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Project #2 - Single Point vs Discrete SOUNDS IN THE FIELD |
For my original surround recording in
Dream and Delirium,
I used 5 discrete microphones mapped to the dimensions
of the speaker layout in the ACTLab. I have presented other
projects using my experimental tetrahedral ambisonic
microphones first introduced in Soundscapes,
yet had not presented a comparison of the two recording
methods for an A-B comparison. Fasten your seat belts;
that is what this project is about.
Not wanting to sway results due to the original perimeter project being recorded with Sennheiser MD-421 and MD-431 microphones and the single point projects with my experimental ambisonic or commercial TetraMic (also ambisonic) microphones, I built 4 more Experimental 2 (Exp2) preamplifiers with modified capsules. Recordings were then made on an even playing field with 8 identical capsules feeding 8 identical preamplifiers. The experimental microphone (single point) is a tetrahedral construction. The perimeter mics are cardioids facing upward (which essentially makes them omnidirectional on a horizontal plane). The raw data from the 4 channels of Exp2 must be processed to restore the tetrahedral outputs to a horizontal plane distributed to the 4 speaker positions represented by the perimeter positions. The perimiter data is not processed. |
I drove to Sandy Creek Park and set 2 locations before
abandoning that site: no birds, no bugs, nada. On the
way back into Austin, I stopped along Geronimo Road,
then to Cypress Creek Park. Nada. Next, to Austin City
Park and the City Park Motorcycle Trail (where I rousted
2 deer while setting up). Still, nothing. I came home to pickup
some more cables before going to south Austin and realized
that the sounds I wanted were in my own front yard: birds,
children, airplanes, and mowing.
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Front yard recording with 4 discrete microphones and
Exp2. The right front (RF - red), left front (LF - orange),
and right back (RB - blue) microphones are visible. The left
back mic (LB - yellow) is not visible, but is in the grass
and in line with the bushes. Exp2 is centered in the pattern,
visible with its white furry windscreen. The pattern faces
west, while this photo is from the northwest corner.
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