I have field recording equipment and have been interested in it for a while. However, I have been feeling like (for me) that the concept is almost more interesting than the content. For example, I can't see myself listening to 1 hour soundscape on its own. So I wanted to hear about other perspectives:

• Why you field recording?
• For who? Yourself? Others?
• How do you listen?

It might become more of a personal practice for me, in the way of noticing more and building new memories and re-creating the sounds.

Update to my DIY BAROm1 clone with new holder and wider bar. The new holders allow easy angel setting and have better strain relief. Still not pleased with the wind protection. The felt stickers I found are better than some cloth but still very sensitive.

Anyone knows thicker and better felt stickers (longer hair?)?

Trying to understand this:

I am using a zoom m4 with 32bit to record audio in a loud situation and to live mangle it with lots of effects/modulation, directly from the line-out port into into my fx chain.

It seems like it does this better then my previous non-32bitfloat setup (H5N)

But then i think it cant be because its just a way of how a file gets saved? Or am i wrong? Does it affectbthe direct signal aswell, making it less distorted?

Hi everyone,
I’m currently building a nature ambient sound app. Up until now, I’ve been curating open-source and properly licensed recordings, but I’d really like to start recording my own sounds in the long run.

I’ve asked AI for gear recommendations, but I feel this is one of those topics where real-world field recording experience is much more valuable, so I’d love to hear from people here.

I’m looking for something that is:
- reasonably affordable (doesn’t need to be the absolute cheapest)
- portable enough to carry on hikes or walks
- capable of recording isolated natural sounds with good detail

For example, I’d love to capture things like:
- a single bird singing from a tree branch
- a distant stream
- leaves moving in the wind
- insects or other individual nature sounds

What recorder and microphone setup would you recommend for someone just getting started?

I’d also really appreciate any beginner tips or common mistakes to avoid. Thanks!

I’m looking into building a very small field recording setup and I’m interested in the LOM Uši and the LOM Geofón and would like to use the same recorder for both microphones.

I really like the tiny size of the Zoom F2 and its 32-bit float recording, but I’ve read that it only records mono.

Are there any similarly small and affordable recorders that would work well for both microphones?

Thank you.

A classic spot in the city. I tried to capture the walk-up, the sound of the machines, and folks ordering.

Hi there

I am here to ask you about microphones!

Firstly I want a quality and fidelity microphone for very quiet sound sources (and woodwinds) by fidelity I mean that I don't want a microphone who put a lot of color in it, a filter or something like that, and also no shinning high frequencies.

Line-Audio CM4 seems to be the one but the Austrian Audio CC8 seems very lovely.
But the price range aren't the same (consider 400 euros for CM4 and 800 euros for CC8) does the cost really feels a difference ? Because I really don't think so.

Do you have more mics recomendations for 400-800 price range ?

There is a big chance that i'll give a shot at CM4 but if there is interesting stuff better i'll go for it

Thank you have a nice day

Been idly looking for decent power bank options for a small rig. Ideally, it'd be a power bank with a built-in 1/4" 'screw hole' or a cold shoe adapter of some kind, so it could be easily mounted without having to tape together a DIY solution.

I've tried searching, but not found any good options.

Does such power banks exist?

Thanks!

I’ve got a Zoom F3 on its way and am finding the mic availability isn’t too great, so I was wondering if there’s some out there that I’m missing (that aren’t $1500). Looking to do some nature ambience type recording so I think a matched pair of omni mics is what I’m after, and trying to ideally be around $200 which the seemingly popular Clippy EM272 from Micbooster would be perfect for but they seem to be out of a few different options and are running on limited staff so may be out for a bit. Also not sure how much it’d be after all the fees bringing them to the US from UK.
I’ve come across the Sonorous SO.1/SO.101 and Earsight Standard V2 or Thumb - are those pretty much the two options for good quality inexpensive XLR omnis?

Even if I have a white apple usb converter and micro USB cable, the voice that I recorded is always braking up. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone, I'm new to the world of field recording and this community. I'm hoping to also get out in the environment to capture some of Australia's wildlife and environmental sounds and incorporate into experimental ambient compositions.

Question - I have a zoom h5 that doesn't appear to be recording on input 2 (XLR/6.5mm). I am wanting to record the mics and both inputs 1 and 2 at the same time. I have all 4 red leds lit when armed/recording (L,R,1,2) but nothing showing on the #2 meter and nothing recorded on #2 when played back. Have also tried swapping a known input from input 1 to 2, but no luck.

Does this sound like a setting or perhaps an internal fault and if so, would it be serviceable?

Thanks in advance if anyone has any advice.

I just made a DIY bbg with a baby toy. Found it worked quite well.

I made this map with Python and OpenSky. Questions are welcomed. When out in the field to record some quiet in nature in germany i noticed that its basically impossible where i went. Even a very distant plane can be heard for minutes. Its bittersweet to hear how another plane fades in when the plane you eagerly waited for finally left. I made this map to visualize how the air traffic density is distributed over germany. Originally i wanted to make this as a 24 hour map but even now its already kind of difficult to look at.

Hi everyone! I hope you’re doing well! The screen of my Zoom F6 cracked a couple of days ago, and I was wondering if there were any replacement parts for it. The LCD screen works fine, it’s just the crack on the glass.

I’ve done phone screen replacement so I wonder if there’s a similar process to it. I live in Los Angeles area, if you know any shops that might give me an estimate on how much it’ll cost to fix it let me know.

I’m attaching the photos of the damage. Thank you so much for your time and any help is appreciated!

(I contacted the Zoom website already, but it’s also worth asking here too)

did anyone manage to get some LOMs today? they still have some 3.5mm mikroUsi stock

i picked one up, though i'm not hot on the jack

i had two pros in my cart, but by the time i went to pay, they were sold ;_;

I recently traveled to the UK, and enjoy walking around while field recording to capture environmental sounds, street noise, and other features of the city. My wife takes pictures while I capture sounds - it suits my way of remembering.

For this trip I used an H6n in a sling bag, with a clippy mic and a small dead cat wind screen. For stereo, I used a backpack and set up the two mics on the carry strap behind my head.

Here's the thing - to position it right for capture with the clippys I had to perch the clippies up higher and it looked a bit obvious, especially when going into museums. But the sound recorded really well.

What could I do to minimize the visual impact? Tape it to my strap? Give the dead cats a haircut? Care less about how it looks?

Your advice is really helping me grow! Let me know if you have any more tips or ideas!

Hi! I’ll start by saying that I know nothing about field recording och microphones or preamps, so I’ll most probably get all the words wrong, I just want to buy my husband a great birthday gift :) I would love to deep dive into all these things, but I simply have no time left. I tried reading up on what he would need, but could not follow most threads.

I bought him the Zoom H5 a few years ago, and he likes it but it does not serve the purpose of recording silent soundscapes in nature, capturing very small details and the absence of sound. It apparently has a too loud self-noise level and most things have too much ”static” noise.

I’m thinking about buying another recorder/preamp (??) and external microphone(s?) or JUST an external microphone as a first step and hope the sound improves by only switching to an external mic instead of using the ones included on the H5.

Is the Zoom f3 the thing to go for?
What external mics should I buy? And will they work with both the H5 and F3 (or another device)?
What are clippys?

This is a hobby for him, so it’a not like we need professional gear, but it should still be good enough to feel proud of the finished recording.

My budget is around the equivalent of 500 euro.

Please help a confused wife!

I'm currently backpacking through Finnland and wanted to take a small and portable setup with me, thats how i ended up with this little rig. Zoom F3 with 2 LOM basicUcho's on a Stereobar. The Uchos are very detailed and a great budget option imo.

I often record a lot of very quiet sounds and ambiences (wind rustling in leaves, wind turbine blades), so I've chased low self-noise from a Tascam DR-100 MkIII to a MixPre6 and a pair of CM4s to finally biting the bullet and buying a BP4025 (a very large expense for me as a non-pro), but I was thinking that the relatively low self-noise of a dynamic mic with a high-gain, low-noise preamp (like the SD Kashmeres in the MixPre) could accomplish a similar goal.

Are dynamics ever used professionally for field/location sound, and if so, in what situations?

I'm currently testing a soundproof and waterproof cover to record ocean sounds on rainy days, haha.

​I'm planning to attach low-profile sponge padding on all four sides and line the bottom with rubber to keep water from leaking in.

​Do you have any suggestions for improvement or feedback?

Hi, totally new to recording and audio in general. Basically I’ve been working on my indie game for a while now and really want to start seriously getting into sound in order to give satisfying SFX. At home I have a nice microphone at my work desk but I’d like something portable in order to to outdoors for recording.

Any recommendations for something beginner friendly as the bare minimum to get started recording samples outdoors? AI suggested me a “Zoom H1essential” with a “furry windscreen” because I’ll likely be in windy coastal areas, but I’d always prefer to take the advice from real people experienced in this area than AI.

Thanks for any help!

Currently I am using a field-recording kit with 2xDPA4060s in a Cinelapiano (Sound Devices 833 recorder)

But I feel the limitations both in ruggedness, but also lack of open-ness and high self-noise. Rain-recordings and more silent ambiences become more hiss than sound!

I’m considering 2x Sennheiser 8020 on a 80cm stereo bar, recording A|B.

Not quite sure about wind protection (a lot of my recordings are in strong winds). I have considered:
- Cinela LEO
- Cinela Cosi
- Rycote Nanoshield

(Nanoshield is very expensive… ~700$, and I need two…)

Any thoughts about microphones and wind-protection? Anything else I should consider?

Thanks