Going out to the countryside for a relaxing vacation can be an unexpectedly noisy experience. The barn in the picture below is where my grandparents sheep are housed at night during the colder seasons, but it turned out to be far from deserted even this time of year. Swallows flew back and forth, kittens were playing in the loft, a couple of pigeons was going about their business and flies buzzed around.
Geek note: 2 x Røde NT1-As (ORTF, 17 cms spacing, 110 degrees) -> Sound Devices 702
By the end of last week the weather got more dramatic with hard winds blowing in from Skagerak, gaining their strength from the Atlantic ocean. I headed up on crest west of the farm, from where you have a nice view of the ocean below.
On the top of the crest is an old cairn in which I placed my stereo rig in protection from the wind.
If you think that the stereo width sounds somewhat flat it’s because the placement within the cairns sheltering walls. This location was the only option for making the recording as the gusts where battering down hard from all directions. Despite this I must say that I’m pretty satisfied with the results.
Geek note: 2 x Røde NT1-As (ORTF, 17 cms spacing, 110 degrees) -> Sound Devices 702 (Low-cut filter on; 80Hz – 18dB/oct)
You grandparent’s place looks and sounds like an interesting place to do a really big soundscape project; different sonic environments to explore outside and inside.
Yes it is indeed. Old houses tend to come alive in different ways during different seasons, the same goes for the surrounding nature. It would be nice to do a coverage of the different soundscapes in and around their farm together with someone who is not as familiar with the place as I am. As I spent large parts of my childhood there I noticed, as in the case with the recorded barn heard above, that I tend to get somewhat blind (or more correctly; deaf) to the obvious.
Nice.
Are you still using the home made windscreen?
It looks like they do the job.
Yep, still the same ones.
I think they are ok in slight winds. When recording in situations like the one above I have to find some good shelter for the array. I would be better of using a pair of factory-made blimps in some situations but even they have a limit when it comes to really hard winds.
Iceland, with its open and barren landscape, would certainly be more of a challenge for my DIY-windscreens.