Topic: Avian recording suggested microphones...

[pruitthall]

Newbie here and life-long birder but recent convert to audio recordings.  School-of-hard-knocks getting gear, even reading these great forums, other audio ones and dedicated nature recording sites.  I started with Olympus gear three (3) years ago, graduated to a Tascam DR-100 MK II and finally, after reading seven forum categories here on the Sony PCM-M10, acquired one.  And I love it, period.  Great, fast little recorder and easy for a novice like myself to use.

I am about to pull the trigger on a TinyBox (again, many thanks there) but I think I'm in need of advice on external microphones.  I've read gobs of reviews on so many used in nature recording but I follow two tenants in my old age on what I'm trying to record: 1) What I like to hear and 2) putting placement of the recorder at the top of my priorities.  I've gotten good at placement, but I know what my ears "like" might elicit rolling eyeballs amongst the pro-crowd here:  I actually love the sound of the little Sony's Omni-microphones!  I know their stereo separation leaves a little (or a lot) to be desired, but I like it.  And therein lies my dilemma:  I don't know what microphones (having no microphone locker yet!) to try to achieve that.

I've read reviews on the Sennheiser ME66/K6 combo, but think that will be more directional.  I've also seen the Superlux 5502 get good stereo reviews and at it's price point, I sure could 'experiment' with one, but I'm feeling it's not outdoor-rugged, but am willing to try it.  Finally, I've actually seen great reviews on the little Sony ECM-MS957 and it sure seems like a good fit for this recorder.

So, as a rank novice, does anyone have any suggestions for a good microphone (or combo) that emulates the Sony's built-in Omni's but is more sensitive and captures more of a sound field?

Thanks in advance and I hope I got this in the right category / forum.

[bombdiggity]

Well first concern would be what general type of mics:   

Omnis are not going to give you much feel of separation because they are omnidirectional.  Cardioids will by default give you more l/r feel. 

As an occasional birder I'd think that sort of thing will be challenging.  I suspect an omni mic will be more useful unless you're trying to record a "spot" (like setting a camera on a particular point). 

I know the pros tend toward very large "shotgun" style mics which are by default a cardioid or tighter pattern (trying to zoom in on what they want to record and reduce the impacts of distance). 

Do you have issues with the noise floor on what you've tried?  I'd think the quietness of the mic in question would be critical, though on the other hand outdoors there may be a fairly high level of non-distracting background noise (at least relative to a quiet indoor crowd). 

How portable do you need to be?  Size and convenience may also be a factor? 

You'll likely just have to take a trial and error approach.  I don't think you necessarily would need great (or expensive) mics.  Size, self-noise, isolation, pattern are probably the key factors for that.  Tonal coloration will be a lot less discernible than with music. 

[earmonger]

There is a group devoted entirely to what you want to do. They should be experts on low-noise mics and other practicalities.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/naturerecordists/conversations/topics

Here's their mic primer:

http://naturesound.org/?p=116

And here are some very scientific folks with more info:

http://www.avisoft.com/

[John Willett]

Talk also to the WSRS - Wildlife Sound Recording Society - they should be able to advise you properly.

It's worth being a member - subs are inexpensive and you get a regular magazine and a regular CD - you can also submit your recordings for the CD.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I've read that the capsules in the M10 are Primo EM172's.

As others have suggested, you really need to get on the naturerecordist list for more appropriate advice. Nature recording requires a noise floor that is much lower than what most anyone here does. Devices that work well for music don't always perform so well with birds.

Highly directional microphones tend to have sound artifacts that may make them sound unnatural, and even metallic. If you are coming from omnis, which you like, you may find the sound of directional mics unappealing.

[pruitthall]

Thanks to all that have replied...seriously useful advice and I will be pursuing the WSRS and Yahoo groups.

Bombdiggity--you are right...it's trial and error and I do love the sound of the Omni's and yes, you made a great point...noise floor with the built ins is higher than I'd like, especially when it gets quiet.  That said, the Dawn and Dusk chorus' get animated and it's less of an issue.  I've also found that the Izotope Enhancer in Sound Forge really does miracle type work on cleaning it up, so, overall, I'm not terribly unhappy with my rig itself.  Which leans towards portability and speed, so the 'tweaking' is me just wanting to refine the soundfield itself.

Many thanks to all of you...I'll check out the sources noted and try to get to the next step...much appreciated!