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Re: the frustrations of engine noise

Subject: Re: the frustrations of engine noise
From: "Scott Fraser" scottbfraser
Date: Thu Jul 5, 2012 8:43 am ((PDT))
<<Could you say more about directional mics? I'm not sure I understand what=
 you are suggesting here. It sounds like you are saying that some mics have=
 better vertical rejection while retaining horizontal acceptance? Is that w=
hat you mean? That would be very useful in so many situations. Would that a=
pply to the ME66 as well as the MKH-416 (which is way beyond my means)? My =
problems with airplane noise have increased since I started recording with =
omnis in a home built sass/pbba type array. Getting a second used ME66 is d=
oable and worth considering if you think that would help reduce noise from =
the sky.>>

The problem with aircraft noise is that it doesn't just come from the sky. =
It arrives to our ears & microphones from all directions because we are in =
a diffuse field, meaning the volume of the reflected sound is equal to or g=
reater than the volume of the direct sound. In my experience there's only a=
 marginal difference between aiming a cardioid mic away from or directly at=
 a passing aircraft. Same with distant traffic, you get a few dB improvemen=
t at best by aiming away from the general direction of a highway. Having a =
big physical barrier, such as a hill, between you & that highway will do fa=
r more to attenuate traffic noise than merely aiming your mic the other way=
.
A directional microphone does not have a horizontal nor vertical orientatio=
n. It picks up equally well above & below the horizon as it does to the sid=
es. Also realize that adding a second directional mic makes the resulting s=
tereo array less directional than a single mic.

Scott Fraser








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