Omni or directional mics for outdoor recording?
No contest. An omni mic designed for outdoor use will be much less prone to
wind noice than a cardioid. Hence my selection of the RE50. Additionally,
the business part of the mic is enclosed in a handholdable casing.
While a cardioid may function adequately on a windless day, the right omni
will take wind gusts of 10-15 mph in its stride.
David Lewiston
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Lewiston" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: April 18, 2006 6:01 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] portable sound recording devices
> Thanks, Steve
>
> I didn't realise the vulnerability of condenser mics until I had a
> terrible time in Jammu. Nearly all the recordings (male "singers" who
> shouted at the tops of their lungs) yielded vilely distorted recordings.
>
> My good friend Nishi Nakra in Delhi -- to my way of thinking, the best
> loudspeaker designer in India, thought it was the "capsules bottoming."
> But when I discussed the problem with Klaus Heyne, the microphone maestro,
> he opined that it was the FETs that caused the problem. So I paid his not
> inconsiderable fee to have the mics (KM84s) Klaused.
>
> I use three basic setups in the field: Mid-Side, with a KM84 and a
> Sennheiser MKH30 configured in a Rycote windscreen, for street recording,
> and also small combos indoors; a pair of crossed KM84s to record Tibetan
> rituals, with the mics set up at the shrine end of the temple; and a
> spaced pair of RE50s--I've made amazing good recordings with the latter,
> in fact, they're the only mics I use in Bali, where I also insist on
> recording outdoors. The current crop of DAWs (I use Samplitude) make it a
> snap to turn Mid-Side originals into regular stereo.
>
> Salutations, David L
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steven Smolian" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: April 18, 2006 4:44 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] portable sound recording devices
>
>
>> If this is the David Lewiston who made the Explorer Series for Nonesuch,
>> etc., he has more experience than all of us combined in recording folk
>> instruments and groups under all kinds of circumstances. I've admired
>> his skillful work from the git-go.
>>
>> Steve Smolian
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Richard L. Hess" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2006 10:07 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] portable sound recording devices
>>
>>
>>> At 09:34 PM 4/18/2006, David Lewiston wrote:
>>>>When recording such a loud instrument, the mic should not be too close
>>>>to it. For pipes & shawms I prefer not to place the mics closer than 20
>>>>feet. Because such loud instruments are intended to be heard out of
>>>>doors, that's where I record them.
>>>>
>>>>If a condenser mic mic is too close to such a loud instrument, it may
>>>>well overload diaphragm and/or the FET. I've run into this sort of
>>>>problem.
>>>>
>>>>For such an application I would leave the Neumann condensers in the
>>>>carrying bag, choosing instead a dynamic omni such as the EV RE 50,
>>>>which is very well behaved.
>>>
>>> I don't disagree with the advice but the mic preamp may be what is
>>> overloaded, not the mic itself.
>>>
>>> Do bagpipes really get up to 120 dB SPL where you would mic them? The
>>> Audio Technica AT-822 that I suggested as a good buy will generate 1%
>>> THD at 1 kHz at 125 dB SPL.
>>>
>>> At that point, the mic will be putting out over half a volt AC.
>>>
>>> If indeed the bagpipe is putting out in excess of 120 dB SPL, then the
>>> musician needs to seriously worry about hearing protection.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Richard
>>>
>>>
>>> Tape Restoration Seminar: MAY 9-12, 2006; details at Web site.
>>> Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
>>> Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
>>> Detailed contact information:
>>> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
>>>
>>> --
>>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>>> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>>> Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.4.3/316 - Release Date: 4/17/2006
>>>
>>>
|