Sep 03 2010
Thunder Struck
I finally managed to record some thunder. Since I’ve had this gear we’ve not had a decent thunder storm. Or, if we have, I’ve been elsewhere without any recording equipment with me. This is a mix of several hours of recordings today. I basically hit record and went and watched TV to catch up on all the documentaries I’ve recorded over the last few weeks. (ABC have had some good programs on lately) These have been ‘time’ edited to remove the remove the long wait for the next clap (commonly referred to in Meteorological circles as clapgaps and not to be confused with claptrap)
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Recorded from under our carport using a Schoeps M/S pair of CCM4Lg & CCM8Lg directly into my SD 702 from the comfort of my lounge chair. I was concerned that the microphone stand may get hit by lightening, and Kerry would come home to a charred cable with a charred microphone at one end and a charred man wearing headphones at the other…..
May 26 2010
Dacelo novaeguineae upon an aged Eucalyptus
A steady rain fell during the night so just after 6:00am I put my Schoeps M/S pair and Rycote Blimp in the carport. Raised high enough into the eaves to get the rain lightly hitting the roof and the trickle of water into the gutter.
Kookaburras waking up and testing their voice, Magpies choralling, New Holland Honey Eaters chirping and the Red Wattle Bird’s rattling cough. The occasional ‘creek’ of Pseudophryne bibronii, the Bibron’s Toadlet that is hiding amongst our plants.
A Spur Winged Plover can be heard 4 minutes into the recording. If you’ve been attack by one of these whilst trying to cross it’s nesting ground, you NEVER forget the sound. Many nights I have woken suddenly as one of the nearby nesting Plovers warns off a cat or fox. For several years, we had a Plover nesting about 20 metres from our bedroom window. Each year it would nest within a metre or so of the previous spot. One year I felt sorry for it sitting on the nest on freezing rain, so I built a small makeshift shelter over the spot and I like to think it was happier because of it. One of our Suffolk Rams was alone in a paddock having ‘done his thing’ with the ewes, and would sit next to it for company. The Plover would stand on the Rams head and beat him around the ears with its wings, but the ram wouldn’t give up. Eventually the Plover was the one that gave up and accepted the rams presence, and it was always amusing to watch it walk over and sit down when the bird returned to the nest.
Several years ago, a husband & wife further along our road got divorced. He got the car, she got the kids and for some reason, we got his pigeons and they’ve inhabited our barn since. They can be heard waking up, followed shortly after by an approaching train as the recording ends.
This is about 11:30 long MP3 encoded at 256 kbps (about 21 Mb)
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Apr 02 2010
Schoeps CCM4Lg – ORTF in Schoeps/Rycote blimp
I usually have my blimp filled with a Schoeps CCM4Lg/CCM8Lg in M/S configuration. But it was suggested to me that ORTF is very good for ambient recording, giving a nice stereo image. So after a bit of thought I came up with a way to use ORTF in my Schoeps/Rycote stereo blimp. This blimp is usually supplied for the M/S rig by Schoeps. Using the theory that a picture tells a thousand words, here is a 13,000 word instruction manual on how to do it. Be aware that this method is only good for use when mounting the blimp on a tripod or stand because there is only one clip holding it. And the handle is still in it’s normal orientation.
Mar 19 2010
Who doesn’t love the sound of trains?
I think that somewhere deep down, we all love the sound of trains. I do, and I’m not sure if the kid in me won’t let go of the enjoyment of these sounds, or my older romantic side just wants these behemoths to keep travelling around our country, providing the goods and services that they always have. This freight train, having originated in Melbourne, is passing through Balhannah, at 10:50 am today, about an hour from Adelaide.
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Although this train sounds as though it’s going in the same direction, (left to right) it’s actually heading to Melbourne. I recorded it at 8:30 pm tonight near Blakiston, but on the other side of the track. I’m guessing that it was doing about 40 kmh as it passed which took two minutes. That makes it about 1,300 metres long.
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Recording set-up consists of two Schoeps CCM4Lg in ORTF configuration, inside a Schoeps/Rycote blimp. Tracked directly into a Sound Devices 702 (originally at 24/96)
Mar 06 2010
Power Of The Past
In March each year, there is two day gathering of collectors in Mt Barker. Old cars are polished and brought out for a drive, but the main attraction is all of the wonderful old ‘stationary engines’.
There are several hundred stationary engines on display and most are restored to working order. The sound of these beautifully restored bits of history are fantastic. If you get there early enough, the noise is bearable, as most people are still setting up and only a few engines are running. Too late and the sounds clash into an un-recordable chaos.
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1918 - Fuller & Johnson
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1937 - Buzzacott Type C
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1924 - Austral
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McDonald Super Diesel SE
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Recording set-up consists of a Schoeps CCM4Lg & CCM8Lg in M/S configuration, inside a Schoeps/Rycote blimp. Tracked directly into a Sound Devices 702 (originally at 24/96)
Oct 14 2009
Bag and Blimp
Before heading overseas I looked for a solution to my backpack needs for recording. I eventually settled on a Kata 3n1 30 backpack. See here for photos of the modifications I made to it and a Rode blimp for my Schoeps CCM4/CCM8 MS microphone rig.
Oct 14 2009
Twelve little ducks went quack, quack, quack
These were in our back yard today. Aren’t they cute……
Sep 25 2009
Kiev
I’ve just returned from Ukraine where we stayed in a two bedroom apartment about 800 meters from central Kiev on Lesi Ukrainky Boulevard. Situated on the 4th floor, it’s the second balcony up in the photo. Directly across the street, a new extension to a hotel was being built.
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Whilst the apartment was very comfortable and secure, we had to negotiate the elevator from hell. It was just big enough to get two people and bags into. You could be forgiven for thinking the elevator shaft and stair well were in a crack house.
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Ukraine is fantastic. The people are friendly, but if you intend to go there, learn Russian not Ukrainian. It was a mistake we made but we quickly picked up a few Russian phrases to get by. Russian is actually easier than Ukrainian but that may have something to do with all the ‘Cold War’ films I watched in my youth.
We did the smart thing and hired a guide for Wednesday and Friday afternoon (Thursday we went to Pripyat & Chernobyl). Tatiana was a big help and it was great to be shown around Kiev by a native of the city. However, I think I enjoyed sitting and talking about our different lifestyles more than the site seeing. Over lunch we discussed religion, politics, books, films, relationships, travel, food, history and anything else that struck a common ground between our two very different cultures.
There is an interesting mix of old and new in Ukraine. Brand new Mercedes four wheel drives, Mazda 3′s all over and the local electric trams.
Without Tatiana, we wouldn’t have attempted the Metro. At around 157 metres, the deepest underground station in Europe is in Kiev. People sit down on the escalators like it’s an amusement park ride. It takes around 3 minutes to descend over 100 metres. If there was ever a fire in the station, I think there would be a huge loss of life. The Metro is very cheap, fast and frequent, however all the signs are in Cyrillic and, without a guide, we’d have been quickly lost.
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Recording set-up consists of a Schoeps CCM4Lg & CCM8Lg in M/S configuration, inside a Schoeps/Rycote blimp. Tracked directly into a Sound Devices 702 (originally at 24/96)
Sep 21 2009
September Rain
SA had a good soaking today with many areas of the State getting ‘golf ball’ sized hail. We don’t have mains water, so it’s nice to get the tanks topped up.
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Recording set-up consists of a Schoeps CCM4Lg & CCM8Lg in M/S configuration, inside a Schoeps/Rycote blimp. Tracked directly into a Sound Devices 702 (originally at 24/96)
Aug 18 2009
Something Old, Something New
Lately I’ve been busy recording musical stuff. Brass & Concert bands for the two day Strathalbyn Band Festival (consecutive Sundays), and the SA Country Choral Festival at Mt Barker (on the Saturday between the two Sundays). I’ve neglected just recording ‘stuff’, so here’s a quick sound from a bygone era. Kerry was given an old phone as a gift and although it’s a bit larger than the phones of today, it’s very solid. We’re going to see if anyone can wire it up for use.
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