Capturing Historic Sounds

[imac wannabe]

Sorry this is a bit broad but...I'm into aviation photography and now videography. The reason I've switched to video is because the sounds of the warbirds from years past are what I want to preserve along with the photos. So, what would be a basic set up for capturing high quality digital audio at an airshow setting? Thanks!

Paul

 

[satcomer]

Following airplanes then consider dual microphones to capture sound all around you!

 

[Luap]

A good quality portable audio recorder would be ideal. Lots of companies makes good ones.. Zoom, Tascam etc etc..

 

[imac wannabe]

A good quality portable audio recorder would be ideal. Lots of companies makes good ones.. Zoom, Tascam etc etc..

Thanks for the suggestion. I never imagined how good these little devices were! After some research I think I will settle on the Tascam DR-40X. Take care!

Paul

 

[vemac575]

Thanks for the suggestion. I never imagined how good these little devices were! After some research I think I will settle on the Tascam DR-40X. Take care!

Paul

The quality gets even more amazing with editing, so I would spend more time and money on a DAW and plugins to edit audio, than I would the recording device. Get the best one you can get without having to sacrifice the editing.

 

[theluggage]

The quality gets even more amazing with editing, so I would spend more time and money on a DAW and plugins to edit audio, than I would the recording device. Get the best one you can get without having to sacrifice the editing.

Basically a good point : In my strictly amateur opinion, getting acceptable audio is harder than getting acceptable video and relies heavily on the dark arts of compression and EQ. Say what you like about 'point and shoot' still/video cameras, but I don't think anybody has invented the 'point and shoot' microphone yet...

However, unless you're planning on hitting the ground running I'd strongly recommend giving GarageBand a good college try before rushing out and getting a professional DAW: it is free, it has all the basics of compressor, EQ, reverb etc. - plus it can use AU plugins and there's an easy upgrade path to Logic Pro (GarageBand is basically Logic Lite) if you outgrow it.

Also, @imac wannabe presumably has FCPX or equivalent for video editing, and that has copious audio effects.

 

[imac wannabe]

Basically a good point : In my strictly amateur opinion, getting acceptable audio is harder than getting acceptable video and relies heavily on the dark arts of compression and EQ. Say what you like about 'point and shoot' still/video cameras, but I don't think anybody has invented the 'point and shoot' microphone yet...

However, unless you're planning on hitting the ground running I'd strongly recommend giving GarageBand a good college try before rushing out and getting a professional DAW: it is free, it has all the basics of compressor, EQ, reverb etc. - plus it can use AU plugins and there's an easy upgrade path to Logic Pro (GarageBand is basically Logic Lite) if you outgrow it.

Also, @imac wannabe presumably has FCPX or equivalent for video editing, and that has copious audio effects.

Thanks both of you for the great ideas. I only use iMovie now for video editing. That has very little audio effects. I will try and “play“ with Garageband for a while, I’ve always heard good things about it.

Paul

 

[weaztek]

Thanks both of you for the great ideas. I only use iMovie now for video editing. That has very little audio effects. I will try and “play“ with Garageband for a while, I’ve always heard good things about it.

Paul

The free Mac software Audacity is amazing! There are tons of tutorials on using it on youtube, but one of the major features is removing background noise from the full project. Tutorial on that:

 

[vemac575]

Thanks both of you for the great ideas. I only use iMovie now for video editing. That has very little audio effects. I will try and “play“ with Garageband for a while, I’ve always heard good things about it.

Paul

Most video editing programs, I believe, will allow you to use audio editing plugins. Look into some good free one and practice with them.
[automerge]1578397888[/automerge]

...I'd strongly recommend giving GarageBand a good college try before rushing out and getting a professional DAW: it is free, it has all the basics of compressor, EQ, reverb etc. - plus it can use AU plugins and there's an easy upgrade path to Logic Pro (GarageBand is basically Logic Lite) if you outgrow it.

I used Garage band for the first five years of my music career. It's awesome.

 

[imac wannabe]

The free Mac software Audacity is amazing! There are tons of tutorials on using it on youtube, but one of the major features is removing background noise from the full project. Tutorial on that:

This has to be one of the finest "free" programs ever made! Thank you.

 

[Luap]

Thanks for the suggestion. I never imagined how good these little devices were! After some research I think I will settle on the Tascam DR-40X. Take care!

Paul

That looks like it would do the job nicely 👍
As you'll be doing a lot of outdoor recording, you'll likely need a wind shield for it. Sometimes named a 'dead cat' as they do sometimes make your recorder/microphone look like a dead animal! (They are usually furry, or sometimes just foam of some kind) It will help a lot with keeping annoying wind noise out of your recordings.
Also, try to avoid holding it in your bare hands while recording. They are usually very prone to picking up handling noise. Hence you'll sometimes see people mount them to a small tripod, or even atop their cameras.

 

[imac wannabe]

That looks like it would do the job nicely 👍
As you'll be doing a lot of outdoor recording, you'll likely need a wind shield for it. Sometimes named a 'dead cat' as they do sometimes make your recorder/microphone look like a dead animal! (They are usually furry, or sometimes just foam of some kind) It will help a lot with keeping annoying wind noise out of your recordings.
Also, try to avoid holding it in your bare hands while recording. They are usually very prone to picking up handling noise. Hence you'll sometimes see people mount them to a small tripod, or even atop their cameras.

Yes I have already invested in one of those...make a huge difference. Thx! BTW your user name is my brother's nickname for me as my first name is Paul, not sure how he started to say it backward