Best bird recorders for field recording (2 Viewers)

[Elkhornsun]

Retail price for the MixPre-3 II is $900 which is not cheap but also a lot less than what many people spend on their binoculars and scopes. Better results consistently with the 32-bit float that was designed for production audio recording but a blessing for those recording birds in the field.

 

[vupham]

Hi, jump into this cool topic as I always want to record bird calls and songs. I have just upgraded my audio gears to accompany my camera FX 3 is the Tascam DR40, I have owned it for a while but have not used it much, and until now I found I need a pre-amp to replace the internal camera pre-amp.
So here is my new setup

https://imgur.com/2RrlyzD

Measure distance around 50+ meters (146 ft):

• 20 cm radius disc size of plastic parabolic shape
• Lavier mic with XLR
• Pre-amp Tascam DR40 on mono channel
• Sony FX 3 + Sony G 200-600mm

And test, so far from my place, not yet travel to the real field:

.

Maybe need to adjust the micro, currently the dynamic from lavalier microphone is so wide - it picks up everything, I may need to change to the Rode Video Micro which also has a windscreen and directional.
The rig for now uses a magic arm, it is kind of jittering, and hard to bring around under the dense canopy of the rainforest, there are a lot of bushes and branches... I still trying to figure out this. No windscreen then there is noise as well.
Dynamic lavalier microphone currently picks up everything once I touch the rig, the camera body, in thinking of putting it on a small shock mount used for Rode video micro
Testing inside urban creates a lot of noise sound from traffic, it may be better if inside the forest.

What do you think, any suggestions?

 

[Tedb4]

Hi everyone- I'm just getting ready to get started on doing some field recording. I have a Zoom H6 Recorder from when my daughter was actively doing voice work, but she's not doing it anymore. Do you that this coupled with a good microphone is a workable starting point?

Many thanks...

 

[vupham]

Hi everyone- I'm just getting ready to get started on doing some field recording. I have a Zoom H6 Recorder from when my daughter was actively doing voice work, but she's not doing it anymore. Do you that this coupled with a good microphone is a workable starting point?

Many thanks...

usually field recorder has own microphone which is dynamic - suitable for habitat sound, if you want to get more sound quality - then get close to sound source. If you need directional audio record then you should pick-up a shotgun like MKE-600, plug into the input of that field recorder.

 

[Elkhornsun]

Better field recorders have ports for XLR mic connections. Best mics are ones used with a parabolic dish that magnifies sounds for the mic. Shotgun mics are more convenient but much less effective. Most of my mics can be self-powered with an internal battery so easier to use with a camera as well as with power from the sound recorder's XLR port.

 

[Gerry o]

Anyone with experience of Tascam x6 for nocmig or field recording?

 

[Avetarda]

What is the most notable difference between the F3 and the MixPre-3 II? Is there a lot of change or improvement from one to another, in technique?

 

[Elkhornsun]

Favorite is the Sound Devices MixPre II with 32-bit recording that minimizes problems with not having enough gain while recording. There is a good guide on Cornell Labs for this recorder. I power mine all day with a single 20000 AH Anker battery pack using the recorders USB-C port and a short 12" cable.

Setting up the Sound Devices MixPre-3

The Sound Devices MixPre-3 is a professional quality, durable, and portable field recorder that is very user-friendly. However, the out-of-the-box settings are not ideal for using in the field. We rec

www.macaulaylibrary.org

The Sound Devices recorders use a touch screen and are infinitely easier to work with then the Zoom recorders I have owned.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1503004-REG/sound_devices_mixpre_3_ii_3_channel.html

At this point in time I would only use a recorder that provided 32-bit recording on SD cards and could be powered with a USB-C connected power source.

 

[Jon.Bryant]

What is the most notable difference between the F3 and the MixPre-3 II?

The Mix-Pre 3 II is a much more versatile recorder. For starters it is a 3 Pre-amp, 5 track recorder. It has three XLR inputs and also Aux inputs (3.5mm mini-jack) so can take and 5 inputs in total.

This is probably overkill for most birders, but I have on occasions used multi track recording (say a stereo pair for a landscape and a separate mono recording using a directional mic). You could even mix this in the field to a stereo recording, if you want to capture a species in its environment.

But the main difference for me is that once you start to understand the rather unintuitive menu system, you just feel more in control with Mix-Pre. The F3 is rather black box, turn it on and record! For lots of birders that’s probably all that’s needed.

The mix pre is also fits nicely into a field recorder bag - it is a rather standard shape and size for a recorder. These bags provide access to inputs and control - but again if you are not interested in twiddling knobs, then the lack of conformity of the F3 is not really an issue.

The Mix Pre can also have plugins installed, but I don’t think many would be of real use to birdwatchers. NoiseAssist is primarily to get rid of low pitched hum, but not sure it works well with variable environmental noise. The ambisonic plug-in could be used for 3D recordings, but you need the mix-pre 6ii with 4 XLR inputs and an ambisonic mic.

 

[Avetarda]

The Mix-Pre 3 II is a much more versatile recorder. For starters it is a 3 Pre-amp, 5 track recorder. It has three XLR inputs and also Aux inputs (3.5mm mini-jack) so can take and 5 inputs in total.

This is probably overkill for most birders, but I have on occasions used multi track recording (say a stereo pair for a landscape and a separate mono recording using a directional mic). You could even mix this in the field to a stereo recording, if you want to capture a species in its environment.

But the main difference for me is that once you start to understand the rather unintuitive menu system, you just feel more in control with Mix-Pre. The F3 is rather black box, turn it on and record! For lots of birders that’s probably all that’s needed.

The mix pre is also fits nicely into a field recorder bag - it is a rather standard shape and size for a recorder. These bags provide access to inputs and control - but again if you are not interested in twiddling knobs, then the lack of conformity of the F3 is not really an issue.

The Mix Pre can also have plugins installed, but I don’t think many would be of real use to birdwatchers. NoiseAssist is primarily to get rid of low pitched hum, but not sure it works well with variable environmental noise. The ambisonic plug-in could be used for 3D recordings, but you need the mix-pre 6ii with 4 XLR inputs and an ambisonic mic.

Ok, many thanks. Thanks for clarifying my doubts. I´mm in doubt whether to take the step towards it or continue with the f3

 

[Avetarda]

Just wondering if anyone here uses this cable for recording? Do you considered this as an alternative for 32 bit for the input gain?

View attachment 1519679

Used with a stereo parabola, with a 3.5mm mini jack connector, is there a problem?

 

[Vollmeise]

Used with a stereo parabola, with a 3.5mm mini jack connector, is there a problem?

Depends on the recorder. The excellent, low-noise preamplifiers of the MixPre series are only available via the XLR inputs. For the best quality, you need a Y-splitter from 3.5mm stereo to 3x 3.5mm mono, then 1 adapter each from jack to XLR.

 

[Avetarda]

Depends on the recorder. The excellent, low-noise preamplifiers of the MixPre series are only available via the XLR inputs. For the best quality, you need a Y-splitter from 3.5mm stereo to 3x 3.5mm mono, then 1 adapter each from jack to XLR.

I’ve a Zoom F3 and the previous adapter connector that I attached, jackn3,5 to XLR