Fat Tires Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I'm thinking of heading out the local coffeeshop or someplace and sitting down to read a book for a bit while using a cheap pair of earphones to record ambient sounds, random conversations, etc. Has anyone here tried this? Is the best way to do this secretly, or are there better mics available for the purpose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I have a pair of Sound Professionals in-ear binaurals that I use exactly for this purpose. I recently spent some time on a small campus of buildings that had several elevators in different buildings. For whatever reason, I went around recording the sounds of each elevator in its shaft; the newest ones in particular are really -huge- sounding and cavernous. One also had one of those speaking door systems that announced when it arrived at a floor which floor it was stopping on - I kept expecting the woman's voice to say "Thank you for pleasing a simple elevator." [kudos to anyone who knows where that comes from.] I have also used these mics for recording crow noise at various functions, ambience inside spaces ranges from an art gallery with cathedral-like acoustics, several restaurants, coffee shops, &c. What I love about these mics is that they sound great, are comfortable, don't pick up microphonics easily [like the cables jiggling], and especially that people just assume you're wearing some kind of fancy earbuds - something most people are accustomed to seeing and write off immediately as non-threatening, so they don't play up for the fact that you might be recording. I do avoid recording conversations, I might add. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Tires Posted January 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I want to be clear, I am not seeking to spy on people, I do plan on placing my recording kit in a public place, so I expext to catch random conversation and such, but my goal in not nefarious in any way. I also want to start recording interviews with people too, but that doesn't have to be stealthy. I'll be using a Sony mic for that. I've got one coming in the mail. It can be seen here. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller...list&sku=225510 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgdimo Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 Hey Dex O, Happy New Year. I hope all's well with you. Are those SP binaurals the same ones folks were saying are going for a pretty cheap price somewhere? Do you recall this? If so, where? I gots ta get me some of those. I'm thrilled with my Auris (reactive) but I'd like to more recording like you guys are talking about. I KNOW I look silly with my foam covered mics clipped to my collar by my ears and it hurts too damn much to clip 'em to my ears...let alone looking silly. But I digress... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewhall Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 I'm still trying to take all this great info in. I also want to record ambient sounds - mostly around my farm eg birds, trees rustling etc. From my reading I was put off the true binaurals due to their apparently not producing good sound for speakers. I am an artist and this may end up as part of dvd delivered multi-media artwork. Is this speaker thing a real concern and if so is there a good alternativel you would recommend. I was looking yesterday at that site that sells semi-binaurals recommended on the quiet american site but those mikes were a bit expensive for me ($450+), but I don't mind something in the 100 - 200 range. I'd also like them to serve ok for recording conversation. They will not have to deal with very loud sounds but they shoudl deal with very low sound levels ok since where I live it is very very quiet. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
re:charge Posted January 2, 2005 Report Share Posted January 2, 2005 happy new year. newbie first post. this subject caught my eye. i do similar stuff jacking from my pocket short-wave radio, all those weird noises from wishywashy ambient to strange clanking sounds. sometimes theres a person on the band (recorded i guess) calling out numbers randomly & loudly, some kindof code? my main point is MD is great for collecting odd sounds for later processing in a sampler or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JQuest Posted January 3, 2005 Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 Great mic. I use it for recording live shows. Though it is very sensitive, so don't connect it directly to the recorder b/c it will pick up the noise from the recorder. This mic records everything so play with it to get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Tires Posted January 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 Thanks for the good word JQuest. I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 3, 2005 Report Share Posted January 3, 2005 From my reading I was put off the true binaurals due to their apparently not producing good sound for speakers.There are a number of sites on the net that offer archives of recordings people have made with various binauaral setups. I'd suggest taking a look for some of these and trying them out on your stereo. While yes, binaurals are not optimal for normal stereo speaker playback, this really depends on what it is that you're recording. Natural ambient recordings tend to be just fine, IMO. It's more the stealth-recorded concerts et al that sound odd, since most people have a fixed frame of reference for them - sound up front, crowd in back, &c. Instead, binaural recordings often end up with that 'boxed' sound [especially indoor recordings]. Natural sounds do not sound as weird [iMO] because there is no fixed frame of reference. Even street recordings and such sound pretty good this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewhall Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 Hi DesThanks for that - your answer got me thinking- maybe binaurals are exactly what I am looking for. I want the sound of the birds and the wind in the trees and the insects like I hear them when I walk around here. I turn my head and the orientation changes and the sound is coming from all around me. Maybe even with speakers binaurals will do that better than a more forward oriented mike (which I have anyway). I also want to be able to record my voice, so I can talk as I walk ometimes, but I think that does not matter so much from the stereo effect point of view.Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 An interesting thing about the in-ear binaurals is that when listened to ideally [i.e. with decent headphones] you get a very real sense of depth that depends totally on who is wearing them. Listening to a recording made with you wearing the mics doesn't sound the same as with someone else wearing them. Another interesting find with them came with recording myself having a conversation with others. As the wearer of the mic, you'd expect a certain "hole" effect or something with your own speech, but no - it sounds pretty normal. As a result, it can be very disorienting to listen to while using recreational drugs.I probably shouldn't say that here, should I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skradgee Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 Woo Hoo!! Recreational drugs! Thanks for the idea Dex. I only have experience with onmidirectional mics. The next time my budget allows, I'd like to pick up some unidirectional mics and experiment with those...although I imagine that they're not ideal for stealth recordings of everyday sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A440 Posted January 5, 2005 Report Share Posted January 5, 2005 mgdimo--If you're indoors, you can take the foam windscreens off the mics and they should be pretty inconspicuous against a dark shirt. If you wear glasses you could attach them to the frames right next to your ears, or you could also put them on a dark baseball cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerodB Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 One also had one of those speaking door systems that announced when it arrived at a floor which floor it was stopping on - I kept expecting the woman's voice to say "Thank you for pleasing a simple elevator." [kudos to anyone who knows where that comes from.]Off-topic: Is it from Hitch-hikers, dex? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dex Otaku Posted January 7, 2005 Report Share Posted January 7, 2005 Off-topic: Is it from Hitch-hikers, dex? ←Kudos to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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