Choosing sound recording equipment for the expedition
Blog posted by huw on Feb 19th, 2009
The Listen to Africa expedition sound equipment. © Listen to Africa
Update: For the latest on the audio equipment, including a six month review on how the kit has performed and why we’ve made some recent additions, please read the six month update .
I’d like to welcome you to the first in a series of audio equipment blogs. This is also a first for me, having never written a blog before. I usually plod away in the background in my own little technical world and leave others to communicate with the wider world, so please forgive me if I’m not conforming to the norms – I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it in time!
Because our expedition will pass through a myriad of environments – from the extreme heat and dust of the Sahara to the hot, humid tropical rainforests of Central Africa (not forgetting Europe in winter) – equipment choice hasn’t been easy. Everything is inevitably a compromise between quality and robustness. Travelling unsupported by bicycle, weight and bulk are also important factors. And, because we will often have no access to mains electricity, sometimes for extended periods, low power consumption is crucial.
In the hope it will be useful to others choosing audio equipment for expeditions, below is the list of sound recording equipment we’re carrying. Time will tell if we’ve made the right choice (or if we can physically carry it!); we’ll update you on the blog as to how it is all performing.
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The audio recorder
When we first started looking at audio recorders, choosing one seemed an impossible task; the recorders with the quality and features we wanted were too bulky, and the small compact recorders didn’t have the functions we needed.
After spending considerable time researching all the compact and semi-compact recorders on the market, we eventually narrowed the choice down to two models: the Marantz PMD660 and the Fostex FR2LE. Both are excellent compact field recorders that record WAV and MP3 at various quality levels to compact flash cards. We eventually plumped for the Fostex FR2LE , as we felt it had the edge for our needs.
Fostex have been producing field recorders for years, and have built a good reputation within the industry. The FR2LE is compact derivative of the already established FR2. It’s not without its faults but on balance it is a well specced, rugged compact recorder and from the feedback we’ve received, it should be up to the job – watch this space. (Talking of space, the Fostex FR2LE was chosen to be used in the International Space Station (ISS) check out this link .)
A quick rundown of the main features ( the Fostex website has more detailed information):
- Two XLR connections for microphones and the ability to record on one or two channels, giving the facility to record mono or stereo.
- Ability to record Broadcast WAV format (BWF) 16 bit (44.1 and 48 KHz) 24bit (44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96KHz) as well as MP3 (192kbps).
- Recording to Compact Flash card. Provides long record times (six hours on a 4 GB card at 16 bit 44.1 KHz. Two hours at the maximum 24 bit 96 KHz).
- Phantom power via the XLR connections.
- Tough construction.
- Long battery life (four hours on 4xAA batteries).
- Easy connection to computer for transferring files for editing via USB2.
- PC and Mac compatable.
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Microphones and accessories
Ideally on an expedition like this one, we’d use a number of techniques and an arsenal of microphones to document the sounds and voices we encounter. We don’t have that luxury; we need to keep the equipment to a minimum. Therefore we have narrowed the selection of microphones to three: one for voice recording and interviewing, one predominantly for wildlife recording and isolating individual sounds, and one general purpose microphone (primarily a backup).
Beyer Dynamic M58 (omnidirectional dynamic microphone):
This microphone will mainly be used for recording speech, especially interviews. The model has been around for some time and is extensively used in outside broadcasts and news gathering. It has a proven track record and has been shown to stand up well to the rigours of field use. Main features:
- Specifically designed for use in ENG (eletronic news gathering) and EFP (electronic field production).
- Internal shockmount reduces handling noise.
- Rugged construction to withstand physical and enviromental punishment encountered in the field.
Audio-Technica ATM 63H (unidirectional hypercardioid dynamic microphone):
This will be used as our backup microphone and will hopefully spend most of its time in the bottom of the panniers. It is non-specialised and ruggedly constructed. Again, it has been around for some time and has recently been discontinued – although some outlet still have stocks. Main features:
- General purpose dynamic microphone.
- Some directional control, which reduces pickup from sides and rear and isolates the desired sound source.
- Very rugged and robust construction.
Audio-Technica AT897 (short shotgun line+gradient condenser microphone):
This super-directional microphone will be used when we need to isolate a sound, be that somebody speaking in a loud environment or for recording of wildlife sounds such as bird calls. Main features:
- Specifically designed for field audio acquisition in film, broadcast and wildlife sound recording.
- Good long-distance pickup with a narrow acceptance angle.
- Smooth, natural sound quality on axis with good rejection of sound from side and rear.
Microphone leads
We will be carrying two FemaleXLR to MaleXLR microphone leads , one three metres and one five metres long. They are both constructed using Musiflex cable and terminated with Neutrik X-Series connectors. All microphones and the audio recorder have XLR connections (and therefore are fully interchangeable).
Pistol grip
The pistol grip will be used with the shotgun microphone. Reinhardt PG2 pistol grip was chosen because of its fairly compact nature and ability to fold flat. The standard screw fitting in the base of the handle facilitates the attachment of a boom pole / mounting on a tripod. A short XLR lead is threaded through the pistol grip and attached to the microphone to ease use and reduce handling noise.
Boom pole
Konig & Meyer Mini Fishpole (discontinued) was chosen for its compact size and light weight (300g). It’s a compact, three section telescopic boom pole that will extend to 1.6m.
Wind protection
For the shotgun microphone, we chose a Reinhardt Wisper W22-200HW . This is constructed using acoustically transparent silver-grey synthetic fur. We opted for the high wind model, as it will cope with a wide range of conditions. For the M58 a Reinhardt 50-70 fur windsock was chosen. Wind noise can be a significant problem when recording in the field, so the additional bulk of high quality wind protection was felt to be essential.
Audio recorder case
We don’t intend to carry a backup field recorder for logistical reasons, so we felt it was essential that the recorder had the best possible protection against the environment and handling in the field. A hard case like a Peli Case was too bulky, so we decided to go for a soft PortaBrace case. PortaBrace have a worldwide reputation for producing high quality products and produce a case specifically for the FR2LE: the PortaBrace AR-FR2LE . There are cheaper options around, but none were specifically designed for the recorder or matched the quality of the PortaBrace.
If you’d like to know more about the sound recording equipment we chose and why we chose it, please get in touch and we’ll get back to you as soon as is logistically possible.
