Recording Live Sound

S

S7CK

Carbonite Member
Hey guys, say I wanted to record sounds like thunderstorms, heavy machinery operating etc, what digital audio recorder would you recommend? One that produces the best quality.

What do the professionals use to record outdoor sounds? Thanks.
 
Professionals use just about everything to record FX. "The Best" is very subjective and depends on your needs. If your going to be out in the wet you might want to consider a Cantar since they are almost waterproof, and a steal at only $15K or so...
Most lists of "the best" would include Cantar, Nagra, Deva and Sound Devices. Of those SD is by far the least expensive. The Deva is not a great over the shoulder recorder so your really looking at the other three.

That said I do a lot of recording professionally and I'm using a Marantz PMD671 with a SD MixPre as the front end. I also have an portable DAT (that hasn't been turned on in a LONG time) a Nagra analog deck, a Zoom h2, and a mini disk. All have been used to record sounds for feature films with budgets ($20M - $250M range). Actually I also have a cass. recorder that was used for a few features.

You also need to get a decent stereo pair (or stereo mic). If you go cheap on the recorder I HIGHLY recommend getting a good mic preamp.
 
The best quality is produced by the right mics in the right wind protection in the right place. The brand of the recorder comes fourth.

You are looking at a $6000 system, minimum. Half for the recorder, half mics & wind protection.
 
S7CK said:
Hey guys, say I wanted to record sounds like thunderstorms, heavy machinery operating etc, what digital audio recorder would you recommend? One that produces the best quality.

What do the professionals use to record outdoor sounds? Thanks.
Click to expand...

RF condenser mics (Sennheiser MKH series) to be bullet-prooof safe in damp outdoor conditions - in a proper Rycote windshield kit. Recorder would normally be a Sound Devices 700 series (702, 722, 744 or 788) or a Nagra (Nagra V, VI or LB).
 
Well you have gotten both extremes so you really need to tell us a budget range. For FX recording a low price for a good set up probably starts at around $3,000 or so and can very easily move into the noes bleed prices. On the other hand many/ most FX recordists with $$$$$ setups also have some very inexpensive recorder like the Zoom to pick up assorted stuff that is either too dangerous or too hard to get with a bigger more visible rig. A Zoom with good wind protection will do a very acceptable job with most ambience recordings. So if you don't have $$$$ to drop then there are options. If you end up doing this for a living you will collect a lot of gear and one day go wow it takes $$$$$$ to record what I do. But actually you like everyone else will have started small and upgraded as money allowed.
 
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