A job has me recording ambience and environmental sounds in stereo in a cave. It’ll be for a max of 4 hours, probably less, but I’m still wary about my equipment adversely reacting to the humidity. Any tips I can approach the task with to get clean audio? Or am I being too paranoid?

What does the Echo Meter Touch 2 Pro that's used with a ipad or iphone offer over the non-pro mic? It looks like the pro will give you bat ID during use, but then allow for highly accurate ID later with the recording analyzed by paid software. I think the Touch 2 will do that as well, perhaps the Pro is more sensitive? One poster in a bat subreddit said that the Pro samples at higher frequencies needed for tropical bats.

Hello, I'm currently undergoing a noise project somewhat inspired by 4'33. in my pursuit to do so I am in need of a microphone I can use to capture field recordings (directional preferred but not essential), my biggest criterion is that it outputs to 3.5mm and has some internal amplification. I will be recording to cassette so digital audio is not ideal. high self noise is perfectly acceptable. Ideally I would be looking for something under $200 CAD.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you all for the valuable input. I will for now be opting for a Rode Shotgun Mic, and record to digital before dubbing to cassette to enable physical violence against storage media.

We have one pair of Schoeps MK2+CMC6 and one pair of the tiny DPA ST2006C (https://www.da-x.de/de/dpa-d-dicate-st2006c.html). The current wind shields are not very good for exterior ambient recording so I was thinking about a pair of Radius Mini-ALTOs.

To be able to fit both pairs, it would have to be the 180 version. Do you think that the empty space would be causing weird comb filtering for the DPAs (they measure 6cm in length) since they are really short? Or should we be fine using the 180 shields for both setups?

Hi everyone,

I got a ZOOM F3 last month and have only used it to record around 3 times. But I couldn't monitor at all what I was hearing because whenever I connected headphones, this really loud noise would come out. The digital noise bypasses volume control and also gets into the recording itself.

I've been unable to troubleshoot this and wondering if there's any fix or is this simply a faulty unit.
Has anyone had a similar issue?

thanks

Has anyone experienced an issue with the DR-40 (ancient, prehistoric version) that when you press the power button it just shuts off shortly after trying to power on? And if I hold it down it might start up???

Considering potentially getting the Zoom M3 or M4 for easy field recording, just using the internal microphones. Especially when combined with filming this could be useful, mounting either to the cold shoe, when you don't want or aren't able to use the heavier gear.

The M3 seems like the better choice. It's all internal, no external capabilities, which you would assume means it would have overall better microphones. But maybe the M4 microphones sound just as good, or even better?

Would love to hear some thoughts and experiences.

Just bought a Zoom H2essential and I'm a bit confused about the battery life.

I'm using 2800 mAh NiMH rechargeable AAs, recording at 48 kHz, and battery type is set to NiMH.

Using stereo front n rear at 90.

The recorder is showing a very low remaining battery time after recording for a few mins. Is this normal for a new H2essential, or could it be a battery/charger issue? Or did I got a faulty product.

What battery life are you guys getting?

I want to get a Zoom recorder to make field recordings at various locations using the built-in mics.

I’ve narrowed it down to the Zoom H4n Pro and Zoom H2n based on price and availability on the used market in my area, but I can’t decide between the two. I’m hoping to get some advice from someone who has tried these devices or is knowledgeable about Zoom products in general.

My friend has the H4n Pro and I’m really impressed with the audio quality. I also like the fact that it has XLR inputs. I’m not planning on using this feature right now, but I may in the future. The only issue with this device is that I’m not sure if I can record directly into my iPhone. It is not listed on the Zoom website as being compatible with the iPhone so I assume it won’t work.

With the H2n, however, I could definitely record the audio directly into my iPhone with no need to sync the audio and video in post. This would be really convenient but I’m worried it won’t sound as good as the H4n Pro.

Which one should I go for? Another option? Thanks in advance.

I recently found my old H5 after almost 10 years. I originally thought it was completely broken because I accidentally dropped it in water and at the time wasn't working so I never used it again.

I tried earlier and to my surprise it boots. The problem is that I have to keep holding the power down, if i let go, it'll instantly turn off. I've tried: fully charged double A batteries, and booting with and without the SD card (which still works normally in my mac). I haven't tried with a usb yet (I dont have one), but i assume the same problem will persist.

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas for potential fixes? And also is that black screen meant to appear whilst its booting?

Do the XLR cables matter in field recording? How important are they? Should you invest in expensive high quality cables from reputable brands, or will anything do? Will they affect the recorded audio at all?

I want to record the exhaust sound of my motorcycle while I'm out riding, I make videos with gopro hero 13 and want the best possible sound.

After doing some research, I found a portable recorder (like the H1E) would be a good choice, 32 bit recording, stereo, however there are a few issues:

- The exhaust is only on one side of the motorcycle, so I'm not sure if stereo makes sense here

- I'm riding a Yamaha MT-09 with an SC project CRT exhaust, the loudness can reach 130db+

So after some more research, I'd need a recorder that can handle 130db+, which led me to the zoom H6E, however it's large, and once again, I'm not sure stereo makes sense when the sound source is focused on one side of the bike.

Another solution would be a recorder like the Zoom F3, with a high SPL lav mic, easier to choose placement, however can get more expensive and records in Mono only (unless I buy 2 mics, but once again, does that even make sense with a single exhaust output?)

I'm getting a bit of analysis paralysis here and would love to hear some opinions on what setup I should use in this particular case. Thanks!

I need a field recorder for capturing forest sounds, also need it to have an XLR in put so that ̛can add a shotgun when needed. It looks to me like Zoom is the best option, and I have seen M4, H5 s tudio, H4 essentials. In terms of audio quality, which is the best? The options really confuse me.

forgot to add: I prefer something with in built mic also for stereo recording. if not, I should get an external stereo mic within the budget.

thanks!

I heard a recent set of field recordings using a matched pair of these Superlux E208s. Does anyone have any information on what capsules might be being used in these? They sounded rather good, with low self noise, and their published spec is 14 db I believe.

Did you? What was your experience? Does the shotgun mic add anything useful?

I’m new to field recording and I’m looking to buy one of these and wonder which is better. I’m mostly looking something that’s portable and I can just carry around in my bag and sounds good with the built in mics and mic preamps. I would likely just be using it handheld and I know the M4 is meant to have low handling noise but does anyone have any experience with these and could give any advice on which to choose?

New taper here. I’m asking do you all re-use SD cards? Once I transfer masters to the cloud and external HDD, should I just re-format and reuse the sd cards? SD MixPre asks me to format every time I start a recording anyway.
Thanx

Hey guys!

I have the tc1's and the scratch mic is very bad, i was wandering if i get a d4 mini mic and plug in the tc1 in the imput of the mic will that write only the timecode audio to the audio file on the camera or will in also write the tc1 mic audio as well? has anyone tried this and does it work?

My Moman 99 Pro battery died. Can you suggest an external battery for my Zoom F8n Pro recorder that's not too expensive? I'd like one I can carry on an airplane. I have D-tap to Hirose cables, but would be willing to update cables. I'm confused about newer batteries. A lot of newer batteries have USB-A and USB-C connectors. Thanks.

Have the sudden chance to capture some Bison and nature sounds this weekend and wanted to finally make a upgrade some audio equipment.

I'll preface by saying I don't have a ton of experience in audio (just a little with my Zoom H1 and MKE-600). Ideally would like a setup under $600 that could do both A/B and ORTF placements...but not sure if there is 1 mic type that can do both? Leaning towards a matching pair of SO.1 omnis with the Zoom F3. I have a couple of 3k/5k pods for possible mounts.

Ideally looking for something that I could get shipped in 2 days. Thanks for your help!

Hobbyist here. Title says it all.

I’m looking for a small recorder to take with me while hiking and I’m stuck between the Tascam DR-05XP and DR-07XP (getting both for cheap) or any other you may recommend.

The main thing is that I will not be using external microphones with it. This is solely meant to be a small, graband go pocket recorder that I can carry while hiking without having to bring a whole recording setup.

I’d mainly use it for nature sounds, forests, birds, streams, wind, rain, interesting environmental sounds, etc during my hikes.

From what I understand, the DR-05XP has omni built-in mics, while the DR-07XP has directional mics that can be adjusted between A/B and X/Y.

So for this specific use case, which would you choose?

My priorities are:

• built-in mic quality
• low self-noise
• natural/immersive stereo recording
• good performance with quiet environmental sounds
• small and easy to carry
• PiP for future??

Love to hear from anyone who has actually used the 05XP or 07XP for hiking/field recording, especially if you’ve used both.

By that I mean, if I intend to try to sell recordings, should they be of a specific length or be recorded at a specific sample rate? Stereo or mono? Specific level of equipment?

Thanks in advance.

I’m new to field recording. I just want to make some recordings of birds and storms in my backyard.

I’m trying to find a mic I could integrate to an ESP32 - so looking for low power requirements. What type of mics should I be looking at? Im for soldering and making my own. This is a hobby project so I want to keep the cost down. I appreciate any help.