This is actually a big subject! - for actual soundwalks - where you want to record on the move, then a recorder that you can wear is vital. The simplest to use example is a binaural setup - 2 tiny mics in the ear canls, and a small recorder such as a Zoom flashcard recorder. The leads need to be secured just so, so that head-turning doesn't cause the lead to drag across clothing, transmitting up the vibration up thru the lead to the capsule. main drawback= you've recorded using your own pinnae, so the results will sound best when you listen thru decent phones to your own recording. For other people, some of the effect will be lost because everyone's HRTF (head-related transfer function) differs, especially in the characteristics of pinna-filtering. Further, the resultant recording isn't very suitable for listening on speakers unless some cross-talk cancelling filtering is used in what is called 'speaker transaural' (cooper and bauck, originally, I think). Filters of this sort are available as plugins for VST hosts, now. Also, if you make radical head movements, the result on playback doesn't sound good!

Another way to make soundscape recordings is via the surround-recording approach, using the Soundfield microphone. This records in what is known as 'ambisonics' which is a format that records spatial characteristics irrespective of the speaker layout. So, the 4-ch recording you get out of a Soundfield mic can be decoded to 4, 6, 8, ...32 etc speakers. - if you have the gear. software to use with PC and multichannel soundcard for decoding to you speaker array is available free as VST plugin, from places lie York uni, derby uni, and many others. It takes quite a bit of expertise to control and setup ambisonic playback, though. This method does have the advantage that there are stereo signals embedded in there, so you can extract the scene and perspective you want after the recording. Disadvantages= the Soundfield mic costs about £3.5K, then you need a 4-channel recorder. Then - it records scenes well, but it's not very portable from the point of view of walking around with all the gear! - and you need to understand how it works, and many audio engineers don't quite!

So, it basically comes dow to what it is that you need to record, what for and so on.
I actually live in Sheffield, so if you want to chat further, I can help
regards
ppl


Dr. Peter Lennox
S.P.A.R.G.
Signal Processing Applications Research Group
University of Derby
http://sparg.derby.ac.uk  
Int. tel: 1775

>>> Matthew Collins <[log in to unmask]> 26/03/2007 10:46 >>>
Hello,

As part of my PhD research I'm planning on conducting a series of
soundwalks, in 'everyday' locations in cities. I need to record these, and
I'm looking for advice on techniques and equipment for doing so. I was just
wondering if anyone knew of any technical resources about recording
soundwalks, or could suggest appropriate equipment. What kind of level of
quality of recording would I need to get useful or recognisable sound after
the walk?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Matt Collins
(Dept of Geography, University of Sheffield)

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