Good Quality Field Recording on a Budget

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I made this recording of a freight train near downtown Minneapolis today using an old third generation 20 gig iPod running Linux (more info at ipodlinux.org). The microphone I used to capture the sound was an Audio Technica AT822 stereo condenser, list price of $419, but zZounds.com has them for about $250. The nice thing about the AT822 is that it comes with an XLR to 1/8″ stereo cable as well as a standard “Y” cable. This makes it easy to plug it into a hand held portable recording device like a DAT recorder or MiniDisc.

Unfortunately the iPod only records in mono via the headphone jack, but I was able to get a good strong signal into it via the left channel element, and record at a staggering 88.2kHz sampling rate! 96kHz is also supported. There is a way to get a stereo line level signal recorded through the dock connector, but I would need a preamp between the iPod and the mic so I may not bother unless I find something cheap, tiny and battery operated. I’ve ordered a replacement battery for the iPod, and I’m planning on keeping this small kit in my bike bag to make impromptu recordings. I would be interested in hearing about other examples of good quality field recording ACB readers have used. Anyone else have similar techniques?

iPod Recorded Freight Train

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About John CS Keston

John CS Keston is an award winning transdisciplinary artist reimagining how music, video art, and computer science intersect. His work both questions and embraces his backgrounds in music technology, software development, and improvisation leading him toward unconventional compositions that convey a spirit of discovery and exploration through the use of graphic scores, chance and generative techniques, analog and digital synthesis, experimental sound design, signal processing, and acoustic piano. Performers are empowered to use their phonomnesis, or sonic imaginations, while contributing to his collaborative work. Originally from the United Kingdom, John currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he is a professor of Digital Media Arts at the University of St Thomas. He founded the sound design resource, AudioCookbook.org, where you will find articles and documentation about his projects and research. John has spoken, performed, or exhibited original work at New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2022), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2022), the International Digital Media Arts Conference (iDMAa 2022), International Sound in Science Technology and the Arts (ISSTA 2017-2019), Northern Spark (2011-2017), the Weisman Art Museum, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Institute of Art, the Eyeo Festival, INST-INT, Echofluxx (Prague), and Moogfest. He produced and performed in the piece Instant Cinema: Teleportation Platform X, a featured project at Northern Spark 2013. He composed and performed the music for In Habit: Life in Patterns (2012) and Words to Dead Lips (2011) in collaboration with the dance company Aniccha Arts. In 2017 he was commissioned by the Walker Art Center to compose music for former Merce Cunningham dancers during the Common Time performance series. His music appears in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) and he composed the music for the short Familiar Pavement (2015). He has appeared on more than a dozen albums including two solo albums on UnearthedMusic.com.

8 thoughts on “Good Quality Field Recording on a Budget”

  1. I love my Zoom H2. The built-in mics have preformed great in a variety of environments, and the fact it records to SD card is a plus for me anyway, since I already had a pile for my camera.
    Amazon sells them for $176.

  2. I’ve been reading some great things about the the Zoom H2. I do a lot of work with the Fostex FR2-LE since I have access to them at my school. But having something with me at all times to record is becoming a bit of an obsession for me. My Sony PCMM1 DAT recorder isn’t it anymore because it decided to start eating tapes. Other than some archival recordings I haven’t transfered yet, I am ready to abandon the DAT format at this stage anyway.

  3. I’ll second the recommendation of the Zoom H2. My main remote rig is a Marantz PMD660 with a variety of mics, but I carry an H2 in my bag with me at all times and I’ve captured some great sounds with it.

    The only caveats I would offer is that the H2 is useless with external mics, much too noisy.

    Another option to consider is the Olympus LS-10. It’s pricier, but much more robust in terms of build quality and has both internal memory and an internal speaker, both of which I miss with the H2.

  4. I love my H2, goes with me everywhere.

    I use the external mic inputs all the time and haven’t found them too noisy or unusable. I made some binaural mics by gluing 6mm panasonic omni capsules to an old pair of earbud headphones. I need to get some fur to stop the wind noise, other than that the recordings are great.

  5. Hey poopoo, can you add a link to an mp3 snippet of the sound you are getting with your homemade mic in a comment? I’d love to hear what sort of quality you’re getting.

  6. Pingback: Audio Cookbook » Blog Archive » iPod Garbled Piano Recording

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