9 replies to this topic

[exhaustiveresearcher]

Hello,
We want to develop a simulator. For that simulator sounds we will make some effect recording.
So We are about to buy Korg MR1000 Recorder that is at link: http://www.korg.com/...ct.aspx?&pd=289

Bu there is a problem that we can not decide the most compatible microphone. We thougt to buy Rode NTG-2 Microphone that is at link: http://usa.rodemic.c...p?product=NTG-2

Another point is MR1000 has Input Impedance: 4.5 k Ohm (XLR-3-31), 68 k Ohm (TRS phone, Line)

And Rode NTG-2 has Output impedance 250Ω (phantom), 350Ω (battery)

This is a bit confusing that is impedance quantity is differrent for both.


If Rode NTG-2 isnt compatible with MR1000 can you offer me equivalent shocmount mic.


Thanks

[Nils Pipenbrinck]

This is the wrong place, but anyway...

The impendance of a studio microphone is usually around 300Ohm. The Rode will work just fine. The mic-input often has a higher input impendance. This gives slightly higher fidelity at the price of increased noise floor (less load on the internal transformer).

[aamesxdavid]

Nils Pipenbrinck said:

This is the wrong place, but anyway...

To be fair, this is the closest area available on the forums. It's audio and development related, just not programming. DevMaster doesn't offer specifics in this area.

In any case, I have to ask, why a shotgun mic? The best microphone for your simulator has little to do with impedance, particularly if you're going to be manipulating these sounds anyway.

First of all, what kind of simulator is it? How are you recording these sounds? If you are doing outdoor field recording, I might see a reason for this, but otherwise any normal condenser mic would be fine.

[Nils Pipenbrinck]

Regarding mics in general:

I have a bunch of SM57 mics, and I've done quite a bit of music recording recently. So far they have served me well. The only thing they don't do well are extreme situations such as micing base-drums and drum overheads.

If someone ever wanted a versatile and affordable mic for speech and some natural sound recording (think background sounds for games..) - get a SM57.

[monjardin]

I love SM57's. Tom Petty uses them for vocals, but that doesn't necessarily vouch for their fidelity! I've only really used them in live situations, but they seemed to work fine for drum overheads (but not bass as you stated).

[exhaustiveresearcher]

aamesxdavid said:

To be fair, this is the closest area available on the forums. It's audio and development related, just not programming. DevMaster doesn't offer specifics in this area.

In any case, I have to ask, why a shotgun mic? The best microphone for your simulator has little to do with impedance, particularly if you're going to be manipulating these sounds anyway.

First of all, what kind of simulator is it? How are you recording these sounds? If you are doing outdoor field recording, I might see a reason for this, but otherwise any normal condenser mic would be fine.

We thought that shotgun is directional and can get sounds directly from the source.
We will develop a train simulator. we will collect fan, engine, brake, wind, horn, warning sounds by the given cofiguration korg mr1000 and rode ntg2. We think to bring the mic near each sound source. After collecting sounds we will clear the noise etc and cut. Then using FMOD, we'll integrate with simulator.

Is all these process is correct? Any comments?
Thanks

[aamesxdavid]

exhaustiveresearcher said:

We thought that shotgun is directional and can get sounds directly from the source.
We will develop a train simulator. we will collect fan, engine, brake, wind, horn, warning sounds by the given cofiguration korg mr1000 and rode ntg2. We think to bring the mic near each sound source. After collecting sounds we will clear the noise etc and cut. Then using FMOD, we'll integrate with simulator.

Is all these process is correct? Any comments?
Thanks

A lot of mics are directional - shotgun mics are just extremely so. That being said, unless you're recording from a distance, there is no reason for a shotgun mic. In your case, a shotgun mic is overkill, and would probably cause more problems than anything. You want a standard cardioid pattern condenser mic. I personally wouldn't use something like an SM-57 for this. I agree they're good for a lot of drums, and sometimes even vocals. But for sound design, unless you're recording something with a very strong transient, it's generally not the best solution.

As far as the sounds you are planning to collect, you're missing one big one - the wheels on the track. You need a rolling sound. Appropriately layered/modified, this can be something as simple as a battery rolling on a desk. This will be what makes the train really feel like it's gaining speed, and that it has weight. Listen to some recorded train sounds and try to break it down.

[exhaustiveresearcher]

aamesxdavid said:

A lot of mics are directional - shotgun mics are just extremely so. That being said, unless you're recording from a distance, there is no reason for a shotgun mic. In your case, a shotgun mic is overkill, and would probably cause more problems than anything.

Actually I'm a computer engineer and it is so difficult me to decide which mic is best. Our intension on recording is bring the mic near the sound source as much as possible to lower other ambient sounds around. For wheels on track with wind etc. we have some recordings downloaded from internet but other train specific sounds we need recording ie locomotive engine,fan is different from others, and there are train specific warnings,bells etc. So for that purpose isnt shotgun mic right choice?

aamesxdavid said:

As far as the sounds you are planning to collect, you're missing one big one - the wheels on the track. You need a rolling sound.

As you mentioned below we are using the existing ones

aamesxdavid said:

Appropriately layered/modified, this can be something as simple as a battery rolling on a desk. This will be what makes the train really feel like it's gaining speed, and that it has weight. Listen to some recorded train sounds and try to break it down.

Relation between Battery rolling on desk and wheels are interesting. How can we break down the battery sound to the wheel sound.

[aamesxdavid]

exhaustiveresearcher said:

Our intension on recording is bring the mic near the sound source as much as possible to lower other ambient sounds around. For wheels on track with wind etc. we have some recordings downloaded from internet but other train specific sounds we need recording ie locomotive engine,fan is different from others, and there are train specific warnings,bells etc. So for that purpose isnt shotgun mic right choice?

Again, if you're going to be close to the source, then no, not really. I'd say unless you're going to be more than 3 feet or so away, there's no reason for a shotgun mic. Any closer to that, and you're going to want the area sound - when you hear a train, you don't hear this one little piece of it, after all. It also depends on the environment you're recording in. Up until your most recent response, I didn't think you were recording a real train. Now it sounds like you are. Based on what you are trying to do, this might even be the more difficult way to go about it. But if you are recording a real train, then you most need to be careful of your environment. If you are in a noisy area, you're going to have a lot of post processing work to do on this audio, regardless of the mic you use. For most sounds (except the horn and engine sounds, off the top of my head), you'll probably be better off recording something indoors that you can manipulate to sound like train noises.

My battery rolling example is something you can pitch shift to make it sound deeper - like a heavy wheel rolling along. If you do this on a metal surface, you'd probably get an even better result. This kind of thinking is what makes nice, clean, usable sound.

[Reedbeta]

Honestly, it sounds like you guys should just hire a professional sound engineer and let him loose on the problem. It doesn't seem like your team has any experience in sound design, which is probably a recipe for mediocre (at best) results.