How about: "Field Recording"?
I'm not exactly sure of what constitutes actual field recording, but if used as a general term it should cover many facets of using mostly portable recorders to capture live events.

It's a term I recently learned when searching the web for a new portable recording device. I Googled 'live recording', 'on-site recording', 'mini-disc live recording' and stuff like that. A common thread I discovered was the term "Field Recorders".

Not having another choice, I usually post my ideas/questions in TT and Tape. I'm sure there are many AKers who could use a more dedicated forum for their discussions.

And there would be less unrelated posts to TT & T. I hardly use a TT anymore. I feel a little out of place posting these kind of questions to this forum as it's busy enough anyway. I don't want to clog it up with stuff that's not related to the main idea.

Any feedback? Interested? What do you do next?

Rick in Lutz, Fl.

I would like to find one myself. Seems like all there are out there are specialized ones.

Nature recording:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/

Rock concert recording:
http://taperssection.com/

Home recording:
http://homerecording.com/

Public Radio Recording:
http://www.transom.org/

Studio recording:
http://recording.org/

Film recording:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/location_sound.html

However, what you seem to be talking about, "field and/or location audio recording" seems to be a thing of the past. Several of the above sites and plenty more have something or another about it, but there are no definitive sources that I have found. And, especially, there seems to be very little about the older techniques that folks on AK would be interested in.

....posted this was to show a cool Sony Tape-Corder I bought at a yardsale a few years ago. Of all the portable cassette recorders I've ever had (about a dozen), this one was hands-down the king of 'em all.

I've used many mono units with built-in mics. The ones with built-in handles that took 4 C batteries and did a decent job utilizing AGC. Most had an aux mic input. And a speaker for playback.

Then I discovered a stereo Walkman-sized recorder from Aiwa. Had a built-in AM/FM tuner and came with an external plug-in stereo mini mic. Very fragile unit and eventually broke. Then I had a couple of Sony and Panasonic stereo walkmans that had built-in stereo mics that were the size of a large paperback. They, too, were fragile.

Later I got the Sony TC that was more robust, but much larger and heavier. The recordings, however, were excellent in relation to what I'd previously owned. It had a plug-in external mic (no built-in) and all the RCA jacks needed to act as a regular cassette deck. Used 4 C-cells or AC power. It also had a built in speaker.

Meanwhile I discovered Mini-Disc.

Rick in Lutz, Fl.

I have found this to be an excellent resource for all things field recording:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/

...classic mic techniques, all manner of info.

Best,
C

I have found this to be an excellent resource for all things field recording:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/remote-possibilities-acoustic-music-location-recording/

...classic mic techniques, all manner of info.

Best,
C

Ah yes, another Sound Devices, Nagra, and other mega-buck digital recorder list. Plenty of them around. Us poor sods stuck with analog, whether by choice or neccessity (both, in my case), need not bother. I get tired of folks laughing at my lowly Marantz/Superscopes when they can not even answer my questions sensibly. However, I am now setup to do spaced omnidirectional stereo field recording with my heavy old fashioned cassette gear. Preliminary tests show excellent stereo imaging from the two ATM10A mic's.

Graywolf, I agree that some expensive gear is being talked about over there.
However, the way I look at it, things like good mic placement and awareness of room acoustics are subjects one can never learn too much about. And that too is available if you search there; just use it with whatever gear you have.

The closest I have to a field machine right now is a $20 dictation recorder :banana: :banana::banana: :D

Best,
C

....posted this was to show a cool Sony Tape-Corder I bought at a yardsale a few years ago. Of all the portable cassette recorders I've ever had (about a dozen), this one was hands-down the king of 'em all.

Wow, looks a lot like the old Sony TC-126 I had long ago. It appears you are still missing some parts to the "whole" kit they sold. In addition to the recorder, AC cord, leatherette case, mic and stand, it all came in in a large plastic suitcase sized box with two external speakers and a car adapter. Everything, including all accessories and cables, fit neatly into the suitcase. Heavy, but portable with reasonable quality. Used mine for years while in high school. Left it with my dad nearly 30 years ago.

House...
It is a TC-126. I have the suitcase and external speakers gathering dust in the garage. Bought it at a yard sale about 10 years ago. I wish it had the AC adapter or the car adapter, but at least it had the mic.

That must have been a cool thing to have when you were in HS. What kinds of recordings did you make? Still have any of them?

I don't use it anymore, though. It's kind of a collector piece I love to have around. A year or two after I acquired it I discovered MiniDisc and stopped using portable cassette recorders.

Rick

I did very little field recording with the TC-126. Mostly play rehearsals since I was in the drama club. I once made a wonderful recording of a thunder storm with it. Wish I still had that tape. Otherwise, I used it to record a bunch of my dad's records since it was my only tape deck for a while. Also, a bunch of radio shows. The radio shows are about the only tapes that still exist in my collection from that machine.

Graywolf, Cosmic...
Thanks for the links. There are a lot of specialized sites on the web. And some unbelieveable gear whose prices are insane for my purposes.
I'm a 'less is more' kind of guy. I wouldn't buy professional gear even if I could afford it. The MiniDisc and Digital recorders available nowdays are sufficient, and yield great results.
Mostly I like to record 'Fun' stuff: camping trips, sportscar races, parties, road trips, vacations, theme parks, etc. Sometimes concerts if I think I'm not going to be 'wanded'.
I'll edit the original recording down to it's best moments and make copies for friends. It's a sort of hobby. It's enjoyable spending time listening to the event being replayed. There are things you may have totally forgotten about, or sections you never heard. Little 'memory nuggets' unnoticed during the original event. Some of which can come back and haunt you! (and some can get you a little 'hush-money').

I only wanted to start a new forum on AK because any other site I've visited didn't have the coolness. They were way to technical sometimes. I got some good info from them, but I'd rather remain on AK. I feel at home here! This May will be my first year since registering on AK. I don't want to go to unfamiliar places. Anything in audio I'm interested in is right here. Except field recording.

Rick

House....
I've recorded lots of old radio shows for posterity. Do you ever go back and listen to them? I do sometimes.

We had a few AM talk shows I used to record. Hilarious hosts who did crazy things that were so amusing i was happy to get them on tape. When time permits I record them to CD. Some of the shows are over 20 years old!

Rick

Thanks for starting this thread! The links above are great, and it's nice to know I'm not the only person getting interested in this activity.

Since reading about it on a thread here a while back, I've actually gathered up things like a styrofoam head (from a wig shop) and two matching mikes to attach to its sides (even with fake rubber ears to postiion behind them, simulating the effect of one's real ears on sound!), to carry around and record sounds that --when played back through headphones-- should give "ultimate stereo" sound-staging. I'm gradually setting up a home studio and want to do a lot of my own "sampling" (initially on analog tape) for it. Still working through the possibilities of equipment selection and set-up, learning tips and techniques...

I'd love a forum --or at least more discussion and threads like this one-- on this topic, going forward. Not sure if there are enough people here into this to make a very active forum (I'm just starting, so would have little to contribute at first), but it's a topic that is nice to see being raised.

welcome, Arkay! I'm glad to hear you're interested in this 'hobby'.

As you said, there's no way to know how many people are interested in this sort of thing. I simply enjoy recording almost anything. (I've never had the guts to walk around with a dummy head! More power to you.)

Spending thousands on mics and gear isn't what I'm aiming for. I think today's gear is so much better than what was available 15 or 20 years ago that it approaches what then would be considered 'professional' equipment. S/N ratios and dynamic range are way better nowdays. As is size and weight of the recorders. I'm willing to bet Cosmic's dictation recorder is better than many older cassette decks (if his recorder is digital. If it's a micro-cassette, well....never mind).

Also, I'd like to know what people do with their recordings! I'll record a 4th of July fireworks display, for example. I did that on cassette about 20 years ago. It was a good recording, too. But what can I do with it now? HouseDeKris(sp?) recorded a thunderstorm. Cool. I've recorded many of them here in Florida and some are downright scary. "Hey, anybody want to listen to my collection of thunderstorms?"

That's not going to discourage me! It's a hobby, after all. If someone is interested I'll play every sound effect I have.

Another thing, I'd like to find a way for us to share our prize recordings. Send them to each other in Zip files or something. Another AKer sent me a recording thru email using 'Yousendit'. Very good way to exchange audio files. Pando is another way, but I've never been able to make it work.

Anyway, time for din-din

Thanks, everyone, this is getting better.

Rick

House....
I've recorded lots of old radio shows for posterity. Do you ever go back and listen to them? I do sometimes.

For the longest time, I did nothing with my cassette collection. Like, for a couple decades. Then recently, within the last half year, I've gone through and converted several (about 30+) to CD. Radio shows from the mid-70s that I have on tape are mostly Dr. Demento, National Lampoon Radio Hour, King Biscuit Flower Hour, Inner-View, and Rock-Around-The-World. All are fun to listen to again.

Addressing your primary thought in this thread, starting a recoding forum, is a good idea in my opinion. I once knew a guy who said, "I don't understand how someone can call themself an audiophile and NOT make his own recordings." Luckily, I don't call myself an audiophile. But I get his point, especially after hearing a couple tapes he had made of a local vocal group.

Recently I've been honing my recording skills by attempting to record a haphazard collection of guitar players at work. So far, the results aren't good, but I'm having fun. Since I record direct to the hard disc, discussing such stunts wouldn't really fit well in the Turntables & Tape forum. A forum for recordists, regardless of the medium, would be quite nice.

Yeah, Kris....that's what I'm talking about. Reviving old recordings, transfers of old tape to CD, recording to your PC, local groups, personal experiences, stuff like that. Good stuff. Dr. Demento, King Bisquit! Let's not let that good old stuff go to waste.

How do you transfer your recordings? What kind of software, etc. Do you convert your analog to MP3, or what?

Rick

Analog Hardware Engineer?! Tell us more, Kris....

Rick

Recently I've been honing my recording skills by attempting to record a haphazard collection of guitar players at work. So far, the results aren't good, but I'm having fun. Since I record direct to the hard disc, discussing such stunts wouldn't really fit well in the Turntables & Tape forum. A forum for recordists, regardless of the medium, would be quite nice.

In the end, isn't having fun what it is all about? Otherwise it would just be work.

The neat thing is you can have fun with whatever you have. You do not have to have the latest and the best (however, if one of the guys here wants to send me a Sound Devices digital recorder, I would not turn it down). I personally like the sound of tape. Nope, it is not as perfect as digital, but it is more "musical". Even just trying to find the things you think you need to make "great recordings" is kind of fun. Right now I am shopping for a single-point stereo mic. And, a mixer so I can play with my recordings, none of which are as yet actually worth the effort. Of couse I am trying to get them at the lowest price possible.

I think I am going to start a new thread with a more descriptive subject. That may bring more folks in. How about "Field Recording".

I think I am going to start a new thread with a more descriptive subject. That may bring more folks in. How about "Field Recording".

Done!

I second the motion

Rick

How do you transfer your recordings? What kind of software, etc. Do you convert your analog to MP3, or what?

Like a fool, I answered this on the old server. Here's the reply:

I've been using a pretty simple method for a while now, works for me. Play the tape on a Pioneer CT-F950 and that goes directly into an M-Audio Audiophile2496 box hooked to the computer via USB. I use Cool Edit 2k to record the tape as a WAV file and to make any edits (like fade in/out, or split radio shows up). With a cleaned up WAV, I archive this on an external disc. I also use the cleaned up WAV in EAC to add track markers, then burn a CD-DA and save the cue sheet with the WAV archive (so I can make more CD-DAs if I want to later). Finally, I'll use Cool Edit 2k again to make MP3s of the radio shows. I then use some other software (which I cannot recall the name) to add all the tag data to the MP3 files. I archive these MP3s on a different external hard disc.

Analog Hardware Engineer?! Tell us more, Kris....

Playing the fool a second time, I replied to this one on the old server. The reply:

In my profile for occupation I have listed Analog Hardware Engineer because, well, that's what I do for a living. More specifically, I design the analog circuits used in semiconductor testers. My real passion is designing test circuits for converters, like ADCs and DACs. Alas, the last converter tester I designed was many years ago. I've also designed op-amp testers, video chip testers, high-voltage instruments, high-current instruments, but the high-precision equipment (for DAC/ADC testing) is definately the most challenging and fun. Nowadays, I design the pin electronics for a flash memory tester. Although a flash memory part would sound like it is digital (and it is), the signals going to and from the device under test are, for a variety of reasons, considered analog.

Of course, you can't be any kind of electrical engineer these days without being at least fluent in digital design. I don't design u-processor circuits, but I do design all the digital control circuits for my analog stuff. Software is just a hobby for me, no one pays me money for my software efforts.

House: Thanks for the info. Is that M-Audio machine the portable digital recorder with built in mics? If not, then it has a similar model number. I have an Edirol R-09 which might do the same job. Your method is a little over my head, to say the least! I'm not even sure what CD-DA is! Is it the same as a CD-R? Forgive my ignorance, but I'm trying to learn.
Lately I've been recording from a Tascam A500 cassette deck directly to my computer thru the HP analog recorder. I save them as WAV files then edit with Roxio 9 (a pain in the butt to me). Sometimes I'll convert them to MP3 files, but I lose track of what I've done and end up re-titling the same cassette I've recorded previously. I'm bad at keeping notes!
I break the tracks up into equal sections, maybe 2.5 to 4.0 minutes each. Editing them in real time takes so long! I seldom give tracks titles, just label the CD with "Program", "Artist", "Date", etc. A C-90 will break up into 10-14 equal tracks which is better than one single 45 min. track.
I used to do things very meticulously. I'd spend hours editing a C-90 and make an index on the cassette insert. But I have so many cassettes I'm trying to archive (hundreds!) that I'm trying to just 'get the damn job done'.

When archiving old radio shows, I find it's more interesting to keep the commercials and newscasts, weather and traffic reports. I used to edit them out, but the results seemed pretty dry. News and commercials seem to give the copy more roots.

Your job description seems ideal for this hobby!

Rick

Oops, I gave the wrong number to the M-Audio box. It is actually called the Audiophile USB. My bad. It's essentially a USB attached sound card for the computer. Not stand-alone at all. Check it out here (http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/AudiophileUSB-main.html).

CD-DA just means a CD with digital audio on it. Otherwise known as a redbook CD. This differentiates it from CD-ROM, which could have programs or data files (pictures) on them, or any other variety of CD that is not playable on a CD player. CD-R just means it is recordable, and can become any of the above.

Back in the 70s I put tons of time into my tapes (just as you did), and I still carry that mentallity into today. My motto, if it is worth recording (or converting), it is worth doing right (as in, put in lots of time). You're only going to do the recording once, and listen to it many times, thus it is worth doing right. I do understand the pressure of quickly banging out the conversions when you have a huge backlog.

That M-Audio box looks useful. I think I can live without it, though. At least for the time being. I'll just keep plugging along with what I have.

Thanks for clarifying the CD-DA. Awhile back I was converting cassette to digital for archiving onto CD. The CD's wouldn't play in my car stereo. I realized that I was downloading them as data files! I had to actually 'read the instructions' to get things right.

Rick