21st July 2011

bags of sand.

Just going outside to see if my old t-shirt fits on a sandbag…

More on this in the future.

20th July 2011

003 - Motorbike Recording

Friday night (July 15th) I went out for a few hours to do a quick motorbike recording session. As it was the first time I’d be recording a motorbike (thanks to my friend Andy Coles of metal band ‘Awake’ and his shiny Triumph Motorbike) I thought it best to do my research as always, then apply and adapt that knowledge to the equipment that I have and the recording location. You can see the question I asked below along with all the helpful hints and links to related articles:

 http://socialsounddesign.com/questions/9101/tips-for-motorbike-recording

So I had my Zoom H4n recorder with Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic (w/ blimp and dead wombat), Rode NT1-A condenser (w/ shockmount) and of course the H4n’s onboard stereo mics with its newly acquired hat (Rycote mini windjammer). With a need to record at 24bit 96kHz and with the H4n only having two active inputs at this sample and bit rate (inbuilt mics or the combo XLR / 1/4 Jack) this meant I only had the option to record two tracks at a time equalling a stereo track or a dual mono. Not an ideal set up but for the project I’m working on it should turn out fine, and as a first delve into motorbike recording not a bad attempt if I do say so myself. Still though, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

The location we ended up at was a farm road just off of a backroad outside of a small village which meant traffic was mostly minimal. However due to the some surrounding open fields and the fact we were recording from 20:30 till 22:00, there was wind noise to contend with at times as well as a somewhat vocal cat (which I shall go back to record in full, another day). Sourcing a local airfield or truly isolated stretch of road is on the agenda for the future, but due to time constraints and limitations wasn’t a possibility this time. Just means I have something to look forward to I guess: quiet surroundings, long stretches of roads on which to build up speed and hopefully a dip in the amount of animal choirs whom want me to record their next release.

We did a variety of takes including pass-bys, starts/stops, revs, push alongs on gravel and idling. Passy-bys were stereo and the rest mono with the NTG-2 taking the lead and the NT1-A acting as ambience (and backup). The position of the NTG-2 varied dependent upon the need of the take whilst the NT1-A stayed fairly constant being placed approx 1.5 - 2 meters on the right hand side off-axis of the muffler which had been changed from the original - the improvement can be seen in the picture below - creating a much rawer sound perfect for recording.

Tasty Beatz 003 - Motorbikes (unedited) by disconnectuser

From the session I got some usable material (as can be heard above) and as always some valuable knowledge and experience e.g. if you’re trying to be a good boy by laying out and checking your equipment before your session ensure you put it ALL back in the bag as when you go to record stereo pass-bys it always helps if you brought the bit which attaches the recorder to the mic stand… Though this is the first time this has happened to me it just goes to show better safe than sorry, so a physical and not just a mental checklist are a definite for the future! Also some duplicates/spares wouldn’t go a miss. 

Regarding the recording of the bike everything went fine and it would of been nice to experiment with mic placement, had I had more time. I’m looking forward to editing all the recordings to see what I get. Not only will it hopefully give me plenty of motorbike sound effects but it’s also provided me with some new source material for my music compositions. Look out for the ‘Lament of the Triumph Motorbike’. 

Ideally next time I go back I’ll have contact mics let alone a whole array of mics set up along the location and a few helping hands! Thanks to everyone who provided links and tips about how to approach the recording.

 One thing I knew and had confirmed for me though, motorbikes are loud so watch those levels!

20th July 2011

002 - Matching Hats…

It may be the middle of Summer* over here in the UK but that didn’t stop me and my H4n getting matching Russian hats! You can call me ‘Pringski’.

“In Russia, sound records you!”

Though I’ll stick to wearing mine in the winter, H4n has decided he’ll wear his all year long especially on windy days. When accused of copying me he simply stated “it is in fact a Rycote mini windjammer…”. I still think he’s stealing my style. Copycat.

 *The term ‘Summer’ is used loosely due to the temper-mental nature of the UK climate and our summers mostly sucking.

20th July 2011

001 - Crowd Ambience Recording @ Peterborough Festival 2011 

On Saturday July 9th myself and a friend went down to Peterborough (UK) town center to record some crowd ambiences. I only had two hours to spare as it was a bit impromptu unfortunately, but I got some usable results here and there.

The ambiences were recorded at 24bit 96kHz using the onboard stereo mics of my Zoom H4n placed or held by myself on top of my bag - not ideal I know but due to the busy and shifting nature of the event and the fact I was with a friend, no one seemed to notice and generally the results were acceptable. 

Here’s an example of some of the ambience we captured. In this particular clip an Indian cart for the parade passes us accompanied by a Mridangam player.

Tasty Beatz 001 - Crowd Amb Peterborough Festival UK 2011 by disconnectuser

We also wondered into the cathedral grounds just as the bells began to chime for 12 O’clock, what a stroke of luck! Apologies for the pun….

Tasty Beatz 001 Church Bell Amb by disconnectuser

It’s been while since I’ve spent money on equipment (a decent pair of headphones currently being top of the list), instead focusing on honing my skills and knowledge. However my brain can only be applied in certain ways and would most likely not make a very good windjammer  - as can be heard in the above recording of church bell ambience - so I’ve decided to need to buy one for Mr Z. H4n. I’m sure everyone but the wind will appreciate this as it’ll be a somewhat lesser feature in my ambient recordings from now on.

With the H4n as my only portable recorder I’ve been hesitant to carry it around when simply ‘out and about’ in case of damage/loss even though I realise stumbling upon a sound and hoping to come back later to record it is not always an option; some sounds are here one minute and gone the next. Thusly I’ll be taking my recorder out with me more often so that I’ll be prepared to record on the off chance that I stumble across some tasty audio that tickles my (and hopefully your) senses.

From this experience of recording crowd ambience and upon the decision of having my recorder accompany me more often I’ve decided  it would be best to construct a ‘covert recording package’. This would allow me to record in places/situations that perhaps would draw too much attention to myself and equipment if done in a more open manner. The last thing I want is a nice ambience ruined with “hey mate, what ya doing?”. I have a few ideas about how to approach this so there will be more on creating a covert recording package in the future after I trial and undoubtedly error a few initial solutions.

Next year I’ll make an effort to cover as much of the festival as possible recording both overt (with stands or booms) and covert (with a disguised or hidden field recorder). In the meantime to tide you over here’s a picture of me with a giant robot made of bins! Sadly he wasn’t mobile in the limited time we were there but if he’s back next year I’ll be sure to ask him to make a sound or two.

“Me with a giant robot made of bins…”