Ableton Forum

Hi - I'm after some advice on buying a microphone for recording/sampling.

I have bought an iRiver H340 40GB mp3 recorder/player, mainly for its ability to record and act as a USB hard drive and USB On-The-Go data dump for my digital camera. I wasn’t prepared to pay for one of those specialist portable sampling devices that use SD cards for memory. I wanted to record longer stuff too (DJ sets etc).

I haven’t received the unit yet, so haven’t tried the iRiver external mic that comes with it. I don’t expect it to be great.

So - I want to buy a microphone that will plug in to my iRiver device to allow me to record in at decent quality with minimal noise. I’m about to go travelling in Africa, so I want to record natural sounds – animals, ambience etc.

The iRiver H340 doesn’t have phantom power or anything – it’s not “studio” gear. Its input is just (afaik) just normal headphone jack input.

Someone suggested I buy a Rode NT3, as it can be battery powered, and give a nice sound. But it’s also very expensive ($300 Australian) and a bit big for travelling with.

Anyone got any other suggestions? I’d like to keep it small and portable.

Really appreciate any help.

Mark

had my eye on one of these for a while....
http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired ... index.html
haven't actually tested one yet, but i like the spec and it rated well in the online reviews i read (for what thats worth...).
the rode might sound better, but it's not stereo.
speaking of them, rode also do a thing called a videomic thats bloody cheap, battery powered and apparently ok. it's a bit unwieldy and its not stereo but for the money it might be an option.
there is another battery powered one thats meant to be better than the rode for about the same money, but i can't remember what it is... if i remember i'll let you know.

perhaps if you ask on the freesound forum, there are some really knowledgable 'field' recordists there. They actually have a competition on to wina mic and recorder at the moment. http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

if you are looking to record field recordings perhaps you should look into a parabolic setup. Although the proffesional setups are quite expensive (of course) if you are a bit of a hacker you could make one!

like this...
http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel ... ophone.htm
It's also possible to construct a stereo version
http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel ... tereo.html
the site has some recordings he made with this mic.

well, it depends how much of a 'maker' you are I guess.

So honestly - don't laugh.

What sort of results can I expect from a real cheap but supposedly "High Quality Microphone for Recording on Digital Media such as MiniDisc (MD), DAT, and NT, for recordings with low noise, wide frequency response and dynamic range " like the simple SONY Electret Condenser Stereo Microphone ECM-DS70P?

Total crap, or just "pretty average"?

I don;t think I can justify spending AU$250 + on a field mic just yet.

hi there
that sony ECM-DS70P is exactly the mic that i use to record to minidisc on. i always use it to do found sounds and field recordings and stuff whenever i go out or on holiday or wherever. with a little extension cable so it doesnt pick up md noise, i have always found it completely fine. i would expect that if you are recording onto an mp3 recorder thing it will be fine too. it needs to take power from the recorder to work though i think. it cost me about 40 quid about ohhh maybe 8 years ago. check out its specs on the net, but for the sort of music and noises that i make i think it is mint.
x

mind you, i am really into making tunes from field recordings i got on my trashy nokia 6230 mic at the mo, : )

I've used the Sony ECMMS907 stereo mike with dat and md. Great sound and compact which is a bonus if your're travelling

Ian V