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I'm in my boat yesterday looking for new fishing holes. I go to the end of the lake miles away from traffic and spot a beautiful cove with a small mountain valley covered in big trees. I stopped the boat in the middle and was overwhelmed with the beautiful sound of birds singing everywhere. To give you an idea, this valley was about 1500ft across and maybe 700ft deep rising quickly peaking about 1000 ft up from the lake . I sat back (like in a horseshoe) about 800 ft out in the lake, dead calm . Behind me were Loons singing. All the birds were sing in a timing that blew my mind. It was just beautiful - magical - wow. it changed me forever.
I have to go back there and record this.

I have an H4n and was wondering about using external mics for this. I believe I can use 4 mics with it? One mic on my H4n is slightly damaged (bent). I want to get it as good as I can.

What pattern would I use, Omni, M/S / XY ? What Mics out of this choice,
Mics I have without needing 110v are Matched DPA 2006's, Royer SF-24 , RODE matched NT5, and a RODE NT4 . I also worry about providing safe 48V.

This is completely new to me. Thanks for any suggestions and advice.

Comments

thatjeffguy Sun, 07/13/2014 - 09:52

Wow, that H5 seems really well thought out! I might have to think about getting one, the versatility is awesome.

As to your question, I would likely go with the SF-24 or the NT4 because if I was on a boat out on a lake I wouldn't want to be juggling multiple mics. Plus the capsules on the NT-4 are very similar to those on the NT5s and are, in fact, interchangeable... you could take the NT5 capsules with you and try them both! I have no experience with the SF-24, but being a ribbon I would be concerned with the gain needed and the noise floor of the H4n, you could experiment with that before you head out there.
Sounds like a worthy pursuit Chris!

~Jeff