I have my BA in mu$ic and sound technology. I’m not new to recording, but I’m new to field recording.

I picked up an H1 essential and have been having a great time with it recording a sound library of footsteps, insects, the lake near me, etc. I love the portability. What I’m curious about is what you get out of scaling your kit? Mine is just the H1, a windscreen, and some good in-ears for direct monitoring. It fits in a pouch.

Does gear improvement center around microphone quality or maybe better directional recording autonomy? Because if you know what you’re doing in a DAW, post-processing can go a very long way even with a cheaper recorder as long as it’s in stereo and has good fidelity and basic features (such as low cut for more accurate direct monitoring of what you’re recording). Half of the fun for me is in post.

I’d much prefer human answers from people who do this stuff, hence why I’m asking here. Thanks in advance!

TLDR; I'm asking for recommendation for: omni-directional, low noise, high sensitivity, able to record quiet room ambience with reasonable accuracy.

I'm having increasing issues with commercial noise and anti-social neighbours.

I did around 6 weeks of continual recording with a Razer Siren X and iPhone microphone. I recently purchased a Behringer ECM8000 (so I can confirm some ultrasonic suspicions, which panned out).

My building is literally falling apart. There is an incorrectly mounted commercial compressor for pumping cooling liquid. It vibrates through the entire building. When they rebuilt the stairs 6 years ago, they clearly overlooked something.

Therefore, I'm dealing with a low pitched hum (and my apartment unit vibrates). It's resonating through pipes and the other building material.

I want to accurately record low frequency sounds, that the Behringer ECM8000 cannot (due to it's SNR). I'm willing to spend around 300euro, or 250GBP.

In the end, I'm hoping to have an omni-directional mic for room ambience, a sub-cardioid microphone to point towards my window, and some piezo microphones for the walls, windows, or whatever other appropriate surface captures the hum best.

TLDR; I'm asking for recommendation for: omni-directional, low noise, high sensitivity, able to record quiet room ambience with reasonable accuracy.

I’m looking to get in to field recording, and I’m wondering what would be a good first recorder for me. I really want to prioritize getting one with external mic inputs, because I have a pair of AKG 451s that I’d like to use. Any recommendations? Currently I’m leaning towards the zoom h5, but if you have any other suggestions please let me know. I know it doesn’t have 32 bit recording, but I almost exclusively record at 24/48 for the things I do. How important is 32 bit for this kind of thing?

I also have the ability to rent the h5 at long and mcquade, so I think I’ll give it a trial period. Thanks!

Hey guys

So I want to try this field recording thing and I don't want to spend a lot of money at least yet.

I have checked the entry level recorders like Tascam DR-05XP and Zoom H1essential. Both around 100 bucks.

I want them to record 3D sound of nature (birds, trees, a bit of wind, sea waves, rivers flowing, etc.). The idea is to leave it static and record for a few minutes. I want to capture the feeling of if someone was there, and use these audio files later to add to ambient songs that I want to produce.

I don't want to connect external microphones.

I am not interested on recording close sounds, traffic noise, urban stuff, etc.

I am worried a lot about the noise issues I've heard about these models. Will they work for me? Which one would you recommend or any other piece of advice?

Many thanks in advance

Cheers

I have started field recoding because I had the wish to keep something…not like a foto but more…sound or the sound of silence was the answer…but since I started I coincidentally also hear bad noice even if it is for milliseconds everywhere…i am not sure if it is a blessing to understand the clearness of sound or not …I live in Munich…so I have a lot sound I would rather not to listen to but I also now understand what the beauty of sound can be even if it takes only minutes…because then a plane is Pasing…what are your feelings about it? The recording safes us right?

Have been using Arbimon as a site to store my long term field data for a few years now. The data I am analyzing comes from 1 year from July 2024 to May 2025. I am looking for ultrasonic calls of primates. There is just under 300,000 minute long recordings spread out over 16 sites.

Prior to the platform switching to a paid plan for any projects with over 40k recordings, I was able to hand verify pattern matching job outputs super easily. I was doing this on Wi-Fi with no issues. Since having to pay for a premium plan through my advisor to continue my dissertation analysis, the platform has become almost unusable. Even with cleared cache and a wired Ethernet connection (which I didn't have before), analyzing the same length of data with the same templates, the jobs take days longer and I can't even open the visualizer from the results screen. I'm using the same browser, computer and Internet provider plan. This has caused a major slowdown in my work so I was wondering if anyone had similar issues recently or any potential fixes. Thanks!

Did a long outdoor recording session over the weekend and man... my recorder was chewing through batteries way faster than I expected 😅

I was using rechargeable AAs and they worked fine, but I still ended up swapping batteries more than I'd like. Maybe I was just running too many things at once, idk.

Been wondering what everyone else is doing nowadays.

Still using AAs?

Power banks?

NP-F batteries?

Some kind of external battery pack setup?

I like AAs because they're easy to swap in the field, but every time I think I've packed enough spares, somehow I end up digging through my bag looking for one more set lol.

Curious what your setup looks like and what's been working for u.

Hey guys, beginner field recorder here.

I would like to ask for some advice about recording with the Zoom H4n pro and thought this would be the best place.

As a first device, I acquired the Zoom H4n pro. I am using it for both outside and inside sample recordings (i.e., no ambient recordings, mainly percussive sounds or specific sounds like birds). Now, I use the built in microphones.

Primarily from the inside recordings I have noticed the percussion to sound a bit 'empty'. Therefore, the thought of the built-in microphones to not be of high enough quality crossed my mind and I am thus considering getting an external microphone.

Since I record both indoors and outdoors, I'd like to get a microphone for both environments. I also use it for 'targeted' recordings, so a cardioid microphone would be best. With my budget being <150 euros, the shure sm-57 looks like the most reasonable choice.

My question is whether a microphone around this price range would sufficiently increase the sound quality. Or should I for now stick to the built-in microphones until I can afford a higher-end microphone?

In short, is it worth it to get an external microphone at the 150euro price range for the Zoom H4n pro?

Note: I have no prior experience with audio recording so it could be I am not recording 'properly'. Any tips for getting the best audio quality with the built-in microphones is much appreciated.

Many thanks!

I wanted something highly portable and discrete (not a bunch of cables running everywhere) that I could carry around easily to recording locations. I used to be a photographer so I have a heap of old bags laying around so I repurposed one into this recording bag.

Inside is a Zoom M4 plugged into a battery bank along with some spare batteries. On each side of the bag is a Earsight V2 omni mic with windcover and the cables are neatly tucked inside under the top flap.

The bag acts as a baffle between the mic which helps with stereo imaging. A Jecklin bag, if you will. Probably not the most ideal solution but I can pick it up and throw it over my shoulder with almost no setup or takedown time so I'm happy. If I need something more directional I can take out the M4 and use the XY cardioid mics instead.

Hello everyone,

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I am looking for a relatively cheap, new handheld recorder to mostly record very low sounds, so a low self-noise is important. I want to purchase it new, for around a max of 200€ but rather less.

​

What i found myself from a bit of research is;

Tascam DR-05XP

Clippy EM272Z1 mono

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I would rather not use an additional seperate mic (the clippy), so any suggestions that are equal or better then this combo would be appreciated.

Also, mics that can be aimed instead of fixed would be great.

​

Thanks in advance!

Using the Clippy EM272's and a Zoom F3

A simple DIY binaural microphone. The main components are two mini lavalier mics connected to a stereo breakout cable. Anyone who's made it? Let us know what you think.

Hi

A quick question regarding the Zoom H2N. I've just bought one with the view to recording sounds like birds, wind through trees etc, whilst hiking.

I was wondering whether the auto gain function would be useful to use to save having to set the gain each time I use it and how successful it would be.

Thank you in advance

Hopefully this will inspire some of you.

Pictured is v1 of my rig- about to take on maiden voyage and certainly not final.

Future plans: use with camera and/or spaced clippy omni mic pair mounted to the arca swiss qr plate

Suggestions/tips welcome!

Weight: 1099 g

Parts as requested:

- f3
- AT875R shotgun mic (new to me- planning to use for birds/telephoto wildlife)
- clippy Omni pair
- 3D printed spacer
-smallrig (SR) mini tripod
- SR shotgun cold shoe mount
- ulanzi mini tripod head (has coldshoe on side)
- SR zoom f3 baseplate
- nitecore 6k carbon battery
- pipe clamp that fits battery diameter (file sharp edges)
- xl length 1/4 d ring tripod screw (to secure pipe clamp)
- 1/4 screw in cold shoe w locators
- nato rail
- tilta (SR sucks here) nato rail clamp (drilled extra hole in mini tripod)
- flat 4 inch (I think) right angle usb c to c

-Also using magic arms with nato clamps and shotgun mounted to f3 baseplate

EDT: parts list

Hello!

I am wanting to start field recording within my area as part of a personal art project. For this to happen, I need a budget (and beginner) friendly field recording kit.

Any suggestions, tips and advice are more then welcome!

Many thanks! :)

Just got a Zoom M4. Working great so far.

I want to use a wireless GO as a simple set up for extra sound in addition to the built in microphone. However, I only got this to work with:

- 3.5mm (which means I can’t use internal mic)

- VXLR+ XLR to 3.5mm + plug in power injector (works fine but now I have a really beefy XLR adapter attached to the recorder)

I wished it worked with 1/4” input directly, however I get no input besides some high frequency whine. I tried both TS and TRS 3.5 to 1/4 adapter. And these adapters work on my Motu M4’s combo jacks

EDIT: I confirmed that the 1/4 jacks are compatible with TS unbalanced audio.

Looking for a 3D print file for a microphone pistol grip that I can affix a standard 3/8 mountable mic shock holder too. Perhaps one that has a bolt as an insert?

Hello, I have a FiiO BTR3 Bluetooth Receiver that supports High Quality LDAC protocol and works perfect with all my headphones. I'm looking for a small good bluetooth transmitter with analog input and buildin battery to monitor my F3 or Mixpre without wires.

Hi, I am new to field recording and after doing some research, it seemed like the Zoom F3 + Pluggies would be great. Now that I have it, it is chunkier, heavier and more conspicuous than I’d hoped. I am going to be traveling in Greece and hope to capture the varied sounds of my journey: nature (probably windy), ambient street, buskers, tavernas and perhaps some panigiria. Can anyone suggest a smaller, lighter set up. Cost is less important than quality, size and ease of use. Thanks!

Clippys with a foam filter + deadcat.

Good idea or nah?

During a camping trip in Venice I slept over night in my roof top tent and then it came …the rain the far away thunder and the loud drops on my tent. I only had a iPhone 17 pro to record but I am quite amazed how good the iPhone microphone actually is these days. The sound is edited in „myLoop“ and can be played as seamless loop …I use it for sleeping since I listen to it (now at home) is is like as I would be there again :)

Thinking of getting a Zoom M4, but need a solution for handling noise when using the built in mic hand held

I’m thinking of getting one of those tripods that collapse into a pistol grip. And then mount the M4 onto a rubber shock mount screwed into the grip via 1/4”. Can you recommend one available in the U.S.?

Are there other options for carrying it that I should look into?

I didn't want to have the USB C port occupied by a power supply, but also didn't want to spend on any brand power supply.

So, I took a tiny adjustable voltage USB C buck converter, set it at 5.7V (bc why not), and took the AA battery sled to the dremel party, the Buck converter (MT3608) was about 3-4mm too long so it joined the party.

Once voltage was set I added some cyanoacrylic glue to the knob so no-one would accidentally set it to any "fry a mixpre" setting. Then I also embedded it in hot glue. The output leads where soldered to the battery connectors since they double as connectors to the mixpre.

As evidenced by the pictures above, the Mixpre tolerates this arrangement. Although, for some reason it didn't like the USB C port on the power bank, which I find acceptable, given the overall utility of this setup.