Audio Hardware/Software Response

Once I got the hand of soldering, the microphone building was pretty fun and pretty easy. The mics themselves worked very well, I never noticed any problems. I really don't know what my ideal setup would be... probably something really expensive?

The MiniDisc recorder on the other hand... My first one was fine, but the replacement I got simply didn't work. It would start out okay, but when I would press 'Stop' it would delete everything I had just recorded... no good. I eventually borrowed someone else's and I've now gotten a new one that works fine, so that's good. When the recorder works right it's fine, there's a couple things that could make it a little easier but it's mostly good.

I had used Audacity before, and I remembered how to do pretty much everything. I really barely used it though, just to try to get rid of some wind sound and that's pretty much it. It's definitely a good program though, and I'm sure I'll be using it again.

10 Questions

1. How can I experiment with holding the microphones in two different places?
2. Will there be different types of noises during different times of the day?
3. Where could I record the least possible amount of noise?
4. Can I get to anyplace where there is little/no human involvement?
5. Will people get mad at me when I record and take pictures of them?
6. Where can I go to get a good echo?
7. Where can I go to get good nature sounds?
8. Can I find music anywhere?
9. I’ve been on ground level pretty much the whole time; can I find some way to get higher or lower?
10. Will I be able to avoid breaking/losing anything else?

Stay tuned…

Drift 1 Response: It Could Have Been Worse

I had a pretty good time going out on my drifts. Besides the whole “dropping the MD recorder into Lake Michigan” incident, and the “new MD recorder deletes all my files that I just spent three hours getting” mishap, I really enjoyed myself. As for some non-technological struggles… I was walking by an apartment building I could hear someone practicing piano in the window. In the background you could hear some kids yelling across the street. I climbed up onto a wall and got the mics closer to the window. The sound was perfect, piano music coming from the left, kids playing from the right, and the occasional car driving by. I started recording and… five seconds later the music stopped. About half a minute after that the kids started running away. So that was pretty frustrating. A similar situation happened later with some construction work. There was a machine making a great scraping noise (I can’t think of how to describe it really) but soon after I started recording it stopped, and I didn’t really get enough for a good clip.

As for more positive moments, there were plenty. Two that really stick out for me are these: A couple sitting on a park bench by a fountain (they could see me, but I don’t think they knew I was recording them…). In the recording you couldn’t really hear what they were saying but you can make out the occasional phrase. The thing I really liked about this was how much it reminded me of how my parents talk to each other. The fountain in the background only added to the serenity of the scene. Unfortunately, this recording will never be heard, due to my clumsiness on wet rocks… Another moment I really enjoyed (and managed to keep) was when I found two wind chimes right next to each other, one making high pitched noises, one low. It really was a perfect sound, and I spent about 10 or 15 minutes there, experimenting with microphone placement and just listening to how the two chimes interacted with each other.

The main thing I was surprised about on my drifts was, simply, how much stuff there is all around us. You can really find interesting noises and sights anywhere you go. I also found myself getting more emotionally attached to what I was hearing, especially those two situations I talked about before. On a completely different note, another thing that surprised me was my ability to catch things as I slip and fall. Really, I could have lost a lot more then just the recorder (mainly Mitch’s $300 digital camera and my $150 headphones). So good for me.

My favorite part of the whole drift was definitely those two wind chimes. I really could have spent much longer there just listening to them, as long as the wind kept up.