Hi again Martyn,
hmmm, perhaps my explanation didn't quite....explain :)
I have no wish to 'amplify the sound of tranquility', which is counter to w=
hat it might be. If I have an approach to places that are still, contain qu=
ietudes, then its that when i'm lucky I capture moments in these environmen=
ts.
My reason for wanting to get more umpff into my 7 series is simply that whe=
n recording in architectural empty spaces its possible to play with very su=
btle tonal shifts in the pick up of the room acoustics if you increase gain=
. This adds hiss & so if there's a mic than has a higher signal but low noi=
se i'd like to experiment with doing it this way.
For those interested, a good example of this is when recording tuned spaces=
such as early english churches (tuned by sound jars placed in the walls). =
With something like the mkh mics or some good large diaphragm mics, with th=
e 7 series you can just about pick up the extra tone - if you then ride the=
gain you begin to hear it increase slightly (we're talking a very subtle c=
hange here) but there comes a point where the noise of the pre's on the rec=
order are too intrusive. I've tried recording these kinds of sounds with in=
fra sound mics too & that's interesting, but again these have relatively lo=
w signals in the first place.
ta.
--- In Martyn Stewart <> wrote:
>
> I bought the same soundfield ST450 that Chris uses, I spoke with Chris an=
d he said that he was happy with the setup but it is not a mic I would use =
in a quieter environment for sure. Its self noise is far too noisy, If you =
were to crank up that mic all you would be doing is increasing the noise th=
at is made of the mic like many others out there.
>
> I ditched that set up and bought the Schoeps Double MS set up and found i=
t far superior to quieter environments but I still fail to see the need to =
jack up the gain like you explain here. One of the more quieter microphones=
in the field, the MKH-20 and the 8020 will still amplify their self noise =
if the gain is increased.
> In 40 plus years of working in sound, I have never really understood the =
need to amplify the sound of tranquility to what it actually sounds like in=
reality.
> Of course you couldn't really increase analog recordings in the old days =
without producing tape hiss.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Martyn
> *************************************
> Martyn Stewart
> www.naturesound.org
> www.soundofcritters.com
>
> Redmond WA
> 425-898-0462
>
> 47.65420118705451
> -121.98158740997314
>
> Make every garden a wildlife habitat
> **************************************
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>
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>
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>
> On Apr 18, 2012, at 1:51 PM, Jez wrote:
>
> > Hi Martyn,
> >
> > thanks for the reply. I've been recording for 30+ years so the points y=
ou make are all well known. For one thing I prefer not to add gain in post,=
simply because of my approach to recording. What interests me is listening=
& so I actually press 'record' less & less, but I record a lot of very qui=
et sounds - inc. empty spaces. The reason I want to get some extra umpfff i=
nto my 7 series recorder is mainly due to the fact that even with the best =
mics I find that some situations I could do with a bit more gain (without e=
xtra noise) to give a rich impression of certain acoustic spaces. I'm inter=
ested right now in the relative volume of certain microphones & how they im=
pact on the ability of the acoustics to find places within the signal.
> >
> > I tutor here on the Wildeye courses, along with Chris Watson & so i'm l=
ucky to have the opportunity to test all kinds of mics - inc. the soundfiel=
d mics, which are very good indeed but i'm searching still for mics that ge=
t me closer to that indefinable 'something' that I want to feel when I list=
en through them.
> >
> > ta,
> >
> > Jez
> >
> > --- In Martyn Stewart <mstew@> wrote:
> > >
> > > I must admit that in all the time I have used the Sound Devices serie=
s of recorders, I have never had to worry about using extra gain, The Sennh=
eiser MKH series microphones are calibrated to my needs, I use one specific=
setting on the rotary pots and this has been sufficient from day one. What=
could you possibly be recording that you need to jack up the gain so much?=
I use a 552 mixer when i'm on location with a film crew only. Recording na=
ture, I try to listen with my ears first of the ambient sound and then set =
the headphone gain to match what I am hearing. If you need more gain later,=
increase the gain in post production.
> > >
> > > With direct cabling from MKH30/40, after setting MS for stereo, I set=
my Tone Level on the 722/788t at -30dB. Then set input level at 56.7dBA (b=
y adjusting the rotary pot just to the left of the "menu" button and viewin=
g the momentary reading on the screen). Because the Sennheiser have virtual=
ly no variation between mics in the MKH series, this provides a standard ca=
librated input level of 64dBA relative to a -30dB meter reading and will re=
sults in accurate assessment of signal ranges for later analysis.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
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