Re: [microsound] small stereo mics

[Aaron Ximm <ghede@xxxxxxxx>]

> sorry, but slightly off topic: those look like they could be useful in
> "covert" recording for soundscapes (i want to be able to walk around
> while recording decent quality, without drawing attention). i'd
> appreciate any advice anyone has on this kind of recording in general.

The stealthiest option is true in-ear binaurals; Core Sound's HEBs based
on DPA 406x capsules are the smallest I know of and are quite good. Also
quite pricey. They are small enough that I can tuck them inside my ear
canals. In practice it's convenient to cannabalize ear buds or ear canal
phones to hold them steady.

Next up for me is converting old headphones or similar to mount omni mics
in a near-binaural fashion. I've made many hundred hours of recordings
with a similar mount made by Sonic Studios (the WHB headband). It's pricey
but hand crafted and the windshielding works very very well. It's also
quite socially (not literally) invisible if like me you have messy hair.
You can homebrew a design like this quite cheaply. Spaced omnis pointed
180 degrees out from one another worn on the head give a great headphone
immersive image. If you wear them closer to your temple you can get good
translation to conventional speakers as well.

Dan Dugan wears similar small lav-sized omnis on his shoulders with
windscreening that looks like epaulets. These could be made quite stealthy
as well. His body acts as an occluding body and also gives a good stereo
image.

All these head/body worn strategies are going to be more stealthy than
almost any single-point/spaced directional pair stereo techniques. A key
advantage is you don't need to monitor (with headphones), just watch the
levels. QED you don't need headphones and you don't need to point your
mic(s), either of which can be a giveaway. Once you're familiar with the
limits of your gear, what you hear is what you record.

Btw with a decent mount you can be free from handling noise.

Fwiw the phonography mailing list on yahoo groups has a ton of great info
on this topic, including lots of good DIY info and reviews of cheap mics.

 best regards,
  aaron

  ghede@xxxxxxxx
  http://www.quietamerican.org

  |  quod omne animal post   |
  |  cogitum est triste...   |


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