Hey Tapers,
I'm planning on buying a JB3 for my trip to North Africa to record the sounds of markets and calls to prayer etc--My question is what mic should I get? I guess I need an internally powered, omni-directional mic. But I will be recording in lots of different environments, and I want to stealth it, as you guys say.
I will be doing some long sequences where I move from very quiet streets to booming crazy markets. Can the JB3 adjust the levels on the fly? Can I get a mic that records both soft, subtle noises and relatively loud noises?
Finally, what I can expect for battery life while recording?
Thanks guys.
-Nick
PS: My budget SUCKS. I have $250, so basically less than 70 for the mic(s).
I can't answer the mic question, but I will suggest that you look at www.soundprofessionals.com . A specific model I cannot suggest, but someone else may be able to. $70 is going to be a tough price point.
AFAIK, the JB3 can adjust on the fly. You can expect around 3 hours per battery for recording I do believe.
don't just go and get the omni Radio shack mics. they work well in low DB situations, but anything above a loud talking voice, and they sound like ass... good luck man. check soundpro.
http://www.minidisco.com/dt-1k.html
there ya go
make sure you burn me a disc
these are GREAT for this type of thing (so i hear ... sample links at the bottom) http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/category.cgi?category=110&item=SP-TFB-2&type=store (you definately want the High Sensitivity version) ... if you can dig up some extra $$ a battery box would be nice, but they will work fine w/o it. I too would love to hear some of your recordings, perhaps you would be so kind as to upload them to archive.org?
-Aaron
Sample links (they goto pages, not mp3s ... so you can choose which suject you want to sample)
http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collectionid=jhammons2003-09-03_NatureLetterA.mp3f&collection=opensource_audio
http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collectionid=jhammons2004-02-05-Suburban_Vacation_3.mp3f&collection=opensource_audio
http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collectionid=jhammons2003-04-10.toadstest.mp3f&collection=opensource_audio
http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collectionid=jhammons2003-10-11_I_Walk_Around_The_Bay_FE.mp3f&collection=opensource_audio
The dt-1k omni-stereo looks like it would be difficult to conceal. I would probably need to pin that thing in an obvious place in order to get good sound. SoundPro's SB-TFP-2 binaural mic looks more like what I need. I don't know if I'd wear them in the ear, but maybe hooked into my hair might work better.
BUT... these mics don't seem to be internally powered. Won't I have a really weak signal when I plug it into the Line-in on the jb3? I really don't have the sixty bucks for the battery box... that's like a week's worth of hostels in Morocco.
Thanks for your help so far, and I DEFINITELY plan to post my recordings online.
A microphone will not work if you plug it into the line in of a JB3, it will need a battery box to bring it up to line level.
These (http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-poweredbattery1.htm) will work on the cheap, but if you can swing the SoundPro binaurals and a battery box, those would be even better.
I've heard something about the mic-in on the JB3 sounding noisy because of the hard-drive. Is this really true, or is it just picky ears that must have perfect audio? I mean if I'm trying to record an nearly-silent moment and you can hear a droning sound or something that's not cool.
Will this be the case, going directly to mic-in? Basically I'm trying to avoid buying a powered mic or a battery module.
Why not get a pair of Giant Squids for $90?
its a fine line between the giant squids and th SPs:
SPs : Much better mic, but alos more expensive, So you'll end up using the shitty mic pre / mic power in the jb3
Giant Squids : lower quality mics ... but they come with power.
Aaron, I've listened to some of those SP-recorded samples from archive.org and I'm sold on getting SP mics. I guess I'm going to double my mic budget so I can buy the batt. box, and make up for the cost later. I have a feeling I won't regret it.
So the NEW QUESTION: which SoundPro mics? I like the wearable gooseneck design ($89), but how are the standard high sensitivity AT omni's that come with it? It seems that I could get the same quality mic in the SP-BMC-2's (with no attachment options) for $49. forty extra bucks just for the gooseneck mount?
But if I'm going to spend $89, I may as well step up and get the BMC-12's (AT350) with clips for $99, right? Hmmmm.... this stuff is damn addictive. I can see why you guys are so intense.
I just talked to the Soundpro guys, and they've informed me that I now need a PRE-AMP to boost my low-dynamics into the line-in. Is this true? Will the battery box not suffice for those quiet sounds?
Suddenly my little budget affair is exploding out of control.
GSB
sorry, GSB means what?
How is SP's battery module + gain-selectable pre-amp? For $169 can I do any better than that?
I find it humorous that I started out saying my budget was $250 for the whole rig, and now I'm putting out $250 just for basic mics, power, and pre-amp. What kind of demented hobby is this anyway?
I don't think the preamp will be necissary. The gain from my MD deck Line In was more than enough to make solid recordings. I think the preamp would just add more noise.
But what about recording soft sounds? Let's say I want to pick up the sound of feet shuffling on a street around the corner. Is it really going to suffice, even with high sensitivity (-35db) mics and battery mod, to go straight into line-in? Please advise ;D
What I've read so far on NJB3Tapers Yahoo group leads me to believe I need a pre-amp. But if they're wrong, let me know, as this would obviously save me much needed cash. Cash I would maybe put towards CMC-4 omni's, which seem to be popular.
My newbie rig is going to look like: SP-BMC-12>SP-PREAMP>JB3 for a grand total of $480, shipped.
p.s. Is it a significant difference (to the aspiring audiophile) in signal noise ratio b/t 60db and 65db or 67db? Worth spending $40 more to get BMC-6's w/clips? Worth spending $80 more to get CMC-4's w/clips? Are these questions impossible to answer?