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Category: Field Recording

  • The shine comes off the Deity PR-2

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    Steve Duncan
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    So this morning as I was trying to figure out which day I’d made a recording on an went looking through the various directories of files I’d pulled off the Deity PR-2, I realized that the lack of dates in the file names it creates are a real problem. It’s not a unique problem, it’s…

  • Improving the Lom Geofon

    Improving the Lom Geofon

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    Steve Duncan
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    A while back I got a LOM Geofon, which is a contact mic with a few attachments. It came as a kit and I got it assembled (really, just soldering a few connections) and it was fun to use. Except for the stiff, noisy cable. I replaced it with Mogami 2552, and I get less…

  • Deity PR-2 Review

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    Steve Duncan
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    I got a Deity PR-2 belt pack recorder, and so far it’s a keeper it’s revealed a fatal flaw. While I’m a hobbyist/general purpose audio guy I thought this could be a nice recorder form factor to have. Here are my thoughts: Like Dislike Living with it UPDATE: Unfortunately, after living with the unit for…

  • Why the DJI Mic 2 doesn’t work as a standalone purchase

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    Steve Duncan
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    Just got the DJI Mic 2 to use as an everyday recorder, but after a short trial I determined it doesn’t really work without a receiver, which cannot be bought separately. The unit records fine, and sounds ok. But the date & time cannot be set. The unit cannot be formatted. Can’t turn the low…

  • Recording decent audio while cycling

    Recording decent audio while cycling

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    Steve Duncan
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    So I decided to try to figure out a way to record audio while riding a bike. And what I mean is, like, podcast style audio, not so much the sounds of the bicycle itself. I got to thinking about this watching YouTube videos by Tim Fitzwater and he’s got this great style where he…

  • Conservatory Ambience

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    Steve Duncan
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    My middle child had an audition at a music conservatory and as part of that was invited to a rehearsal of a quartet. I waited in the very reverbient lobby, but the quartet was audible so I recorded some of the session along with the lobby ambience. It was frustrating because they kept being stopped…

  • The case for handheld mics

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    Steve Duncan
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    Here’s why every field recording hobbiest should own a decent handheld dynamic omnidirectional interview mic: They’re inexpensive. A really good one might be $220 new if you go for the long-handled neodymium magnet high-output ones, but most are $100-160. For a mic that will outlast you. For comparison, an AT4022, a competent but mid-range condenser…

  • Shure VP88 Thoughts

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    Steve Duncan
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    On our recent road trip I wanted to bring a recorder, and the focus was going to be the family and audio journal entries. A handheld recorder would be the obvious choice, but there are some reasons to avoid them: I like using a reporter’s stick mic, but that isn’t stereo and often I like…

  • Soundcloud vs Bandcamp

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    Steve Duncan
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    While it’s easy to find place to put written content on the web, audio content is less easy than just using a blogging site like WordPress. Podcasts have an entire ecosystem of hosting providers, aggregators, etc. But what about the other stuff like field recordings, ambiances, and other audio? Content that’s not exactly a podcast,…

  • Solving the Mutli-Channel Audio Detected error using MixPre with FiLMiC Pro

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    Steve Duncan
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    So you’ve got your Sound Devices MixPre recorder and you want to connect digitally to your iPhone to get some audio into FiLMiC Pro. You connected a USB-A cable between the phone and recorder (because if you use USB C your phone ends up powering the recorder, which sucks, and a USB-A cable allows your…