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A440 - Thanks for the mini tutorial for Audacity, I'll certainly give that a try. I'm actually using mic-in rather than line-in. The line-in option looks to be for particularly loud sources. For recording trains lineside there can be very quiet patches during the recording when the train is approaching from a distance, would line-in be an option in those conditions? I could give the line-in a try for recording "on-board" which obviously gives a much louder source. I too would be quite interested in your set up AllanH. boojum - hadn't heard of Mobile Fidelity before, I'm sure learning alot on this forum!

Thanks for your reply AllanH Yes, I'm in the UK. In the cramped confines of the Kennet and Avon Canal with "King" 6024 in this case. I can see that I need to take more account of the recording location. Just as important though, as you say, would be the actual locomotive. I've been virtually on top of a Gresley A4 whistle with no distortion. I'm usually trying to photograph the loco at the same time, so there is often a bit of compromise when thinking about locations. I did start off recording without the micbooster but the recordings seemed to have a lot of hiss on the quieter sections. The micbooster completely solved that and I was much happier with the results. I don't do alot of post processing with the recordings, just edits and fades really. Are there any techniques that would reduce the hissy effects in the recording or editing stage? I'm pleased that you think the equipment I'm using is generally okay. I do need some more wind protection for the MS907 and then perhaps some practice at my local preserved line the "Mid Hants", before the mainline season really gets going again. boojum, I will give that a try on some recordings. As you say, once the recording is clipped/distorted there's not much you can do. Thanks again for your comments, all very interesting, I'll come back when I've had some more practice.

I've been recording with MD for just over a year now. After much trial and error I'm fairly satisfied with the results I get now, although one aspect still causes problems. If a locomotive sounds its whistle close to my position (which is normally close to the track) I sometimes get the distortion you can hear on the attached recording here. 6024croftonforum_1.mp3 Everything sounds okay until the loco passes and whistles. I'd like to know the best way to counter this effect as I don't know which part of my set up is causing the problem. I'm using an MZ-R35 with a Sony ECM-MS907 mic and a 20dB preamp from micbooster.com. I set a manual level turned way down with mic sensitivity set "low". If I turned the level down further the recording would probably be too quiet but would this solve the problem? Do I need a new MD where I could adjust the level during the recording? Perhaps a new mic (thinking of AT 822)? As I'm fairly new to this any advice would be very much appreciated.