-=AnatomiC=-
11-29-2007, 03:03 PM
Just wanted to share my thoughts about my "field work". I had an assignment, to capture (I prefer "capture" :biggrin: ) some sounds, and mix them together, to create some kind of an audio track.
We used Kudelski Nagra III N - professional analog tape recorder. It was released in '63 and all I can say is "WOW" - and I don't mean World of Warcraft.
The quality of this thing is amazing, no wonder why it's still used today!
I had an omni directional mike, and a cardioid mike.
I walked around city of Brussels, and recorded about 55 minutes of sound data, and I think 99% of them where acceptable for usage, and there where lot's of awesome sounds. It's analog, so even if this thing clipped, you could not hear overdrive. It happened only in extreme situation... when you
modulated for example +15dB, to record a silent sound, a very loud sound, like a shutting door, would be overdriven. Digital recorders - forget it!
I never was able to record such rich sound! I recorded some ambient sounds of an old elevator. The sound, when played back on high volume, literally made me shake in my boots. You could hear and most importantly feel the turbulence, the engine sounds, the parts shaking (every tiny detail)...
Imagine the sounds of cracking submarine shells, played back in movie theaters, and you will know what I mean!
Very professional and fat sound!
And it's also very clear - I recorded a clock work, and it was just to quite, so the indicator gave me -19dB, which is almost the minimum. So I thought, it would sound dirty, because of the amplified noise - no way, even amplified, it sounded crystal clear!
Not to mention the reliability: it will record, without quality compromise in every condition - take in to Antarctica, or Sahara, it will work. (how ever, you have to store magnetic tapes at +4 - +24 C, but it's an other story)
It was 0 C outside, and it worked perfectly. I remember, when our boiler was broken, and it was 0 C inside, my PC and Fantom started very very slow, or refused to start at all! So I guess a digital recorder would not work either.
I think I've found a new passion! "Capture" sound it's an interesting work.
When you put your monitor headphones on, and press "test", you hear the sound coming from the mike, which brings you in an other sound dimension! There are lot's of sounds just don't hear, or hear it in a different way. And when you press record, you hear the tape gaining speed (a split of a second) you hear the sound through the magnetic tape, which is also an other dimension.
It was very cool to discover these new "sound dimensions"!!!
The play back of the sound, was also very magical and organic!
Only let down, is the weight - 15 killogram, or something like that. An absolute maximum what you can carry around, believe me. After 7 hours of recording, my shoulder hearts like hell.
All in all, an awesome machine, and I just have to get my hand on 1! (buy it)
Here are some pics: Whoops - 6 Mega pixel photos, I guess you will have to save them to view them.
Nagra III
http://amadeo.blog.com/repository/471210/2669672.jpg
Me and my new friend - Nagra III
http://amadeo.blog.com/repository/471210/2669670.jpg
We used Kudelski Nagra III N - professional analog tape recorder. It was released in '63 and all I can say is "WOW" - and I don't mean World of Warcraft.
The quality of this thing is amazing, no wonder why it's still used today!
I had an omni directional mike, and a cardioid mike.
I walked around city of Brussels, and recorded about 55 minutes of sound data, and I think 99% of them where acceptable for usage, and there where lot's of awesome sounds. It's analog, so even if this thing clipped, you could not hear overdrive. It happened only in extreme situation... when you
modulated for example +15dB, to record a silent sound, a very loud sound, like a shutting door, would be overdriven. Digital recorders - forget it!
I never was able to record such rich sound! I recorded some ambient sounds of an old elevator. The sound, when played back on high volume, literally made me shake in my boots. You could hear and most importantly feel the turbulence, the engine sounds, the parts shaking (every tiny detail)...
Imagine the sounds of cracking submarine shells, played back in movie theaters, and you will know what I mean!
Very professional and fat sound!
And it's also very clear - I recorded a clock work, and it was just to quite, so the indicator gave me -19dB, which is almost the minimum. So I thought, it would sound dirty, because of the amplified noise - no way, even amplified, it sounded crystal clear!
Not to mention the reliability: it will record, without quality compromise in every condition - take in to Antarctica, or Sahara, it will work. (how ever, you have to store magnetic tapes at +4 - +24 C, but it's an other story)
It was 0 C outside, and it worked perfectly. I remember, when our boiler was broken, and it was 0 C inside, my PC and Fantom started very very slow, or refused to start at all! So I guess a digital recorder would not work either.
I think I've found a new passion! "Capture" sound it's an interesting work.
When you put your monitor headphones on, and press "test", you hear the sound coming from the mike, which brings you in an other sound dimension! There are lot's of sounds just don't hear, or hear it in a different way. And when you press record, you hear the tape gaining speed (a split of a second) you hear the sound through the magnetic tape, which is also an other dimension.
It was very cool to discover these new "sound dimensions"!!!
The play back of the sound, was also very magical and organic!
Only let down, is the weight - 15 killogram, or something like that. An absolute maximum what you can carry around, believe me. After 7 hours of recording, my shoulder hearts like hell.
All in all, an awesome machine, and I just have to get my hand on 1! (buy it)
Here are some pics: Whoops - 6 Mega pixel photos, I guess you will have to save them to view them.
Nagra III
http://amadeo.blog.com/repository/471210/2669672.jpg
Me and my new friend - Nagra III
http://amadeo.blog.com/repository/471210/2669670.jpg