Sound Recording

[BabyBoy2023]

This is a thread for all who like recording nature sounds, industrial, traffic, electrical, etc., for use in your projects. I have a Zoom 82N digital audio recorder, and I love the thing. So I created this thread in hope that not only I, but others, can get great tips on how to make good-quality stereo recordings. I have a dead cat wind screen, but I would like to know how to go about recording, for instance, a heavy downpour without damaging my equipment or running into the problem with the rain sounds distorting into heavy thumps as the rain hammers away at a container or shelter I have in place over my equipment. Perhaps you have other tips you would like to share. Please do.

 

[sbmccue]

I'm an old broadcaster, and I enjoy recording babysitters as they care for me. This is all done with their permission, of course, and I don't share the audio files. Some of the things these women say resonate with me in ways I cannot describe. The audio allows me to relive the session long after the actual experience.

I use a Zoom H2n and usually have it sitting on the highchair tray as I'm being fed, next to me on the changing pad, and in the bathroom at bath time. The 4CH setting on the microphone does a great job of picking up even subtle sounds, like the rustle of plastic pants, a scraping baby spoon against a jar, or splashing in the bathtub. I usually record only one event per babysitting session. For example, I might record being fed one week, being changed the next, and so on. All the babysitter does is turn the unit on and press the record button, so recording doesn't invade little space for me.

I've had 20 babysitters since 1985, and I have audio files from the most recent two or three. By the way, a babysitting session is 'hazardous duty' for equipment as well ... just like recording outdoors. I've ruined one Zoom unit by being too energetic in the bathtub.

Just remember that most Zoom units allow for directional recording, and as long as you have the unit shielded from above, you can record what happens below it. The rain hitting a deck, for example, would make for quite a cacophony, and as long as the unit is covered above, what happens below it should be recorded with good clarity. Most Zoom units are pretty tough and will withstand more than you think.

 

[BabyBoy2023]

Here's something you might think is cool. I like seeing what I can do with my percussion instruments and large empty spaces or other areas with enhanced natural reverberation and acoustics. Once, I took some PVC pipe drums and a hollow bamboo tube to a long drainage tunnel, set up my recording equipment just inside the entrance, sat near it, and played, keeping timing with the long delayed slap-back effect from the sound deflecting off of two 45-degree turns some 300 feet or more down the pipe. In another recording, I took an African djembe and an old Culligan water softener medium tank to a National Guard armory and played on the drill floor. I call my water softener tank drum a "tamburo," which is Italian for "barrel." Basically, the medium tank of a water softener is a long slender fiberglass barrel, and when you tap on it in different spots, you get different sounds. In the ogg file contained within the attached zip folder, you will notice the difference in the two drums. The djembe has more of a metalic ping and a bassy thump. The medium tank, which is hollow, has a sort-of pinging sound when you tap the side with your fingers, a bassy "bong" sound when you thump the top just outside the small hole, and a clicking sound when you tap the same area with your fingers. There's also a recording of me playing the PVC and bamboo at the entrance of the drainage pipe. Note that I disguised my voice to help remain anonimous on this site..

 

[KendallP]

@BabyBoy2023 , You mentioned a Zoom "82N", and I am not aware of such a Zoom model #. But I think you meant an H2n model, right ?

I have a H2n, and have used it successfully in a number of varied circumstances, and am very pleased with all the results I have gotten with it. It seems to me that the mics in it are Very Good and Sensitive, particularly when you consider their small size. I regularly use mine in a church that can seat up to ~200 people, and get real nice recordings of everything that goes on. This is with the recorder about two thirds of the way back, right in the middle aisle, mounted on a normal camera tripod. I use the usual 2 channel X / Y stereo setting, and the and the resulting recordings give that desired feel of "you are there". I don't much play with all the other options that the H2 has available because most of my recordings are done more for archive reasons than trying to make fancy artistic type ones.

I have used mine out in the rain, but not in a downpour. I have a section of wooded wetlands on my property, and in the late spring / early summer that area is where lots ( I mean LOTS !) of frogs tend to hang out. And if we have a stretch of a few days of wet weather, they all combine to make the loudest chorus of frogs croaking that you can imagine. So I have been out in the rain with my H2, and like with any electronic equipment, I try to keep it tucked under a jacket when not actually recording. It has survived that just fine.

 

[BabyBoy2023]

@BabyBoy2023 , You mentioned a Zoom "82N", and I am not aware of such a Zoom model #. But I think you meant an H2n model, right ?

I have a H2n, and have used it successfully in a number of varied circumstances, and am very pleased with all the results I have gotten with it. It seems to me that the mics in it are Very Good and Sensitive, particularly when you consider their small size. I regularly use mine in a church that can seat up to ~200 people, and get real nice recordings of everything that goes on. This is with the recorder about two thirds of the way back, right in the middle aisle, mounted on a normal camera tripod. I use the usual 2 channel X / Y stereo setting, and the and the resulting recordings give that desired feel of "you are there". I don't much play with all the other options that the H2 has available because most of my recordings are done more for archive reasons than trying to make fancy artistic type ones.

I have used mine out in the rain, but not in a downpour. I have a section of wooded wetlands on my property, and in the late spring / early summer that area is where lots ( I mean LOTS !) of frogs tend to hang out. And if we have a stretch of a few days of wet weather, they all combine to make the loudest chorus of frogs croaking that you can imagine. So I have been out in the rain with my H2, and like with any electronic equipment, I try to keep it tucked under a jacket when not actually recording. It has survived that just fine.

I meant H2N indeed. I don't know how the heck I got 82N. Leave it to me to screw something up, LOL. I am blind, and I will need your help in figuring out where the XY setting is. I know there is a wheel on the top of the recorder, in the very center of the frame that holds the mesh cocoon in place around the mics. It has a raised pointer on it, and it clicks into position at four different points. Would you please send me a reply explaining these four functions, and which position the pointer needs to be to achieve a certain setting? With the display screen facing me, it would help me better visualize the settings by saying "to the right, left, pointing toward you, or away from you." Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[sbmccue]

Here's something you might think is cool.

Must be nice to have talent!

 

[KendallP]

@BabyBoy2023 , I just looked at, and used mine this morning, and while attaching it to the tripod I realized I misspoke a bit when I wrote the above post. I DON'T actually use the XY mic setting for normal use. I always leave it set on the M/S ( Mid / Side ) pattern for my regular usage. That setting makes the mic pickup pattern pretty omnidirectional, except for directly behind the unit. I generally am sitting right behind the recorder when using it, and do not want it to pick up the noises I create when playing - rustling music, manipulating controls, and so on. Those extraneous noises are not real loud of course, but the H2 is pretty sensitive, so it will pick them up on other settings. With it set that way, I pick up pretty much everything that goes on in the room, besides the area where I am sitting.

The M/S setting is the one facing forward as you are looking at the recorder from the back ( back = side with the screen ). Or you could say : "Directly away from you"

The recorder obviously has Many more options built in, and some of those might be better for your intended usage. I have never played around with most of those options though, so I won't be much help for explaining them to you. I found a setting that works good for what I normally use it for, and kinda stick with that for whenever I record with it. To make really good audio recordings takes a lot of experimentation with all of the settings for mic placement, so you are probably going to have to make a bunch of test recordings to see what works best for you.

The manual covers all this stuff pretty good I think. But it is very small in physical size, and that makes it hard to read. With all electronic devices, I've found that it is best to go to the Mfgs site and download the PDF to your computer, and read them on a large screen.

 

[BabyBoy2023]

@BabyBoy2023 , I just looked at, and used mine this morning, and while attaching it to the tripod I realized I misspoke a bit when I wrote the above post. I DON'T actually use the XY mic setting for normal use. I always leave it set on the M/S ( Mid / Side ) pattern for my regular usage. That setting makes the mic pickup pattern pretty omnidirectional, except for directly behind the unit. I generally am sitting right behind the recorder when using it, and do not want it to pick up the noises I create when playing - rustling music, manipulating controls, and so on. Those extraneous noises are not real loud of course, but the H2 is pretty sensitive, so it will pick them up on other settings. With it set that way, I pick up pretty much everything that goes on in the room, besides the area where I am sitting.

The M/S setting is the one facing forward as you are looking at the recorder from the back ( back = side with the screen ). Or you could say : "Directly away from you"

The recorder obviously has Many more options built in, and some of those might be better for your intended usage. I have never played around with most of those options though, so I won't be much help for explaining them to you. I found a setting that works good for what I normally use it for, and kinda stick with that for whenever I record with it. To make really good audio recordings takes a lot of experimentation with all of the settings for mic placement, so you are probably going to have to make a bunch of test recordings to see what works best for you.

The manual covers all this stuff pretty good I think. But it is very small in physical size, and that makes it hard to read. With all electronic devices, I've found that it is best to go to the Mfgs site and download the PDF to your computer, and read them on a large screen.

With

@BabyBoy2023 , I just looked at, and used mine this morning, and while attaching it to the tripod I realized I misspoke a bit when I wrote the above post. I DON'T actually use the XY mic setting for normal use. I always leave it set on the M/S ( Mid / Side ) pattern for my regular usage. That setting makes the mic pickup pattern pretty omnidirectional, except for directly behind the unit. I generally am sitting right behind the recorder when using it, and do not want it to pick up the noises I create when playing - rustling music, manipulating controls, and so on. Those extraneous noises are not real loud of course, but the H2 is pretty sensitive, so it will pick them up on other settings. With it set that way, I pick up pretty much everything that goes on in the room, besides the area where I am sitting.

The M/S setting is the one facing forward as you are looking at the recorder from the back ( back = side with the screen ). Or you could say : "Directly away from you"

The recorder obviously has Many more options built in, and some of those might be better for your intended usage. I have never played around with most of those options though, so I won't be much help for explaining them to you. I found a setting that works good for what I normally use it for, and kinda stick with that for whenever I record with it. To make really good audio recordings takes a lot of experimentation with all of the settings for mic placement, so you are probably going to have to make a bunch of test recordings to see what works best for you.

The manual covers all this stuff pretty good I think. But it is very small in physical size, and that makes it hard to read. With all electronic devices, I've found that it is best to go to the Mfgs site and download the PDF to your computer, and read them on a large screen.

With my retinopathy, I can't even read large print. So if you can just tell me which position the pointer on the wheel has to be to achieve what, that would be extremely helpful. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Take care.