intrusi=
ve all the time. I think the hills surrounding the village amplified the n=
oise of the busy B47 road, which runs through the village, buzz saws in the=
woods and aircraft going to and from Frankfurt, as well as the sound of ch=
ildren in the kindergarten and the matins bells from the other villages in =
the area. Hence my comment about the "robust soundscape".
During the visit I also took the opportunity of trying out the boundary rig=
in "tree ears" configuration. Again the noise problem was there.
At one point during the tree ears recording I was bending over, with my bac=
k to the track through the woods, using headphones to monitor the recording=
and was astonished by what I monitored. To use a Star Trek phrase "Its a =
bird's song, but not as we know it, Jim".
http://soundcloud.com/g0sbw/a-birds-song-but-not-as-we
Apologies for that - but it is close to April 1:-) and it does nicely demon=
strate the stereo capability of the MX391/boundary set up. The last four p=
hotos in the above web album show the tree ears configuration.
As I was packing up the gear at this site the ruggedness of the MX391s was =
demonstrated. The tree on which the rig was suspended was at the top of a =
2 metre bank at the side of the woodland track. As I was scrambling down t=
he bank I managed to slip and landed on top of the bag holding the boundary=
rig etc. I managed to bend the boundary (easily fixed with brute strength=
and glue) but the 391s were not even scratched.
Cheers, TomR
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