Microphone vs. Fieldrecorder

The Lounge Other Gear
#11

Thanks for the replies so far!
I would use the mic with the pre-amps from a RME Fireface UC or an old allen & heath mix.
The portability of the fieldrecorder is def a big plus, but I wouldn’t shy away from having a long cable for the mic and record from a distant.

The field recorder probably has two SDC mics in a XY configuration for capturing stereo sounds. Therefore, all the usual caveats of el cheapo SDC apply, overly bright high frequency response (recording tavlas etc will rip your ears off!), somewhat naff off-axis sound, and a sure capture of any unwanted noises like jackets rustling etc…

An SM57 OTOH, will perhaps offer a slightly mellower tone, and will pretty much only capture sound from its frontal area. You need to get this one close micd for most applications. And you need a healthy mic pre with enough clean gain to drive it (you can get a cloudlifter for adding ~23dB of gain though, just be mindful of the cabling!).

That’s my concern about the two.
As mentioned above I have decent pre-amps at hand. I could also use the one from a Motu 828 MK2 which I only uses as an ADAT-expension for the RME. So enough options here :wink:

Many insights which I didn’t think about. I am not a guitar guy, so thanks @reeloy for the hint.

Funny how you guys pick the jabbering-thing :rofl:

#12

If you want to record from a distant point, you cannot really use a dynamic microphone. For that, you need a condenser mic. TV crews often use shotgun microphones which are a particular flavour of condenser mics, they work especially well due to high directionality, especially indoors.

For capturing ambiences, I love omni pattern LDCs… But I’m weird like that

#13

if you screw off the microphone basket (is that a word in englisch) of the SM58 it sounds pretty much the same like SM57

#14

IIRC both mics are based on the venerable Shure Super 55 unidyne design, so that would make sense.

#15

…believe me…a fieldrecorder will do the trick for u…no matter what u call good pre amps u got already…
ur just not aware of the fun a recording device can offer u, whereever, whenever…and what ot can do to all those happy little accidents u gonna stumble over, once u got something like that in ur pocket…

… instrument and vocal mics, dynamic ones or phantom power driven, are just a different approach…
it’s catching anything out of the blue or setting up properly each time u have to choose between first…

#16

Friend of mine just uses his phone for quick and dirty recordings - doesn’t sound half bad.

1 Like
#17

I own the Tascam dr 05 and I’m pretty happy with it. Good sound and enough settings to make decent recording.

One thing is that 05 has to be connected to headphones out because the audio is too hot for direct input from OT.

#18

Did the same when I wanted to sample a piano. It’s really a lot fun to layer find that the recording has many different noises from the surrounding as well. I couldn’t open the cover from the keyboard because there where things on it which I didn’t want to to move aside. The result was very interesting.

I think the fieldrecorder will be the better tool.
Thanks everyone for their insights!

#19

Just wanted to throw in a little suggestion for these small Lom USI microphones.

2 Likes
#20

Is it though :slight_smile:

#21

I have a pair of these (actually the Uši) which I plug into my PCM-D50 (which can provide plug-in power) and they’re seriously amazing. I adore them. I can record TINY sounds with them.

4 Likes
#22

Yeah I’ve been seriously considering a pair of these with my H4n. Glad to hear positive feedback here.

Anyone around here use iDevice mics?

#23

exactly

The mics on them smartphones are pretty good these days, easily on par with the cheapest field recorders.

1 Like
#24

Another phone user here.
The best recorder is the one you have with you at that moment… and my phone is always with me.
I have loads of field recordings from everywhere on my phone. Best thing is you can email yourself the recordings then open them in Audacity and then trim, normalise and eq…

Another plus is I don’t look silly when taking recordings like I think would with a big handheld recorder… a bit more inconspicuous :+1:

2 Likes
#25

I don’t know that I would go that far. But maybe my phone is old…

All of this talk about having it on you is absolutely true though. Which is why I enquire about a iDevice mic. That Rode XY looks nice. Though now that Apple is going USBc maybe wait on it…

Shameless plug alert but I did all if this with people’s phone recordings. Compress / EQ, throw it in an OT and you have unlimited (totally workable imo) sound design potential:

#26

well all I know is that most lowtier field recorders sound terrible compared to what one can capture with a “proper” recording rig using real mic pres and schoeps mics etc

1 Like
#27

No question there.

I’m just saying that these phone mics seem designed to pick up fine midrange - vocal - as opposed to lowtier recorders which at least try for a wider spectrum.

But idk what these new crazy phone mics are like. Maybe theyre better.

But im not knocking phones as a way to capture sound. If that’s all you got on you it’s perfect.

#28

Can definitely approve that phone mics get the mids quite well but the highs are usually a bit harsh and almost no low end. So for capturing voice or anything really that is lid dominant.

#29

yeah sorry I didn’t mean to sound like a snob. I’m just saying that there might not be a huge step in quality of recording with a modern smartphone Vs recording with a really low-specced field recorder.

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#30

a bit harsh sounding high freq response is a very common issue in lower quality SDC mics.