Niki,
It is difficult to follow Max's excellent summary. Too much advice can
be distracting, but I would list one other type of mic - a gunmic.
These have a less active area all around and behind and are good for
picking out more distant sounds but are also good for close sounds.
These are the "industry standard" mics inside the sausage windshields
you see wielded by news crews or mounted on cameras.
With stereo, you will see advertised "mono-stereo" or "mid-side" mics
using a gunmic for forward sounds. Unfortunately the "side" mic picks
up sounds from all over, losing the benefit of the gunmic for nature
recording. You can of course fade out the "side" mic and just use the
mono sound and that is why they are popular with the media.
I use old used Sennheiser gunmics from eBay in pairs for stereo, but
mounting them at a angle of about 40 degrees is a problem. I have also
got a long "rifle" gunmic which is excellent for pulling in distant
sounds but which can be a bit large and heavy to use.
I've got a pic of my stereo pair in a tent to keep the weather off
them on:
http://www.stowford.org/recordings.htm#aprildawn
Note that they are mounted low - you don't need a tripod.
> ... and a third is to maybe, one day, make music with portions of
> it. When I was in college I picked up a CD by Manuel Obregon at
> Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica. It was a "conversation"
> between his piano and the forest.
This is the best idea. Listen to the following slowed down recording
in the above link to hear what we are missing in much of the birdsong.
Also look out for the classical composer Messiaen, who used tropical
birdsong in his music.
David
David Brinicombe
North Devon, UK
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
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