Field recorder tips & tricks

Received this baby today. Planning on using it to make recordings during an outdoor trip to Finland and for making household (percussion) samples. With all of that I am gonna feed my OT to make techno and/or ambient soundscapes.

I was wondering if there are any pro’s around with expert tips. Anything will do! (Any tips for Finland too :blush: )

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Pick up a wind shield. Record in 24 bit. If percussion samples then just record in mono. If its not well isolated consider some kind of hand holder to reduce movement noise.

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Yeah, get a windshield, foamball, deadcat or whathaveyou. I fouled up a whole bunch of recordings when I forgot mine on a deep forest hike.

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Yeah I just got the same recorder but not used it yet! Planning on just recording stereo in from my Elektron boxes on holiday in a weeks time!

Staying in the Slovenian mountains :smiley:

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How do you tune your sound after the take?
Can you recommend me a software that can automagically tune my takes?
Thx

Over the years, I have written extensively about field recording gear on my blog The Theatre of Noise. Here’s a landing page that links to most of the key articles.

To get good recordings, you need to use external microphones, for four reasons:

  • You reduce handling noise, and can operate the recorder without touching the mics.
  • You can position the mics closer to your source, while keeping the recorder close to hand.
  • You can experiment with different configurations, for example using the mics on either side of a baffle, on a coat hanger, clipped to either side of a hat, etc.
  • The mics will provide a cleaner signal with less noise and better frequency response than the built-in capsules.

The least inexpensive sets that are worth using are based on the Primo EM172 capsule (data sheet), which has a self-noise of 14 dB(A). These are omnidirectional electrets, and so work well for recording ambience. For other purposes, read my articles for recommendations.

Several companies make mics with the EM172. Two in Europe that I endorse are Audiotalaia from Valencia and LOM from Bratislava. Their Uši has become quite popular and is available in different configurations.

Wind protection for these mics is absolutely essential, and usually sold separately.

A small tripod for the recorder is also handy.

After that, it’s all down to learning the best gain settings for your particular recorder, how to position microphones, etc.

Have fun!

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I usually don’t tune anything, except percussion (kick/snare). And that’s easy just using pitch in the OT.

I have a tascam DR05, love it! Way better than those zoom things everyone raves about. Make your own deadcat. Its way cheaper than buying one off the shelf. I made two. Absolutely essential.
Some things I do;
When recording ambient sounds, set the Tascams internal low cut to 120hz.
As mentioned above, for recording percussion samples, record in mono.
When you get home after a field trip, transfer the files immediatley, sort them, name them, and organise in folders on your computer. Do not overlook the power of this step.
Once files are transfered, reformat the memory card.

I also use my Tascam DR05 to record my studio sessions. I take a line out from my mixer, set that low cut back to off. And make sure it is recording 24bit, 44.1KHZ stereo. Then if I sm happy with the recording I transfer it over to ableton for a bit of tweaking before sending off to master.

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Good tips here, I also keep my Sony M10 hooked up to constantly listen to anything I’m doing in the studio. Hear something good and you can be recording in 1 button press. Before this a lot of my nice experimentations would just vanish into thin air, as I tend to get into a weird trance when I’m messing around. This has been a big step towards building up a bank of useful material.

Anyone got tips for some good sample editing and management software on Windows? Have been using Sound Forge but it’s a little fiddly for trimming and exporting several files out of one big sample. Currently looking at Resonic Pro, anyone used it before I drop cash on the full version?

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My tip is to record everything! The more content the better. If the mic isn’t handy use a phone. Personally I don’t tend to focus on arranging the the right set up but more witnessing and recording moments in time… I love it.

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Way better ? What do you mean ? And have you tried a zoom h6 ?

Cant remember which model it was. My ex wife used zooms for her camera work. I borrowed them a few times, basically they took too long to start up, and were overly complicated. Capturing sounds needs to be quick and easy. I often missed the sounds I wanted. So for me, I like the tascam. Easy to set up. Boot up time is super fast. And its small. And batteries last ages.

Strange. Boot up max 2sec w/my H6… And there is no menu diving, it’s straight forward, just rec and go… And the sound is really good…