Re: Field recording

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Hi Tom,

although the response to your questions was not bad I add some more to it:

I travelled in 1997 for some months in Botswana (high temperature
changes night/day, LOTS of dust. See:
http://www.musikologie.de/schoepfe.htm , see the first picture of
ORTF-like setup in front of a musician) with a Tascam DA-P1, a pair of
AKG C391B and a solar panel. Because I was afraid of the dust, I taped
all the buttons of the recorder and operated it like that (know your
gear!), but without mechanical parts in your recorder you maybe don't
need to be so paranoid... I quite often used the ORTF-setup proposed by
others on the list (ORTF means: take two pressure gradient mics
(=cardioid or hypercardioid); set the capsules 17,5cm (the distance of
the two human ears) apart and point them outwards so that the including
angle of the mics is 110°. To adapt to the situation, you can dicrease
the angle, but 110° will be the best in most situations. I had a small
stand with a maximum height of about 40cm and sometimes put the whole
thing on a chair or a table to have enough height. I am still happy with
my recordings today, but what I would change for the next time is:

1) buy a good windscreen, even if its 50% of the price of the mic!
2) my standards have increased, so today I would take more expensive
mics (like Neumann KM184 or KM185).

I can only recommend using two single microphones. Just practice a
little at home (not only on the day before you leave, please!). Two mics
help you to deal with very different situations, like using one for the
principal singer only and the other one for the rest of the ensemble
because the drum may be so loud... in this respect, hypercardoids are
more selective in their directivity (that's why they are build). Or, if
you have a singer accompanying himself on some long or short necked lute
( :-) ), point one up to his mouth, the other one down to his
instruments' saddle, a thing that does not work well with a small stereo
mic working on the MS-principle. The already recommended Beyer M201TG
are very rugged and clear in sound and are dynamic (don't need phantom
power!) - definitely a recommendation for field work - and do not suffer
from cell phones operating too close to them as some other mics do. And:
Oh yes, I had shock mounts and needed them: I just held the ORTF-setup
with the shock mounted mics in hand following a choir dancing
considerable distances - no disturbing noise on the recording because of
my hands.

On your way TO the field, take the recording gear in your hand luggage,
on the way BACK the flash cards!

Have a good trip!
:-J


Tom Ashby schrieb:
> Dear rec.audio.pro,
> I am writing to ask for advice on budget field recording techniques. I
> am hoping to travel to the far East in the very near future as part of a
> small project to record folk music traditions. A major part of this will
> be the recording of folk music itself. I am looking to put together a
> small, highly portable (and hopefully not too expensive) rig for making
> these recordings, to be operated by one person and carried for up to
> several days at a time. Unfortunately we do not have much information
> about the conditions under which will be recording, but it is likely to
> include scenarios such as individual musicians (vocalist or mandolin for
> example) and small groups of up to five or so musicians either on the
> street, in small buildings or outside at festival gatherings.
>
> We have pretty much decided on the recording unit already. We chose the
> Tascam HD-P2 for the following reasons: inbuilt limiter, removable
> batteries, reasonable battery powered operation time, solid connectors,
> light weight, good recording quality.
>
> Where we are really unsure is microphone choice and techniques, as
> nobody has much experience in this area. The mics need to be robust,
> capable of capturing a stereo sound field, lightweight, unobtrusive,
> idiot proof :-) and ideally self powered (phantom powering cuts the
> battery life on the recorder). Oh, and they need to make good recordings
> for voice and folk instruments! Currently we are toying with either
> getting two AKG C1000s with a stereo bar, or a stereo mic such as the
> Audio Technica 825. The C1000s are more flexible and cheaper, but
> heavier, more awkward and obtrusive, and prone to being set up
> incorrectly by non experts such as ourselves. The 825 is more expensive
> and less flexible, but there is only one thing to deal with and we don't
> have to worry about dodgy recordings due to phase cancellation etc.
>
> Another area where we need advice is the mount for the microphone.
> Although it may be possible to carry a small lightweight stand, it is
> probably preferable to be able to hold the mics in hand whilst doing the
> recordings. How difficult is it to do this in practice without making
> lots of noise on the microphone? Is a shock mount necessary for this?
> Also, given that we may well be outside, how important are windshields
> above and beyond what comes with the microphones themselves? There are
> also budget concerns here -- a stand is cheap, but as far as I can tell
> shock mounts and windshields are rather expensive.
>
> And finally, what general tips can you offer that you wish you'd been
> told when you were starting out? Thanks in advance,
>
> Tom.

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