 |
 |
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. David Lewiston ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Richter" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: April 18, 2006 2:17 PM Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] portable sound recording devices > Lani Spahr wrote: >> Hello everyone - >> >> A friend of mine recently asked me for advice on portable sound >> recording devices. He's a fellow piper (I know some of you cannot >> resist the temptation for making jokes, so now's your chance :-)) who >> wants to record his lessons. He said he tried a $100 device that was >> probably a voice recorder with less than great results. So what would >> you all recommend? - short of not playing the pipes :-) >> >> Cheers, >> Lani > > Nothing in that price range will be satisfying. You need a recorder with > separate mike input and with defeatable AGC (automatic gain control). The > pipes have a wide dynamic range, so AGC will be fatal to decent sound. > Built-in mikes have too limited frequency range; it's okay to have one, > but be sure that a better one can be plugged in, defeating any internal. > > I'd like to suggest an MD recorder, but suspect that that would be out of > his price range, especially with the above. On the other hand, he should > be able to locate a portable cassette player at a thrift shop which will > do what's needed, then pick up a better mike when the budget permits. > > The voice recorders built into MP3 players are cute, convenient and will > be unsatisfactory for sound. > > Mike > -- > [log in to unmask] > http://www.mrichter.com/