Topic: Mobile recording question

[Netspeed]

The guys over at head-fi.org recommend this site. Boy were they right! This place is busting at the seams with information.

I want to be able to record from the inside of cars so it needs to be light and portable. I like the M-Audio but it's a little pricy. I have no need for play back...just recording that I can transfer to a laptop. From what I've read here, the JB3 is the way to go.

Also, seeing that the "studio" is going to be on the inside of the cars, I won't have any access to 110v to power the system. It all has to be self-contained. What is the best overall setup that I could get? I want to have high-quality recordings the I can post on my website.

I'm trying to get the whole setup in for around $300.

Thanks for any and all help!!
     

[RebelRebel]

http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=46.0
there are some basic answers in there..and if you have more questions feel free to ask...welcome bud.

[Netspeed]

I read all those athough a lot of it is Greek to me! I like the idea of the Sony D8 being mostly all-in-one.

[mmmatt]

what's the website?

Matt

[Evil Taper]

why not just record to your laptop?  you can get some cheap type mics and a firewire based pre-amp for your laptop and avoid purchasing a recording device.

[Netspeed]

The website is not finalized yet as I'm still working on another project right now.

As for recording to a laptop, that would be the opitmal choice. For street cars, I might be able to use it. What type of mic would work best?

Unfortunately, the majority of the recordings are going to be in less than ideal situations. The recording device is going to be strapped into racecars and I don't think the laptop would survive, the safety people wouldn't be too happy with a laptop sitting back there, and lastly, I need it as small and lightweight as possible.

[Evil Taper]

into RACECARS....interesting.  Are you just looking to record the ambient sounds from the racecars cockpit or do you want to mic up the driver or what?  What kind of racing are you recording like this?  If you watch WRC they have a camera and mic mounted inside the vehicle from a bit behind the driver and you hear alot of engine and road noise on top of the navigators voice.  Any racecar is gonna be pretty noisy though since all the extra weight is stripped out.  Sounds like a cool gig at any rate.

[udovdh]

The website is not finalized yet as I'm still working on another project right now.

As for recording to a laptop, that would be the opitmal choice. For street cars, I might be able to use it. What type of mic would work best?

Unfortunately, the majority of the recordings are going to be in less than ideal situations. The recording device is going to be strapped into racecars and I don't think the laptop would survive, the safety people wouldn't be too happy with a laptop sitting back there, and lastly, I need it as small and lightweight as possible.

Microtrack would be nice. It is light, no harddisk or many moving parts.

[Netspeed]

udovdh---Microtrack is M-Audio right? I looked into that but they're still a little pricey.

Evil Taper---I love WRC!! I just wish they could get the costs down so more manufacturers would jump in. They're headed the way of F1. As for recording, since the cars will be mostly on the track (no dirt), the only noise I'm really concerned about is the wind buffeting but maybe a good mic cover will take care of that. I'm not going to mic the driver's although that might be an option in the future. Gotta love RACECARS!!

[Brian Skalinder]

As for recording, since the cars will be mostly on the track (no dirt), the only noise I'm really concerned about is the wind buffeting but maybe a good mic cover will take care of that.

Unfortunately, the majority of the recordings are going to be in less than ideal situations. The recording device is going to be strapped into racecars and I don't think the laptop would survive, the safety people wouldn't be too happy with a laptop sitting back there, and lastly, I need it as small and lightweight as possible.

Sounds like there are a lot more requirements than initially provided.  Good that we're getting into them.    I'm not familiar with racecars, so...please bear with me.  The answers to the following questions may (or may not) impact your decisions.

• Are we talking about mounting the mic in a reasonably secure, fully enclosed space?  On the outside of the vehicle so it's exposed to full at-speed winds?  In a partially enclosed space so it's not subject directly to at-speed winds, but only buffeting winds redirected into the partially enclosed space?
• Are there space/weight limitations?
• Does the gear need to survive impacts of any kind?
• Are there safety regulations that may prevent use of certain types of battery systems for the gear - NiMH, Li-Ion, etc.?
• Are there safety regulations that may preclude the use of standard mic cabling?
• You mention buffeting winds above - how strong do you estimate these winds?
• Does the recorder require remote administration, or are we talking more of a situation in which you start-the-recorder-when-the-driver-gets-in and remove-the-recorder-when-the-driver-gets-out?
• I'm guessing we're also talking pretty substantial vibration as well, which will probably cause problems with HD recording, and even DAT recording - leaving solid state as the way to go (which, of course, at the moment costs more money).  The M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 is currently the least expensive of the portable solid state recorders - any chance for a budget change?  And if not, is it acceptable to record in lossy formats like MP3 or some such?  In other words, how important is the quality of the recording?
• And lastly, but certainly not least important - is your goal to capture specific sounds, i.e. exhaust, engine, noise from the wheels/pavement, or simply general ambience from wherever you happen to place the mic?

[Netspeed]

As for recording, since the cars will be mostly on the track (no dirt), the only noise I'm really concerned about is the wind buffeting but maybe a good mic cover will take care of that.

Unfortunately, the majority of the recordings are going to be in less than ideal situations. The recording device is going to be strapped into racecars and I don't think the laptop would survive, the safety people wouldn't be too happy with a laptop sitting back there, and lastly, I need it as small and lightweight as possible.

Sounds like there are a lot more requirements than initially provided.  Good that we're getting into them.    I'm not familiar with racecars, so...please bear with me.  The answers to the following questions may (or may not) impact your decisions.

• Are we talking about mounting the mic in a reasonably secure, fully enclosed space?  On the outside of the vehicle so it's exposed to full at-speed winds?  In a partially enclosed space so it's not subject directly to at-speed winds, but only buffeting winds redirected into the partially enclosed space?
• Are there space/weight limitations?
• Does the gear need to survive impacts of any kind?
• Are there safety regulations that may prevent use of certain types of battery systems for the gear - NiMH, Li-Ion, etc.?
• Are there safety regulations that may preclude the use of standard mic cabling?
• You mention buffeting winds above - how strong do you estimate these winds?
• Does the recorder require remote administration, or are we talking more of a situation in which you start-the-recorder-when-the-driver-gets-in and remove-the-recorder-when-the-driver-gets-out?
• I'm guessing we're also talking pretty substantial vibration as well, which will probably cause problems with HD recording, and even DAT recording - leaving solid state as the way to go (which, of course, at the moment costs more money).  The M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 is currently the least expensive of the portable solid state recorders - any chance for a budget change?  And if not, is it acceptable to record in lossy formats like MP3 or some such?  In other words, how important is the quality of the recording?
• And lastly, but certainly not least important - is your goal to capture specific sounds, i.e. exhaust, engine, noise from the wheels/pavement, or simply general ambience from wherever you happen to place the mic?

1. Partially enclosed space that will be affected by buffeting.
2. If I can keep everything under a few pounds, that would be good as well as keeping it around the size of the M-Audio recorder.
3. I not expecting it to get hit so relative durability is not an issue. Probably the harshest force it will encounter would be the vibration of the drivetrain and the g-forces of braking.
4. I don't forsee any safety regulations for the batteries.
5. I shouldn't have any problems with mic cabling as I can tie-wrap them to rollbars and so forth. Small and lightweight would be a big plus.
6. Most of the winds would be anywhere from 40mph up to 160mph. Drive on the freeway with your windows down and you'll get the idea.
7. No remote admin on the recorder. Driver hops in and we start it and stop it when he gets out. Usual session time would probably be max 1/2 hour record time.
8. I'm pretty OCD when it comes to quality so I'd always like to have the best recording possible. I might be possible to rubber-mount and isolate the recorder. I agree...I might have to revise my budget and spring for the Microtrack.
9. The ulitame goal is to get that rich-racecar sound that gearheads love. Whether it involves mics in the car or getting them closer to the exhaust will only be done through trial-and-error.

BTW....thanks for all the great help! I REALLY appreciate it!!

[mschiff]

I think the Edirol R1 would be your best bet. You could just use the built in mics and it would do quite well for you. That saves you the money of buying mics and figuring out where to mount them. I've got both the R1 and Microtrack and don't think the latter would work well without some additional components. I think the sounds inside a racecar would be too loud for the Microtrack which adds gain to the analog inputs.

-- Martin

[Netspeed]

Thanks for the info!

[Evil Taper]

I'm confused, are you wanting to record the engine sounds or the exhaust note of the car?
What kind of cars are you going to be recording specifically?

More than likely, if this is any sort of pro-amateur/pro type racing situation the cars interiors will be stripped except for the front drivers seat and a roll cage.  You could actually just use a pair of mics mounted inside the cabin, one facing towards the front firewall and one facing towards (or in) the trunk compartment.  That way you should be getting both sounds which you can mix down later.  If you're taping super cars than you'll definately want to get both sounds because they're both very beautiful.

I'll have to recommend you to check out the Best Motoring series of racing videos and see how you like the sound they have.  They switch back and forth between track views where you hear the cars from outside and cockpit shots where you hear the shifting and car sounds from the drivers point of view (and all of the drivers are mic'd up which makes some pretty funny commentary at times).

[Netspeed]

I'll be recording mostly pro-amateur race cars, some old vintage stuff, Porsches, Ferraris, etc.

I would say that 90% of the sound comes from the exhaust in a stripped interior. If they had full interiors and stock exhaust, most likely I would shift to getting more of the engine sound recorded. So what type of mics and recording device would you recommend? Small and light would be better.

Do you have a link to the Best Motoring series?