Field Recording Techniques & Tips! Stereo Image And Why It Matters!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you so much for tuning in! We're curious, would you be interested in a video showcasing how Greg edits and masters field recordings? We'd love to share our process if it interests you!

[@Marczking]

Yes pleeeeease =D Both videos have been fantastic, it's really cool as you both have different gear, setups & approaches, so I'm sure will have a lot in the edits & mastering too! Also great camera-work by Libby, very professional ;) As usual for listening it's nice having the focussed view. I was wondering for the regular train, was the audio from Greg mirrored/flipped to match the camera? It seemed like it as he was positioned opposite side, but the audio matched what we saw with left to right. (unless I'm imagining things)

[@arcoholic3]

Yes please!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@Marczking Thank you so much for watching Marc! Yes we flipped the audio in order to have the audio lined up with the train and match with the visuals.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@arcoholic3 We will :)

[@EmonHassan]

Yes, please!

[@lorenzo4708]

11:57 this is the best unintended advertisement for 32-Bit audio recorders you'll ever need...🤣

[@Plaughrey]

These videos with Greg have been so slam packed with value! I've learned so much with these past two videos!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you so much! We really hope we're able to make more videos together with Greg!

[@gregsimmons1709]

@@FreeToUseSoundsI hope so too, it’s great fun and very satisfying to do.

[@marcinluka]

Those Lewitts are amazing. So detailed and so self noise, just quiet. They came a great pair with Nagra VII recprder. Nice panorama, nice details, no noise. Wow!

[@arcoholic3]

How absolutely beautiful. Both your recordings were superb. You were so lucky with the wind and there were no birds or insects (or traffic) I could discern. I am envious that you could get that close to the tracks without several people calling the police on you. Rather different in the UK! Looking forward to your next video. Splendid.

[@gregsimmons1709]

I’m glad you enjoyed the recordings! They’re very ‘raw’, straight out of the mics with some basic level adjustments to find a ‘happy medium’ level where the soft parts are not *too* soft and the loud parts are not *too* loud. And it *is* great to be in a place where we can get so close to the tracks; although wherever there are train lines in SE Asia it is normal for people to walk across them and beside them as they get from A to B. At that particular station I have seen people regularly commuting on motorbikes to the local store along that small layer of stones beside the tracks.

[@HelgeSchwarz]

Thanx Marcel, Libby, Greg - always a pleasure to experience you sharing your passion

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you Helge!!!! :)

[@jamesleeds]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, and it's lovely to see your passion for both for you in field recording!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you James!

[@geosound33]

Greg and your story this time was also very informative. Thank you very much.

[@christiannikodemus]

Really cool tips about the distance of the microphones, and also monitoring in mono! Thanks!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you Christian!

[@Marczking]

​@@FreeToUseSounds I don't have such fancy gear like you guys, so I'm not sure how monitoring in mono works? When he was monitoring I heard only one microphone centred for both sides of the headphones. What I normally hear when I do mono is either just left ear OR right ear, so how you guys hear the single mic, but on both ears makes a lot more sense. Does this just depend on the capabilities of the equipment I suppose?

[@gregsimmons1709]

The Nagra Seven has a mono monitoring option where it sums both channels together. The headphone volume control has a press button underneath it, and I have that button assigned to switch it to mono monitoring mode; on a momentary press it gives me momentary mono, but if I hold it for more than a few seconds it stays in mono mode (freeing up my hands to make any changes of microphone position). Pressing it again takes it out of mono. Libby filmed me pressing that button and we could see the Nagra’s indicator changing from S (for ‘stereo’) to M (for ‘mono’), but I know she was struggling with the light, the clouds and the glare from the Nagra’s screen at the time, so it didn’t make it into the video. Instead, we added the text about monitoring in mono. As far as I’m aware, the audio heard during that segment of the video should be L and R summed together in mono… So, what does monitoring in mono tell me? One of the problems with headphone monitoring is that it has none of the *interaural crosstalk* that occurs with speaker listening (where some of the left channel signal gets into the right ear and vice versa) so with headphones in stereo it is very difficult to tell how the two channels will interact together when/if played through speakers. This gets even trickier when we start monitoring via a mobile device, like a laptop or iPad, where there is often some tricky ‘image throwing’ techniques in use to create a stereo image that is wider than the device itself. By monitoring in mono, with both channels summed together, I get a ‘worst case’ example of what could happen during speaker playback. Sometimes that is comb filtering, which means I’ve got to re-consider the width between my mics if using spaced mics, and also consider the movement of the sound source (spaced microphones rely on phase/time differences between channels to create a stereo image, of course). Also, if sounds in the centre of the stereo image become *too* soft in mono it means my mics are too far apart or too far away. Similarly, if sounds in the centre of the stereo image become *too* loud in mono it means my mics are either too close to the sound source OR too close together (if using a spaced pair). Monitoring in mono can tell you a lot about mic spacing and placement, but many people dismiss the idea because they assume it is simply for checking how it will sound if someone plays it in mono, and, as they often say, “Nobody listens to mono any more”. Not only is that ill-informed (phone speakers are often mono, and live streaming often reverts to mono if the connection is poor and bandwidth low), but they also ignore all the valuable things that mono can tell them about their recording.

[@Marczking]

@@gregsimmons1709 wow!! Thanks so much Greg for explaining and going so in depth!! Really interesting stuff, so cool to hear how much information you can get from mono. And regarding it being disregarded easily is true, glad I asked and really appreciate you taking the time to reply 🙏🏾🙏🏼✌🏾

[@oh2hqe]

This was so nice found these tiny pro Tips. Thanks for sharing.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you for watching!!!

[@CarlosPardo]

Very instructive field case ! Thanks for sharing

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you Carlos!

[@icrodriguez21]

Awesome! Really good tips that I'll surely apply in my next recordings, thanks

[@FreeToUseSounds]

That's great to hear! :)

[@cliffblackburn871]

Love your work Greg!

[@gregsimmons1709]

Thanks Cliff!! More coming…

[@ddimento8790]

This was amazing- so helpful. It's unusual to see large diaphragm condensers in the field- I guess the extra detail is worth it if you're careful. It was also really interesting to see him use cardioid mics in AB configuration, it's something I'd never considered. I just use a low cost set of cardioid lavaliers as a portable ORTF. Greg's insights on the cone filtering you experienced when your mics were too close to the wall were really helpful- I tend to do urban recordings with AB and never knew about this. Fantastic video- look forward to watching the other. A Q/A with Greg and some more field recording hacks would be great

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you so so much for watching! I include @gregsimmons1709 in here and hope he can respond to it. :)

[@ddimento8790]

@@FreeToUseSounds Thanks Marcel- I appreciate it

[@gregsimmons1709]

I’m glad you found it helpful!! The extra detail is probably due to the lower self noise of large diaphragms. It’s not very noticeable in the KZbin video but when listening to the raw 192k 24-bit files from the Nagra I can hear that train going off into the distance down that 1.362km long tunnel for ages - if you could see the raw footage, you would see me holding my hand up (holding the silence, making sure we all stay quiet) for what probably seems way too long, but I could hear that train going down the tunnel for a very long time so I was waiting until it was no longer identifiable before stopping. This is one aspect of the Lewitts (and other large diaphragm low noise mics, like Røde’s NT1A) that I really enjoy, and I don’t mind if they don’t have a great off-axis response because I can work around that in the field with careful choice of microphone angles, and I don’t mind if they don’t have a perfectly flat frequency response because I can fix that in post. In fact, if their frequency response tends to rise at higher frequencies to make the mics bright I consider that ‘pre-emphasis’, and I know that I can apply EQ as a kind of ‘de-emphasis’ to bring that brightness down to a more natural level and, in the process, I will also be taking the noise down with it (because, unlike the signal, the diaphragm’s self noise never got the pre-emphasis but it gets the de-emphasis). Bonus!! When it comes to field recording, lower self noise ultimately means that your mics can hear further. Sound engineers, and particularly those making field recordings, often refer to how the sound they’re recording ultimately ‘fades out’, ‘dissolves’ or ‘disappears’ into the ‘background noise’ of the environment. But that ‘background noise’ of the environment is actually made of millions of little sound events happening at the same time, and the self noise of our microphones ultimately makes them indistinguishable (in the same way that we apply dither noise in a digital audio system to de-correlate quantisation error noise and turn it into broadband noise). The lower the noise of our microphones, the more detail we can resolve from further away…

[@ddimento8790]

@@gregsimmons1709 wow thanks for all the detail Greg, I really appreciate it. I'm always wanting to get better recordings. I don't have a stereo pair of large diaphragms I can use in the field. Although your video has tempted me to add a second Rode NT1 to the one I already use- although they would not be matched it might still be worth a try. I mostly use the omni micbooster or lom pairs and I also use a Sony PCM D-100 or Rode NT4, but as I'm recording mostly in the urban environment it's probably not as crucial to have super low noise mics. Thanks again and please do more videos with marcel and Libby I'd love to gain more insights into how you handle different recording situations and moreso the philosophy. Cheers from Cork, Ireland, Damian

[@gregsimmons1709]

@@ddimento8790If you can get another NT1 that is the same version as the one you have now (there have been two or three versions on the NT1 family) I don’t think you’ll need to worry much about pair matching. Those mics are almost entirely made by machine, and any two off the same production line should be well within the tolerances that were considered acceptable for hand-matching. It is the same with my Lewitts. They’re not a specifically matched pair, just two off the production line, but for all intents and purposes they are identical.

[@edwardferry8247]

May I recommend Oxmardyke by the late and brilliant Philip Jeck and his friend Chris Watson. If you might like to experience how artists turn field recordings into mesmerising sound art works particularly (in this case) in relationship to trains this work is very inspiring. Philip Jeck was a master of creative sound and made wonderful audio pieces, sadly we lost him recently but his work is still there to listen to and be inspired by.

[@Karambolagemusic]

This is one of my favorite albums this year. Absolutely beautiful!

[@NonBinary_Star]

7:54 Game time!!! haha i love this part. reminds me of trying to film a one shot only event like a tide or sun set/rise. though not a one shotter, trying to get the dawn's morning fog at just the right angle and density is extremely finicky business.🥵

[@coinopanimator]

The algorithms get really good at service and my knees and just started recording wild sound/ ambient sounds for my next couple of shorts. Forgotten how much I love it.

[@brandonpierce]

Love this level of learning in your videos!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you so much!

[@dalemettee1147]

I got this idea from listening to recordings of drag races on 1/4 mile tracks. Having one mic on the other side of the track and staggered (left first, right later) gave a strange sound image. With trains, the mics might need to be weighed down. The breeze from the engine and carriages could topple them over. Just a thought. Have fun with this idea.

[@icrodriguez21]

So sad the new video with Greg Simmons is not going to be published, looking forward to new exciting ones though! May I advice a nice overview about the best way to setup the MixPre for SFX recording? Also tips and tricks you may use for it!!!

[@jamesmoore9511]

The DPA 5100 rendition faded in and our much slower and the image, made one think it lasted longer than the Lewitt 540s setup which faded in and out faster with a heaver mid section. I use a 10" foam playground ball with Schoeps Mk 4 capsules set pointing outward with the diagrams at surface level (Nagra 5 recorder). Thanks, rather interesting.

[@SonicStates]

A lot of fun. Thank you. I've been using the Lewitt 540s for a couple of years now. I really enjoy the sounds I've been getting having them configured in ORTF, suspended upside done in windjammers. I real pain in the neck to carry the set up through forests and up mountains, though! Cheers!

[@gregsimmons1709]

There are some interesting trade-offs with the Lewitts… One of those trade-offs is weight/size versus noise. They are, for most intents and purposes, silent. Not many people are aware of this, but when we look at a microphone’s self noise in the context of field recording, we see that if all the other parameters were the same, the quieter mic ‘hears’ further. That’s just physics. So, if we want the lower noise with we have to contend with the weight and size, because it needs a larger diaphragm. The other trade-off is the large diaphragm. That is necessary for the low noise, but it introduces a poor off-axis response. Personally, I don’t use the Lewitts in ORTF. I find the 110 degree subtended angle means that sounds in the centre are arriving at 55 degrees off axis to both microphones, resulting in a slightly duller centre image. It’s not much, but it’s there if you test for it above about 4kHz. I rarely angle my Lewitts more than about 60 degrees subtended angle (±30 degrees), and then I rely on the spacing between them to do the rest of the imaging. That is what I was doing in this video, too. I normally start with them facing directly forward, find an appropriate distance from the sound source and spacing between the mics, then angle them a little bit outwards to fine-tune the imaging.

[@SonicStates]

@@gregsimmons1709 Thanks for taking the time, Greg. I've definitely played around with the angles but I'm super interested in testing out your preferred method. Many thanks and I look forward to seeing you in more of these videos!

[@ommm8]

I know nothing about sound, but I really enjoyed this video - I love watching artists create ✌ Subscribed !

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you very much and we have more videos about sound recording on this channel and have more to come. :)

[@ScoobieDee]

Great video , listened on the HD 600 surprising how different the mics sound . The isolation on the cardioid was good

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thanks for watching and listening! :)

[@kappabravomusic2101]

13:00 I would put that 5.1 rig right in front of the camera before the concrete barrier, personally to match the Center of the 5.1 setup with the Center of the stereo image. Sounded pretty fat though. Also I'd recommend putting a LOM Geofon either on the metal rail at super low gain or even in to the ground on the spike attachment. To get extra LF umf. 13:23 I heard a clip on the Left side even at 32 bits. Gotta realize mics are not 32 bit, so if you capsule clipped, your 32 bit system will get the clip of the capsule as well. You might be able to develop that slight crackle, but I'd listen to the guy, when he said, turn your gain down a bit.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi there, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and suggestions! You're absolutely correct, ideally, we would position the 5.1 rig directly in front of the camera to align with the center of the stereo image. However, given we only had one camera with us and not a super wide lens, placing it there would have obstructed the view and we wouldn't have been able to replay Greg's recordings since it was the same train. Your suggestion about using a LOM Geofon to capture extra LF is indeed a fantastic idea. We actually tried this technique last year at the same location but for this video and format, we didn't find it as relevant. As for the potential clipping, I've gone back to double-check the recordings. While the train horn was indeed loud, I didn't find the distortion you mentioned. It's possible that the sound pressure level may have reached up to 120 or 130 dBA (which is the max SPL of the DPA), but I didn't see a definitive clipping incident. Your comments and feedback are invaluable to us. Please keep sharing your insights and suggestions! It's always great to engage with attentive and knowledgeable viewers like you. Thanks again!

[@kappabravomusic2101]

@@FreeToUseSounds no problem. I've clearly heard a clip, it was super short. And as I've said before, that's most likely was overloaded capsule of the DPA, i.e. of the initial input, before the A/D/D/A converter inside recorder. This even with 32bit recorder, clip is a clip, not in digital domain, but in analogue domain, recorded into digital. I understand regarding the other responses. My please to know that my comment was useful.

[@zootook3422]

For the big train I preferred the Levitts but for the little maintenance crew I actually preferred the DPA, even with the comb filtering effect. Great video. Oh, yes, editing and mastring by the master would be very interesting!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi! Oh I took out the rear microphones for the DPA 5100 because of that effect. Only the front microphones.

[@gregsimmons1709]

I think the DPA recording of the maintenance crew train has more impact because of its better low frequency response due to its mic being omnis. You can notice it in the reverberation that comes out of the tunnel before the car appears. It has a lot more ‘weight’ to it. DPA call the mics in the 5100 ‘DIPMIC’s, meaning they are DIrectional Pressure MICrophones. Inside that enclosure are five omnidirectional mics, very similar to their 4060 series, but each mic is encased in a baffled area to create the desired polar response. So it has none of the proximity effect (including loss of low frequencies at distances more than about 30cm) that traditional directional mics (like the Lewitts) have, but all of the directionality required. It’s a great mic whether you’re recording 5.1, stereo or mono! I had one for a couple of years and took it all around Nepal and Tibet. Although I was recording direct-to-5.1, I often treated it as being an XY pair at front with a centre mic just in case, and a couple of rear mics for reverberation and atmos. Mixing the five mics down to stereo like that gave me some fantastic results from the recordings of the deep harmonic chanting of the Gyuto monks of Tibet in the huge reverberant space of their temple in Dharamsala. Shivers!!

[@fernandafernandex]

I would like to have some more tips about what to do and what not to do when recording in the field...

[@FreeToUseSounds]

That's a great video idea. We can for sure do that!

[@gregsimmons1709]

Perhaps a video about what NOT to do would be fun!

[@maok36]

Perfect! Thank you

[@FreeToUseSounds]

You're welcome!

[@TreverSantora]

Watched this twice, it's such an inspiring lesson. Should you see this, do you know which stereo bar Greg is using?

[@learnpromandarin]

I bought your bundle, I'm liking these videos. Sound and video quality is excellent. I love the info too. Thanks for giving my channel a look. I hope it helps you learn to speak Mandarin with ease. 😉😉

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Ah, thank you so much! We just saw that. I'm changing the layout today and will be uploading the files in UCS format. So, don't be surprised if some folders disappear and new ones pop in. :)

[@learnpromandarin]

@@FreeToUseSounds No problem, it's gonna take me a minute to go through all those sounds. I like what I'm hearing so far.👍👍

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@learnpromandarin Thank you!!! :)

[@Calixj23]

Very interesting video. The only thing I would have hoped for was to understand what Greg was doing during his setup... in other words why did he think the microphones were too far apart and then too close... what was he hearing?

[@keinpodcast4053]

That was very interesting. Especially how precisely Greg points his microphones. In a direct comparison, I have to say that I like both recordings equally well. The Lewitts sound very spatial, the DPAs more intimate. It would be best if you had both 😁 Great video and thanks to both of you for giving us viewers so much help. Viele Grüße - Til.😀👍

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Til, Thank you so much for taking the time to watch! Working with Greg is truly inspiring - his knowledge never ceases to amaze us. Fingers crossed that we can collaborate on more videos with him in the future.

[@LookingForSounds]

Fantastic as usual Marcel. I just wish I was also there recording with you both. Really enjoyed that. Your DPA^s sounded super bright in the first recording compared to the Lewitt.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Simon! At first, I was genuinely concerned about the risk of RF interference, but thankfully, it hasn't been an issue that day. The 5100 works well in areas outside of cities and away from wires! In this video, I only used the front microphones to keep the conditions identical to the Lewitts. Plus, I wasn't quite sure how a 5.1 recording would translate to those without a surround sound setup at home. I hope this provides some insights.

[@LookingForSounds]

@@FreeToUseSounds No problem. Great video anyway and the DPA sounded fine in the second one. I really liked hearing Greg's thoughts on moving his mics. It's amazing what difference moving them just a few centimetres has, or adjusting the angle just a little. Nice little tips there.

[@tomchangarathil]

Amazing! Hey Marcel, do you have a similar video for setting up to record sea waves and beach sounds? Your videos are so simple, inspirational and motivational.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Tom! Thank you so much! Ah, we currently don't have a video about these particular sounds and how we set up our gear to capture them. We're quite a distance from the beach at the moment, but we promise to film one the next time we get close to the shores. :) Keep an eye out on our channel for that one! Your support is always appreciated.

[@lewisdetmer]

I knew this video would be a banger. I loved the excitment when you heard the first train and the surprise when you discovered what it was, i laughed too 😂 And this time the train honked when you asked him 🙏 But above all I'm really impressed by the quality of the sound, they are a huge improvement since the last time, everything was so clear, the motor, the rail, the vibration. As your explanation and hint, especially with the placement. Just waow ! ❤ Thank you Marcel, Libby and Greg 🫶 I can't wait to see you all in your next video ! PS : the rooster is a troll.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi Lewis! Thanks a ton for your kind words! Oh, and about that rooster - he was quite a character, wasn't he? Never left our side and seemed so intrigued by our activities.

[@gregsimmons1709]

Roosters are the bane of my audio existence! I’m glad you enjoyed the video nonetheless (despite the rooster!) and had some good observations and take-aways. 😊

[@lewisdetmer]

Hey that's a great behind the scenes story 🤭

[@dalemettee1147]

I've been stuging sounds for many years. I think that I might have a suggestion for you. One mic on each side of the tracks spaced out about 8 meters apart. The farthest mic could be wireless much like your Rode Go mics. That way, not only do you get the separation, but a slight delay between each channel giving the image of movement.

[@gregsimmons1709]

This is an interesting idea… I have done a similar idea with traffic on a two-lane road (one lane one way, the other lane the other way) and it was not very good. The mics were too far apart to create much of a phantom image, the cars were going too fast and were also too small, and there just wasn’t enough difference between the mics to make any significant distance. It was, ultimately, two mono recordings that *didn’t* work together (you can make two mono recordings of the same thing that *do* work together, of course). BUT a train is different to cars due to its length (making it a longer duration to pass between the mics, which gives the ear/brain system time to ‘lock onto’ it) and also its width, so the distances from the left side of the train to the left mic (and same with the right) means the gap in the middle is actually not so big. It also means that the gaps between the carriages, which can provide a great sense of motion, might become more important. It *might* work and maybe I will give it a try one day; my experience with similar things in the past is that forward/backward motion is hard to capture with mics. On that topic, in the Lewitt recordings here one of the reasons I ultimately chose to angle the mics rather than make them wider *was* to capture a sense of the train going off into the distance into the tunnel. Not just getting softer, but creating a sense of onward movement even though it had already reached hard left of the stereo image. I wanted to make a better capture the changing balance of direct sound and reverberation as it moved further down the tunnel. That was a last minute decision after reflecting a bit further on the tests Marcel did with the finger clicks and handclaps. I realised that the spacing between the mics was quite good and would get the sense of moving into the distance, but I needed to exaggerate the amplitude differences between the mics by facing the left mic a little bit into the tunnel and the right mic a little bit further away from the tunnel. It works, but I doubt many people will notice it, LOL!

[@albertandco]

thank you very much, guys!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Our pleasure!

[@user-rx3ug7ol1t]

Such a great video! Loving the content :)

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you for watching!

[@corinna_kern]

Thanks a lot for the informative video!! Do you use blimps on the Lewitt 540 mics and if so, which ones? Or just a fur wind shield? And which cable do you use? Also, doe the Lewitt 540 mics need to be matched? I didn't actually find such an option online. Thanks a lot!!

[@parkerboewe468]

Hey Marcel, I'm getting ready to purchase my first field recorder to capture original sounds for my music and for sound design purposes. Your videos have been an absolute joy! If you happen to see this, can you comment on the high frequency hum of the Tascam x8? Is it still an issue or has there been any word from Tascam about it? It's the only thing holding me back from purchasing one at this point. Hope to hear back and thank you for all that you do!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hello Parker, From personal experience, after returning my unit, the new one I received didn't show the same behavior. However, this doesn't mean it's the case for all units - it seems to be a bit of a gamble. What's important to note is that as long as you don't downsample the recordings, this issue isn't audible. So in most recording and playback scenarios, you shouldn't run into any problems. I hope this helps, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

[@parkerboewe468]

@@FreeToUseSounds thanks so much for the thoughtful response! I would like to be able to downsample for sound design, hence my reluctance. This would be just one of many purposes though. I may just take the gamble and see if I can tweak things with RX if my unit has the ultrasonic hum. Thanks again!

[@ElvisSB1991]

@freetousesounds Hi there! I purchased the All in One Library, but the link attached to the email isn't working anymore. Can you please advise me where I can access these sounds? I sent emails trying to solve the issue but no replies still. Please help!

[@merlinbk]

Which stereo bar does he recommend?

[@SleepToTheSounds]

please Can you help me ? I'm trying to record nature sounds, this seems to be slightly acceptable when recording fast flowing rivers but quiet sounds I just get loads of pre amp noise no matter how low I turn the recording gain.i try to remove it with high pass using shotcut but it changes the sound and doesn't really go. I bought a zoom h2n is this just not the right thing ? I have tried all mic config using only 2 inbuilt mic. When I watch videos on KZbin using the h2n just talking I don't hear any hiss sound, what am I missing ? Any help would be much appreciated

[@MattStevens9824]

HI @Libby and Marcel! I hope everything's okay with your journey.. May I ask where can we email to ask for a little technical help? We've purchased from gumroad and we ran into a little problem with the libraries. Nothing major. TIA!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hello Matt! Oh no that’s terrible:(( We can’t share our email in the comment section but if you click on our about page, there is the contact button. It will show our email address. Please let me know if that works for you.

[@MattStevens9824]

@@FreeToUseSounds Thank you very much! My apologies for going in here on youtube. The gumroad email didn't allow for replies so I tried my luck here. Again, my sincerest apologies. 😅

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@MattStevens9824 We got your email and responded :)

[@MattStevens9824]

@@FreeToUseSounds Thank you very much for the recommendation and help! 😊

[@ambientmethod]

Have you guys traveled to Egypt yet? I have a field recording trip coming up: Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, but I'm nervous about my gear getting confiscated in Cairo. Any advice?

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi there, Ah, I see! Egypt, unfortunately, isn't a destination we've explored yet, especially not with our recording gear. Each country tends to have different regulations about professional equipment, so I understand your concern. As we've never been, I'm afraid we don't have firsthand advice to share for Cairo specifically. What kind of gear are you planning on bringing? It could be worth reaching out to the local consulate or customs office for specific information. Wishing you all the best for your exciting trip, and safe travels!

[@ambientmethod]

Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'll definitely do that! I was planning to bring a Rode ambisonic mic kit and Zoom F6, for ambient recordings and a just shotgun mic and an H5 for everything else. I'm concerned they may be wary of the ambisonic mic, since it looks so uncommon. @@FreeToUseSounds

[@FreeToUseSounds]

​@@ambientmethod Hmm, there are dedicated communities for field recording enthusiasts on platforms like Reddit and Facebook. I'd recommend posing your question in those groups. You're likely to find somebody who has firsthand experience recording sounds in that location and can provide valuable insights. I hope it works for you! :)

[@ambientmethod]

Ah, good suggestion. Thank you! ... I'm a big fan of the channel :) @@FreeToUseSounds

[@imark7777777]

Darn whipper snappers with there 32-bit float not turning down their gain.

[@JohnVK5JAK]

Hmmm. That first stereo pair sounded like it was going right to left (instead of the correct left to right)

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hello Henry! Do you mind telling us if you mean the train recording or the clapping and setting up gear?

[@JohnVK5JAK]

@@FreeToUseSounds The actual worker train coming out of the tunnel with Greg's stereo pair. The stereo image seems reversed. Your 5.1 of the same, sounds correct.

[@FreeToUseSounds]

@@JohnVK5JAK Exactly, we needed to flip the audio to ensure it matched with the video image. If you're working with just one camera angle, as we were, this is often the best solution. It could be quite disorienting for the viewers if they see the train coming from the right on screen but hear the sound on the left. Consistency between the visual and audio elements is crucial for a smooth viewing experience but thanks for pointing it out.

[@joetaylor3563]

I was watching this and when I read what gear the sound recordist used I nodded knowing, "Hmmm. Nagra 7. You know who else uses...... wait a minute... HAAAAAAA! Greg Simmons."

[@FreeToUseSounds]

That's him! Greg and Nagra goes hand in hand :)

[@shakeelahmed7398]

Thank you so much

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you for watching!

[@panosskentzos]

Great recordings as always, though I have to say, as a sound engineer I can't stand the A-B technique, so many audible phase issues and quite difficult to phase align in post when you don't have a reference point (a sound exactly the same distance from both mics), I always prefer X-Y and, if it's possible, even Blumlein. To me the Lewitts sound more at ease with the spl, the DPAs seem to compress and also pick up a lot more sub rumble, but it might have to do with the rest of the equipment/techniques, awesome sounds nonetheless.

[@marcelorodriguez2978]

Verizon Nice!!! Bendiciones!!

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Thank you!!

[@hanmanasmr]

I DO HAVE QUESTION. IF I BUY YOUR SOUND PACKAGE ONLINE CAN I USE IT ON MY YT CHANNEL WITHOUT ANY COPYRIGHT? FOREVER ?

[@FreeToUseSounds]

Hi there, thank you for interest. Our sound recordings are protected and its very important to read our license agreement. There will never be copyright free.

[@hanmanasmr]

THANK YOU 💙@@FreeToUseSounds

[@FreeToUseSounds]

​@@hanmanasmr Hello, We've taken a moment to look at your channel, and we'd like to gently remind you about our license agreement. The use of our recordings in the manner you've chosen does not align with the terms. For the best outcome on platforms like KZbin, it's often recommended to pair these types of videos with original sound recordings and not reused recordings. If you're aiming for monetization, please be aware that using non-original nature recordings could hinder monetization prospects or even lead to demonetization later on. We truly value your understanding in this matter and wish you every success on your creative path.

[@hanmanasmr]

@@FreeToUseSounds thanks for deep dive ☺️🙏🏻

[@LaurentiuDobjanski]

Bravo!

[@Drvishnucnair]

Lewitt 540 clear winner

[@Olleetheowl]

Well…. That explains why he’s far better than I am 😂

[@andreaceccarelli6674]

Excellent work and demonstration. too bad the mic for your vocals is awful. 🤭 great job!

[@baroquer]

*THE MEN IN BLACK*

[@thorstenmichels]

Thank you so much for comparing these very different setups of mics. I like the way @gregsimmons1709 set up the stereo pair. It again shows how important a good preparation, major experience and a thoroughfully "soundcheck" is. It is like he predicted, the way through the center of the stereo image is as fast as the video tells and the speed of angle is linear. This encourages me to focus again more on preparation again, as it pays out multiple times. Great job! I was also very surprised by the DPA 5100. Compared to it's physical size, the surround image is impressiv. And as they use omnis, you hear the deep frequencies and rumble much more realistic. As Greg also predicted the reflections from the angled wall behind the DPA were almost gone. Not so surprising, but it also shows preperation really pays out. It would be great to hear the 5.1 rendering of the DPA 5100 with appropriate gear. Unfortunately this is "just" binaural. Don't get me wrong! It sounds great, but it's not 5.1 surround. It sound more spacious and it also gets more "natrual" reflections. But it seems to run a little bit faster through the "middle" as it does with Greg's setup, where it's even more linear and continously. We are talking about the little nuances here, not the big things. As I said, the relation between it's size and it's sound is impressive. Also as my new gear: Zylia ZM-1. It's a sphere with 10 cm diameter and 19 MEMS microphones. I will do a recording with that and then we may compare. Unfortunately I may not use the same spot as you, as it is a little bit too far away for just a few minutes recording. ;-) (aka other side of the world) Nethertheless this recording inspires me to wait for the wind calm down (today its so windy, I am afraid of branches falling down from trees) and get as close to a train track as I may, here in Germany. If I would get as close to the tracks as you did ... well ... not the best idea one may have. ;-)