The Portable Field Recorder – Overcoming A Major Stumbling Block For The Novice

The current availability of less expensive, small, high quality portable digital flash recorders has enabled many budding field recordists entry into the hobby. Some of these recorders are capable of capturing excellent quality, high-resolution audio without the need for external microphones or pre-amps; but solely with the use of their own in-built stereo microphone array. The advantage of having a portable, or better still pocketable recorder of this form, with no additional equipment, is of course its instant availability to capture those sometimes rare, unusual and sometimes unexpected sounds.

 Unfortunately  many novice field recordists attempting to use this type of recorder outdoors quickly become disappointed with the results; especially when compared to the many pristine recordings  to be heard via the internet. This results in many either giving up the hobby, or labelling the recorder unsuitable for the task of field recording – a decision often influenced by forum chatter which is so often biased or inaccurate.

It has become apparent from various feedback, comments and questions received, that one particular stumbling block so frequently disheartens and confuses the novice and at times even the unwary, yet experienced recordist, that is the problem of wind effect on the microphones.

Often the novice attempts field recording as an extension of experience gained within the sheltered and protected environment of the home, recording direct to the computer. Any unwanted, hum, rumble, or other unwanted background noise easily being removed by a click of the mouse in post-processing.

So when the novice does eventually acquire the latest all-singing all-dancing high-resolution portable recorder complete with batteries, flash card, hand-strap, carry-case, computer patch-leads, manual and……..and…….err……… windshields…….. yes……WINDSHIELDS ….. no problem; with a bit of setup configuration and help from the manual, it’s ready for recording in the great outdoors.

AGHH! the results are terrible, most of the recording is clipped and there’s that terrible sound of wind rumble. With several years indoor experience,  the novice can do most things with audio files so heads straight for the computer DAW. These files can be stretched, compressed, filtered denoised, EQ’d, pitch-shifted, de-essed, inverted, reversed -  in fact they can be converted into something completely different; the biggest problem is  remembering what the original recording was about in the first place. So after several attempts at twiddling the buttons, the wind rumble and clipping just cannot be removed without either cutting the affected sections out completely, with but little recording left, or filtered to the extreme, ending up with an unrecognizable recording. So not to be beaten, with novice thinking it a one-off, first time and all that, goes out again; this time the wind drops, with only a very slight breeze, it must be a good take. Back inside, and guess what – yes that damn rumble is still there. This procedure is repeated over a period of one or two months, and in the meanwhile the novice does a bit of research on the internet with respect to that particular recorder and its problems. Unfortunately, bad experience pre-conditions the brain into accepting adverse commentary, resulting in the confirmation that the particular recorder purchased had useless preamps, terrible in-built microphones and completely unsuitable for field recording……Ok, so not to be outdone an internet search swings into action for the best portable field recorder (I’m not joking here - this blog actually records the search terms used by visitors directing them here and that term is one of the most frequent used)

The problem described, is one of the most common, yet least understood by the novice; not helped by the assumption that adequate microphone wind protection has been included by the manufacturer  in the form of foam covers. Let’s get one thing straight – those supplied foam covers are only suitable for light draughts encountered indoors and will not provide any form of protection, even against the slightest of breezes outdoors. It should be understood that the effects of wind on microphones such as rumble and distortion cannot be satisfactorily removed in post processing.

The problem however is simply resolved by the use of a windjammer, dead kitten, dead wombat, or whatever other term you wish to use. Unfortunately the novice then encounters a further problem; that of expense – I never cease to be amazed at the exorbitant price charged (currently £35-£50) for such a basic piece of kit. So this is how a windjammer can be made for less than £5 (make three out of a £5 sheet of long pile faux fur)

This is how I made one for the pocketable Olympus LS-11

Don’t be too concerned about the developed shape shown above, this one can certainly be improved on; it’s more about the principle than anything,  just have fun and experiment. During fitting it was necessary to trim a bit more off the top and bottom edges of the development shown above. Make certain all stitching is done with the sheet turned inside out, it’s impossible stitching from the long-pile side. Start by stitching together the sides of the ‘V’ seen on the right-hand side, followed by trial fittings as the other edges are stitched together.

Above and below photo shows the stitched windjammer as seen from the stitched side

Then turn the windjammer outside in and fit over the foam microphone covers. The provided foam covers add extra efficiency to the protection by maintaining separation between cover and microphone.

It looks like a bad hair-day, but works well!

Hey presto! -  Olympus LS-11 complete with windjammer fits into the supplied carry case – just be certain to smooth the long pile into the case when pulling the zip round to prevent the pile jamming the zip.

Here are two sample raw recordings with no processing, carried out from the same location in a slight breeze:

First recording: Olympus LS-11, no windjammer, just supplied foam microphone covers

Second recording: Olympus LS-11, with windjammer shown in photos above, fitted over supplied foam microphone covers

 

 As with all forms of wind protection – there are limits within which they work. As an illustration, my Rode wombat-covered blimp system only just copes in blustery wind of approx. 30mph; so don’t expect miracles with these simple mini-windjammers. At least it will enable that major stumbling block to be overcome, allowing the capabilities of those wonderful little portable/pocketable recorders to be appreciated; providing the incentive to improve and continue with the hobby of field recording.

………………………..

Advertisement