Audio Hardware/Software Repsonses

Reflect on your experiences working with the audio hardware and software in this class. Answer the following in a single post to your Research blog.

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.

The building of the mics went exactly how I pictured it would: I'd get it done, but it would not come easy. The rig worked alright, but it just picked up too much wind noise. My ideal microphone would be one which pin pointed a specific sound and was able to drown out all other sounds around it. And a recorder that was automatically set on manual gain.

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?

I hated the MiniDisc recorder. It was sometimes confusing. At some points in time it did not allow me to record things and at many points in time I was not able to get the mannual gain function to show up. In my ideal world the MiniDisk recorder would be voice operated.

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 because that is the one talked about in class and it is free. This was another application I had problems with. It in fact screwed up my project. I was not allowed to make any cuts because every time I saved it and would then go back into the "document", everything except for the fades would be mute. They would not work. I think I will look into it more before deciding whether or not to keep using it.