There has been a fair bit of discussion on twitter recently about a portable recorders that work well with small external preamps. This conversation comes up from time to time as gear gets smaller and smaller. My main rig is a Sound Devices 744T with a Cooper CS-104 running as a front end. While the Cooper adds a fair bit of weight and bulk to my bag, I’m always glad that I have it with me. It is much warmer than the 744T and I find that I can push it a fair bit as well. In really quiet environments I can push the gain on the Cooper without really hearing the gear. I could go on and on about the merits of the cooper and lament that Andy Cooper is out of the business, but alas that is not what this post is about. It’s about compact gear.

The compact rig that I’ve settled on when I have to do stealth recording is a pair of DPA 4060s, a Sound Devices MP-2 (pdf) and a Sony PCM-10. The PCM-10 gets fed via the tape out on the MP-2. The DPAs are often head mounted and all of the gear sits in a bag around my waist. I cut little holes in the sides of the bag for cable routing. It’s actually quite useful to use a waist bag like that when making clandestine recordings because you look like a giant tourist! No one ever thinks a tourist is up to no good.

It is rare that I ever take this rig out with any other microphones because if I’m going to take out a large zeppelin, I’ll most likely take out the bigger and heavier stuff. All of the talk on twitter made me realize that I hadn’t taken out this small rig in a little while, so I decided to take it for a spin in mid-town:

I narrowed the image a bit, which always makes me happy.
Recording Geek Note: Recorded with DPA 4060′s head-mounted. It was tracked to a Sony PCM-M10 with a Sound Devices MP-2 as a front-end.

We had a number of high wind days in New York recently and when it gets windy my old apartment building starts to show it’s age. When the building is under heavy stress, it can almost sound like it is coming apart at the seems. When the wind kicks up, gusts interact with the above skylight and the poorly secured door below. This can be rather  frightening because we are in the middle of New York City, not the midwest. The last thing we all need is Toto flying by our window.

Back in January of 2011 I put up a similar post after we had a hail storm, and large gusts of wind followed. Once I heard those winds again I ran out in the stairwell with the gear and went into record. The section that I have excerpted is toward the tail end of the storm, and it evolves in subtle ways. The wind is only interrupted by one neighbor leaving their apartment at 8:36 into the recording. They open their door, lock it, and move their way down three flights of stairs and leave. The only other interruptions in the raw recording are a few planes flying over head. I never knew I lived in such a peaceful place.

Recording Geek Note: Rig consists of Schoeps CMC5′s setup for MS, with the MK4 as the mid. It was all tracked to a Sound Devices 744T at 24/96.

The occupy protests have waned in New York since their home base of Zuccotti Park is no longer available to them to camp in. At one point it seemed like there was a protest occurring every other day, but these days with cold weather setting in the group is more strategic about their movements.

Back on November 5th I recorded a protest that marched on the steps on New York’s Supreme court. Within a short time most of the protesters were threatened with arrest if they didn’t move off the courthouse steps and sidewalk. Some protesters stayed and were arrested while others moved into Foley Sqaure which is a public park across the street.

There were numerous chants during the arrests, but this “shame” chant I recorded was the most of commonly repeated.

The protests were mostly peaceful, but I did witness a few “snatch and grabs” when several individuals just grabbed cameras and took off. I would imagine a number of protesters have been the targets of pickpockets for some time. Thankfully my gear is just a bit too heavy to rip off my shoulders.

Recording Geek Note: The crowds were recorded with Schoeps CMC5′s setup for MS with an MK4 as the Mid. It was all tracked to a Sound Devices 744T at 24/96 with a Cooper CS-104 used a front end.

Over 47,000 runners participated in the 2011 New York City Marathon on Sunday, and when 47,000 runners combine with beautiful weather, it means crowds are going to be out in force. At the start of the race the Missus and I lined up with the crowds on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn to catch the professional athletes and the early wave of runners pass by.

I had grand plans to record tons of great crowd ambience, but sadly the NYC Marathon has taken to blasting music throughout the route. I know this probably makes me sound like a cranky old man complaining about the kids who play their music too loud, but personally, I feel cowbells and hooting crowds should be enough. Also when you are trying to find the perfect soundtrack for everyone, what do you do for the guy who wants Xenakis on his run? That is definitely not going to make everyone happy (rant over). I did manage to get some usable material when the guy operating the PA took a union break:

If you listen to some of the specific cheers, there were a few guys who were calling out to individual runners based on what they were wearing. It is hard not to love a crowd that cheers on a crowd of 47,000 people in a personalized way.

Recording Geek Note: The crowds were recorded with Schoeps CMC5′s setup for MS with an MK4 as the Mid. It was all tracked to a Sound Devices 744T at 24/96 with a Cooper CS-104 used a front end.

The Missus and I live in a very family friendly section of Brooklyn, and last night the kids were out in force. We have many old brownstone buildings around us, and most of the residents sit on their stoops so all of the kids can go trick-or-treating. When I got home the kids were really whooping it up out there, and I was immediately struck by how great the reflections were off the buildings on our block.  I quickly grabbed my gear and shoved my mics out the window:

Our halloween was without a sugar rush, but it was filled with the voices of glee outside!

Recording Geek Note: The buggers were recorded with  Schoeps CMC5′s setup for MS with an MK4 as the Mid. It was all tracked to a Sound Devices 744T at 24/96 with a Cooper CS-104 used a front end.

Fall is squarely upon us and the temperatures are dropping. The Missus and I were in Upstate New York a few weeks ago. We caught one of the last warm nights of the summer and the last night the insects were singing before disappearing for the winter. I ran out with the gear and went into record. Sadly some campers across the way ruined the party.

I have enough material to edit this down into a nice clean track of night insects, but I wanted to leave it as a document of the end of summer. The insects and the nearby campers both got a little rowdy because they knew it was going to end soon.

Recording Geek Note: The buggers were recorded with  Schoeps CMC5′s setup for MS with an MK4 as the Mid. It was all tracked to a Sound Devices 744T at 24/96 with a Cooper CS-104 used a front end.