Audio Hardware/Software Repsonse

1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.

I actually looked forward to building my microphones. I’m usually a fast learner and thing like that come easy to me. So when it actually came to doing it I had everything working out smoothly until the actual soldering the metal together. The solder machines weren’t getting hot enough so it was melting anything. It took a long time before I actually got my second wire on, but when I did it was a huge relief. The microphones worked great on my drift. Sometimes the felt to block the wind would come loose, but it was an easy fix. I was able to capture both overall ambience (construction) and close ups (waterfall).I guess my ideal microphone would look a little nicer than orange duct tape wrapped around felt. I would like it a bit more professional. I would I have something to block out more of the wind. I didn’t have a big problem with that, but I still could hear it.

2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?

The MiniDisc recorder gave me no problems. I turned it on and out I went. Like I said it takes a minute and then I pick up quickly on working most electronics. I have never really used any recording equipment except a camcorder or a karaoke machine. It probably had more steps to follow, so that recording turned out. In an ideal world my recorder would have four buttons; record, play, skip and delete. Everything else would be automatic.


3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I used Audacity to edit my sound recordings, because it was the application I heard most about in class. I never used any audio-editing software before, but once I got used to it, it was easy to complete the rest of my editing. I thought it would be a difficult task to complete editing all my drifts, but the software was easy enough to get the job done. I will definitely use this software again.