Field Recording Equipment

rob_giri

Well-known member
Hey guys

I'm currently aquiring my equipment for field recording shi-ite, was wondering if anyone had any tips/suggestions concerning which particular equipment i should look for.

I'm going to purchase a SONY TCD-D100 DAT walkman this afternoon from ebay, and now have to purchase a microphone. In a past thread about ethnomusicology someone suggested the Fostex or the Marantz CF recorders. This of course would be ideal but because of the price range i'm more than happy to settle with the D100.

The same person also suggested the Rode NT4 stereo microphone. So what dya' think? Good idea? Or is there better (more affordable for quality etc etc) microphones i could be lookin for?

I remember a friend, who had met both Francisco Lopez and Bernhard Gunter and asked them about their equipment, told me that they both use the same microphone. Its apparently cheap too.

so what do you think?
 

wonk_vitesse

radio eros
i'd be interested in the answer here as far mics go , i've always used my cheap'as'chips Sony 957, or the soundman binaurals. What is the next step up for a good stereo mic,

As for the recorder, are not disk based recorders coming into their own now or is DAT still the winner, i know marantz make one now with proper mic inputs.>>>>

this marantz thing
 
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jomina

Hypnotoad
That was probably me...
David Lewsiton most certainly does not not advocate cheap mics ;) - except for a pair of dynamic omnis (his preference is for EV K50s) as backup for moments when condensors simply can't hack it (too wet or too hot or a combination of the two). David's recording track record speaks for itself IMO.
I don't think you'll do better or easier to use than the Rode for the money, but if you do I'd be very interested in hearing about it.
DAT should be OK, assuming it has phantom power for condensors. Just remember to buy plenty of tape while it is still available!
The deck does have phantom power, right?
I picked up this CD the other week
topic-924.jpg

Which sounds very good and was recorded to DAT using a pair of super-funky Sonic Studios baffled micro omnis. You can fix these to your sunglasses...
What are you planning to record BTW?
 

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
As a backup for the DAT (quite fragile) you might consider a Sony portable minidisk -- yes, it's compressed, but you can get a pretty good sound and they're pretty reliable unless it's really hot.

Sleazy from Coil used to have two omnidirectional mics attatched to a ping pong bat for his field recordings -- makes a really good binaural recording.
 
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