First look at Sennheiser MKH 8030 and Rycote BD-10 microphones
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
3M ago
Quick disclaimer: I am not paid to write this. I’ve been sponsored by brands like Sennheiser and Rycote in the past (and by others too), but these sponsorships are mostly in exchange for testing kit on my expeditions and getting sound recordings, photos and videos of said equipment in the field. I was sent the MKH 8030 and the BD-10 but neither Sennheiser nor Rycote get to see this before it is released. I work as a sound designer and recordist for media and I don’t rely on revenue from brands to make a living. I use a variety of kit from many manufacturers. I’ve been using Sennheiser MKH 800 ..read more
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Curating your own sound recordings
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
5M ago
This is an article I originally wrote for Earth.fm Here’s a question I receive quite often: how do you manage to listen to all the recordings you capture? Let me try to answer, but first here’s a little background. Long-form field recording I’m a big fan of unattended long-form recording. I want to capture the sounds of nature and wildlife as they happen over many day/night cycles, in the same physical location. I want the ecosystems I record to have a chance to get back to their natural state once I’ve been there. I want to cover a variety of weather, activity levels and interactions. Lastly ..read more
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Quick dispatch from Antananarivo
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
1y ago
Antananarivo skyline I’ve been in Madagascar’s capital for a few days, preparing for my upcoming expedition and exploring the city on foot with my cameras and recorders. I’ve managed to record a lot of city life, from busy road traffic to quiet residential pockets. With the help of my guide Tolotra, I set up a recording rig on the roof of a house and let it record for more than 24 hours. This way I captured a fascinating slice of life in the community, from early morning to late evening and into the night. One of my favourite recordings I made here has to be market soundscapes. I spent half a ..read more
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Zoom F3 recorder review
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
1y ago
I’ve had two Zoom F3 recorders for more than a month and I’ve been putting them through their paces here in the UK. I also took them on a trip to Italy where they were my main recorders. Are they worth getting? I think so, but read on to find out more. Buy your F3 at Amazon and support me (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3mNu9nc Nature soundscape recorded with the Zoom F3 Disclaimer I bought the two F3s with my own money. I have an ongoing relationship with Zoom but that does not cover reviews. Zoom do not get a say in what I write and have not seen this review prior to publishing. There are ..read more
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Tascam Portacapture X8 review
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
Tascam Portacapture X8 in the field Have you thought about buying the Tascam Portacapture X8 handheld sound recorder? I have to admit I was very excited when I saw the initial announcement and videos. The recorder looked very promising, had a few interesting new features and Tascam is a brand with many years of experience in the audio/sound recording market. I was carefully optimistic and ordered one as soon as they became available in the UK. Should you buy one too? Read on to find out. Disclaimer: I have no relationship with Tascam and I bought the Portacapture X8 with my own money. I asked ..read more
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Rugged sound recording equipment - tested
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
I just got back from a jungle sound recording expedition to Costa Rica where I had ample opportunity to test my kit in extreme conditions. My microphones and recorders were exposed to long days in very hot temperatures and crazy humidity, and to a few attacks from several ant species. What was affected and which gear survived? Read on to find out. I started to take field recording seriously some 10 years ago, and I’ve never pampered my equipment. I had recorders freeze, I dropped microphones in water, I drowned dozens of lavs, I smoked mics and blimps over an active volcano - just to name a f ..read more
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Free sound effects - Mindful Audio holiday freebies 2021
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 6 years since I started the Mindful Audio Holiday sfx library but here we are! This year’s edition features fascinating soundscapes recorded in remote and pristine parts of the world, as usual. Travel has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels so I had to dig into my back catalogue but I’m sure you will be pleased with the selection of recordings. Listen to a quick demo and check out some behind-the-scenes footage in the video below: Library specs Number of files: 16 Specs: Stereo, 24 bit/96 kHz, Soundminer and Basehead compatible metadata Total duration ..read more
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What does an active volcano sound like?
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
Boiling lava, gases escaping, mini earthquakes and lava bombs create a surreal soundscape inside the volcanic caldera at Erta Ale in Northern Ethiopia. I'm sitting on the edge of the crater, trying to avoid stepping over big cracks and on to overhangs that might drop into the 600m/2000 feet chasm below. At the bottom there is a lava lake that occasionally spews volcanic bombs and boiling rock. The magma can barely be seen through the thick volcanic gases though. The mixture of smoke, dust, sulphur, chlorine, brine steam, silica particles, poisonous gases and many other compounds is thick and s ..read more
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File storage and data management on expeditions
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
File storage and data management can be a source of headaches even in the safe space of a studio. Add a few elements to the mix (humidity, heat, bees, being on the road, lack of access to electricity, monkeys etc.)  and it becomes a bit of a nightmare. I’ve made many mistakes over the years and learned from most of them, but it’s always better to avoid silly errors altogether. I write this from the perspective of field recording and photo/videography but I think it applies to other fields such as conservation, scientific research, ecology etc. Here are some of the most important aspects ..read more
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Best microphones for recording nature and wildlife sounds
George Vlad Blog
by George Vlad
2y ago
Field recording in the Amazon rainforest What microphones should I get for nature and wildlife sound recording? - is a question I receive on social media and via email every few days. I’ll try to offer a comprehensive and definitive answer even though I’m not a big fan of definitive statements. Take all this with a grain of salt and keep in mind I’ve only been able to test a limited selection of mics over time. Having said that, please listen to the examples I offer including the Youtube soundscapes as they’re illustrative of what you can achieve with these microphones. Also make sure you rea ..read more
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