> Looking for some advice regarding equipment to get started. My
> research indicates a shotgun mic with a balloon cover and a digital
> recorder
Frank,
First decide on your price limit. Bear in mind if you get hooked, you
will soon want to go over this limit.
1) Mic. Either play with a cheap mic, bearing in mind the additional
cost of a good "basket and cover" windshield which is essential. A
fair quality mic is important so, if you are going to get hooked,
spend your budget on something you won't need to update, or buy gear
you can resell. Look for a mic sensitivity of over 20mv/Pa. Forget the
other specs - you get what you pay for. I rarely use anything other
than a gunmic.
2) Recorder. Read the mails on this list and get thoroughly confused.
:-) When it comes to recording quality there really isn't anything to
choose between them apart from the input stage.
3) Mic preamp. If you pay more for your recorder, you can get one with
a good built in preamp which is impedance matched to your mic,
otherwise consider using a separate preamp or mixer.
4) Look for quality used gear. All mine is second hand hand pro
quality stuff. (two MKH-416 gunmics, SQN mixer, Tascam DR1 recorder -
but that lot is into four figures). I get good results from just the
mics into the Tascam XLR inputs but it really needs external power
when powering the mics.
5) Don't panic about background system noise until you're hooked..
That's where the =A3/$000 go to. Get the right sounds first and if
necessary noise can be reduced with a good sound editor. I use
Audacity.
David
David Brinicombe
North Devon, UK
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
|