> The question is, how do you deal with noise pollution?
Glenn,
That's the art of field recording. Full stop. :-)
When I got paid for doing it, my job description was virtually "minimising=
noise".
First train your ears to hear noise. They are very good at ignoring noise.=
When I had trainees. I started out by asking them to list everything they
could hear. Top marks if they included tinnitus. :-)
Cup your hands behind your ears and listen all round and up and down.
Try baffling the unwanted sound. Try putting the mics on the ground or
behind a vehicle or buiding or anything that can form a baffle including
your body if you can breathe quietly.
I've got a grain mill about a mile away and the wind can bring in a whine a=
t
a fixed pitch. I sometimes use a mild narrow notch filter in the free
Audacity editor to reduce it provided it doesn't interfere with the natural=
sounds I want.
> On the first attempt besides the local natural sounds I got a forest
> service tractor clearing a road about 2 miles away, 3 or 4 airplanes
> and a heavy truck. None of which I could hear with my bare ears.
Oh yes you can. :-) If not, wave a directional mic around and listen out at=
a higher level.
More directional mics are more complex to use in stereo, but starting with =
a
cardiod, you can face this away from a noise source rather than directly at=
the scene you want to record. For instance if you have a low reflective
ground texture and a pair of cardioids, try tilting them downwards to
minimise plane noise.
Bear in mind than many stereo mic rigs are also sensitive to sounds/noise
above, below and to the rear.
If all else fails, read the arguments on this list on how best to get good=
natural sounds.
David Brinicombe
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