Freesound Forums

Hello,

I have an interest in nature sounds: rain, forest ambience, ocean/lake ambience, crickets, etc. etc. Just listening to some of the quality recordings here has piqued my interest into wanting to record my own. I invision putting music to them, and/or using them as backdrops to videos of my insect macro photos, etc.

I have done some basic research and would like to purchase a microphone to be used to pic up crisp, clear sounds of things from rain, thunder, crickets, bees, etc., etc. basically all kinds of nature sounds.

Would anyone mind taking a moment and sharing some recommendations or the microphone(s) you use? My budget would be $500, and maybe some extra $ for any kind of wind shield (if that's the proper term) to prevent any breeze from ruining the recording. I can't justify in my head spending $750 or more for a microphone at this time (hopefully I won't need to).

Is a shotgun microphone what i would want? Do i want binaural microphones? I also am not sure if I need the dish that helps zoom/focus the sound in a particular direction (if that makes sense)?

How about the Rode-NT4 and the Audio Technica AE5100?

And I would definitely contribute my recordings here, this is an excellent project. Kudos to everyone for their time and work. This is simply inspiring (as I'm sure you can tell)

-Paul

P.S. I already own a $100 pair of Sony collapsable headphones which I use for dabbling in making my own music. I think they would be good for monitors?

Zoom H4 or H2 here I come !

Of course there is also the Edirol R09.

Tough decision.
It's kind of foolish for me, a complete amateur, to jump into the deep end of the pool so to speak and purchase $1,000 worth of equipment when I don't even know what my final use will be beyond hobby purposes.

So I will start out reasonable and grab the Zoom H4 or H2 or Edirol R09 (if anyone owns one of these please chime in I would like to know which is better).

I have heard some of the H4 samples on here and I loved what I heard! I'm inspired! So thanks Zoom users! Now i must find Edirol R09 samples!

Paul

Don't use the R09 unless you will a field preamp. The mic amp noise on this is an issue for nature recording in quiet places. Although the R09 is fine for music where you have loud sounds, nature recording tends to be all about weak sounds and you are never close enugh, so this issue with the R09 is peculiar to that application, and not a criticism of the recorder itself.

You could take a look at http://www.wildlife-sound.org/equipment/newcomersguide/index.html for some more info

You need to get a clearer concept of what you want to record. Ambiences can be recorded very well using either spaced omnis or some sort of coincident rig, but slightly spaced omnis give the best sound on these to my ears, as long as you are not looking for strict broadcast mono compatibility.

If you are trying to record one particular individual you need something more directional - a shotgun mic is good. A parabolic dish is also good though it tends to emphasise high frequencies. That is oftne, but not always, what you want at a distance.

Do not record crickets using a parabolic dish. Your ears will bleed for days I am still trying to work out how that ever looked like a good idea when I tried it not once but two days in a row - harshness eeeeeuuuwwww

Your microphone should cost more than your recorder as a rule of thumb....