bagwill@swe.ncsl.nist.gov (Bob Bagwill) (12/19/90)
Sorry if this is a Frequently Asked Question, I'm posting this for my father. What would hardware would you recommend for recording birdsong in the field? Some one from some Cornell birdsong repository (you can tell I'm up on this stuff :-) recommended a Sony parabolic mike and Marantz recorder for around $900, which sounds a little steep for a beginner. I suggested he try a Dak or Damart blue-light special and a Walkman for starters. -- Bob Bagwill NIST Software Engineering Group/NCSL Technology Bldg, Room B266 bagwill@swe.ncsl.nist.gov Gaithersburg, MD 20899 voice (301)975-3282 fax (301)590-0932
lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) (12/20/90)
In article <9048@durer.cme.nist.gov> bagwill@swe.ncsl.nist.gov (Bob Bagwill) writes: >Sorry if this is a Frequently Asked Question, I'm posting this for my father. >What would hardware would you recommend for recording birdsong in the field? >Some one from some Cornell birdsong repository (you can tell I'm up on this stuff :-) recommended a Sony parabolic mike and Marantz recorder for around $900, which sounds a little steep for a beginner. I suggested he try a Dak or Damart blue-light special and >a Walkman for starters. I have been contemplating this problem for some time, with the intent to set up my own recording system. I have already tried using a Sony Recording Walkman for some recordings, with interesting results. The Recording Walkman can record in stereo, so when recording an ambiance, the results were gratifying. Unfortunately, the Recording Walkman, and just about any other "blue-light special", has automatic gain control. Therefore, wind ` noise, that highway over the hill, and other sounds get picked up when the birds are not singing nearby. There is no apparent fix for this. Marantz makes two good units. One has Dolby B noise reduction and the other has Dolby B and C. You may not be terribly interested in noise reduction, but you will be if you get serious about making and reproducing the recordings. Another choice is the Sony Walkman Professional, which has the necessary manual control features. Unfortunately, all the Sonys have small, fragile connector jacks. They are easily damaged by side-loads such as tugging on a mike cable, and it is easy to snag things in the field... The very best choices are not available in the USA. Portable tape recorders capable of digital recording are available in Japan, but it is unlikely thta they will be made available here in the near future because of Japanese manufacturors' sensitivity to the US recording industries lobbying efforts in protecting copyrights. Last year I heard an NPR report about a Japanese birding TV program; the host made his field recordings with a digital recorder that weighed under 2 pounds. Note: this means that non-digital portable recorders, such as the Marantz and Sony units, will _not_ be getting more common or cheaper in the future. As far as the microphone selection goes, you can perhaps get by with a super-directional mike from DAK. The best recordings will be done with a parabolic setup rather than a shot-gun type, however. And although the shotgun type is less noticeable than a parabolic mike, some birds will be quite nervous if they notice a human pointing something at them... I have planned to build my own mike setup by making a parabola of acrylic (Plexiglas(tm)) plastic so I can see through it and so it won't attract undue attention. The size of the parabola you need depends on the frequency (pitch) of the bird calls you intend to record. Unless you intend to record heron calls, or perhaps the drumming of ruffed grouse, the entire apparatus should be under 18" in diameter... perhaps a physicist might be more specific? ... An audio shop can help you select a mike and advise how to mount it to a parabola. The vendor of the acrylic can tell you how to make a mold and heat the acrylic to form it. And so it goes. -lar -- Lar Kaufman I would feel more optimistic about a bright future (voice) 512-329-2455 for man if he spent less time proving that he can (fax) 512-329-2755 outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness lark@tivoli.com and respecting her seniority. - E.B. White