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I'm sort of new to field recording, but I'm really keen to use natural sounds in my work. I wanted to know what people look for in a field recording, and any tips on the kinds of places to find interesting sounds.

ashley75
I'm sort of new to field recording, but I'm really keen to use natural sounds in my work. I wanted to know what people look for in a field recording, and any tips on the kinds of places to find interesting sounds.

Hi,

that's a good question, but likely with as many answers as persons.
I for one have never made trips specifically aimed at recording, just use the spare time while I do my field work... and as a result I 'produce' lots of sounds from scrubland and forest environment, yet dont have a single sample at the beach or on a boat, for example. Recording at the city is a last resort for me since my preferences go with softer sounds, but I bet any place can yield interesting/evocative noise. The way I see it sound field recording is like taking photographs, it's just a matter of being alert and carrying some equipment.

As for what people may look for in a field recording...who can know? (and should we care?

saludos

Thanks for your reply. I'm interested to know, what you do with your recorded sound? As a newcomer to this area the material I've recorded so far I've edited into sounds for music, but often my samples lose their original quality and become more like traditional sounds (drums etc.).

I'm intrigued to find out what other people do with their work?

I do go out on specific recording missions - but to record what I want to ... not generally what I think Freesounders will want - it's got to touch me first. Yes, I sometimes respond to requests - but only where it produces a "Oh yes, good idea" feeling in me.
A lot of the art in field recording is being there, ready, at the right time - much like photography. hence equipment needs to be highly portable. My MD and mic is no more bulk / weight than a compact digital camera.

What do people want? ... well look at the popular downloads list - it's mainly thunderstorms, seashore sounds, and bell / chime -like sounds ...

For good examples of what to do with sounds, I would say listen to compositions by Pitx -
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/packsViewSingle.php?id=950
and thence
http://www.soundlift.com/band/music.php?song_id=215054

Masterful!

But what I do with sounds is mainly just add them to Freesound!

Mike

Thanks for that. Can I ask another question?

How do you find using the MD for recording? I used to have one years ago and got rid of it.

md isn't all that bad. i know some people will bitch about it but its a cheaper and mobile unit that makes recording on the fly fast and easy. sound isnt that bad either and a good mic helps.

most people here probably use sounds for small movies they are doing or other art projects. its fun to go out and just record sounds and see if it gonna be useful for someone here. it usually is-because someone out there might use something you don't think YOU WOULD.

me i ride the muni here so much here in san fran that i tend to record a lot of train sounds and city sounds etc.

i think its about where your'e at as opposed to what you need- (for beginners that is).

I've been very happy with MD, and have been using it for 5 years. The Sony MZ-N10 is the best I've had (on my 2nd as the first got trodden on) . Mic pre-amp seems fairly good, and there's plenty of gain for doing nature recordings (cf iriver H120 which is a bit low on gain). I use an ECM-MS907 stereo mic (£80). The whole setup is compact, and I like the separate disks as it operates like an inherent index. There's plenty of MD units selling cheap on eBay. My MZ-N10 cost me £50.

Main fag is slow (real time) transfer to PC. I currently use optical transfer, but that involves a HiFi MD deck (MDS-JB980) into an Edirol UA-1ex -- this I prefer to the USB option with Sony's dubious software.

Listen to my recordings and judge quality for yourself.

acclivity
There's plenty of MD units selling cheap on eBay. My MZ-N10 cost me £50.

You were lucky... I confess because of *your* recordings I keep an eye on eBay for the MZ-N10, but no success till now (not without remorse since as you know there's something personal between Sony and me As for the new Sony MD MZ-N1, seemingly oriented to recording... it's realtively expensive. The Edirol R09 has more features + the brand is not included in my personal 'axis of evil, so I guess I'll wait and see.

i agree with acc. he pretty much hit it on the head. i have a mz-m1- and i love it. seen many of them on ebay for cheap because i d o believe they aren't making them anymore.

but ebay is the way to go. many of them on there for dirt cheap i have an older model i got on there for under 100 bucks and it works excellent-i probably never should have gotten a new one.

I've heard great stuff about MD's. My self-imposed Scavenger Ethic prevents me from *buying* one, but my little recordable-walkman does some good stuff, its got a Line In for an external mic so I dont suffer too much from Motor Noise.
Field recording yields a lot of surprise results - rain dripping into a watertank is pretty spectacular, so is throwing a basketball down a multi-storey stairwell.
If you can find the movie "Star Wars : SFX" I can positively guarantee you'll go straight outside and start hitting everything in sight with a spanner.