Best MD for interviews (mike needed?)

[scobb99]

Wow, this forum has taught me a lot about MD in a very short time!

I am now fairly certain that it is the right technology for a project I have in mind: recording family histories. For this I need good quality audio recording. Fortunately this will mostly be in a controlled setting (a room in a house as opposed outside on the street). I would like good battery life (or minimum him if recording with AC power feed) and easy operation.

The Sony MZ-RH10 or MZ-M10 seem good, or perhaps the MZ-RH910. But I am not sure if I need to buy a microphone to go with them. If so, which would be the best mike for this job?

Right now the store at sonystyle.com is selling the MZ-RH910KIT1 which includes an ECM-MS907 stereo microphone, total price 299US.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Stephen

Edited December 26, 2005 by Stephen Cobb

[chriswyatt]

I'd recommend a stereo mic because the current range of Hi-MD Recorders don't support monoural recording as far as I can tell.

[The Low Volta]

mono mics can be used, but only the left channel will record... a bit of a waste of discspace...

best to get a one point stereo mic (preferably cardioid/unidirectional) if it will only be used for interviews

if you will also try to record music, go for omni (omnidirectional) separable stereo mics (sometimes called binaural) as they give a much nicer stereo separation (also for ambiance-recording this is the way to go)

[atrain]

that mic would be very suitable for recording oral histories.

[tommypeters]

Also check out the 1st Gen Hi-MD's from Minidisc Canada, like the MZ-NH900...

Edited December 27, 2005 by tommypeters

[scobb99]

if you will also try to record music, go for omni (omnidirectional) separable stereo mics (sometimes called binaural) as they give a much nicer stereo separation (also for ambiance-recording this is the way to go)

Would the Sony ECM-MS907 fit the bill? It seems from other threads that you need a mike with the right plug to fit a minidisc recorder.

Stephen

[The Low Volta]

Would the Sony ECM-MS907 fit the bill?

it fits the interview mic specs perfectly:

- Uni-Directional (stereo) -> records two channels but you can 'point' it towards the speaker(s)

- Frequency Response: 100 - 15,000Hz -> for recording music this is too limited (you'd really need 20-20,000) but for speech this is good as irritating low or very high frequencies are not picked up by the mic and therefore not present in the recording

- Comes with: Wind Screen, Microphone Stand/Holder, Carrying Case -> or all the bells and whistles to make interviewing more practical

- no worries, any mic ending on a 3.5mm minijack works with MD as far as I know

but...

- as I said for music it is too limited in frequency response -> no prob if you won't be needing to tape music)

- it is quite big-n-heavy for inconspicious (stealth) recording (be it music or speech or ambient recordings) -> but no prob if you do not need to be stealthy

- it requires a battery which can be flat just as you really need the mic -> you will learn to carry a spare and it works on one AA which can be found literally anywhere

so it is good for interviewing and if it comes with the bundle it will be of use... if you can choose a mic freely and want to have a smaller and cheaper mic without the need of a battery, perhaps the Sony ECM-CS10 would be a good alternaive (again only for speech/interviews)