Good voice/sound recorders for the field

Nature Talk
21

As for the good sound recorder, I chose DRmare Audio Capture after studying many tools for recording.

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22

I use Joyoshare Screen Recorder to record sound from the system and microphone.

23

Further to my comment above (https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/good-voice-sound-recorders-for-the-field/1123/14?u=karoopixie) which I can’t edit:

The address has changed for the Audacity guide - it is now https://www.fuglesang-troms.net/audacity-quick-guide/

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24

9 months later, i picked up a Tascam DR-07X on sale during the holiday season right now for $120. i added a deadcat windscreen to prevent wind from blowing out the recordings. i’m still learning how to use it properly, but it seems to do a decent job.

pros:

  1. its recordings are definitely less noisy than ones made with included microphones on my other electronic devices.
  2. i’m supposed to be able to record for 17+ hours on 2 AA batteries. (i still haven’t drained my first set yet. so i can’t confirm that claim.)
  3. i can use up to a 128 GB SD card to record 200+ hrs of 16-bit WAV, 64hrs of 24-bit WAV, or 900+ hrs of 320kbs MP3
  4. it’s relatively easy to use in terms of recording / playback and getting the files tranferred to a computer.
  5. it can be connected to another device via USB to be used as a relatively high-quality microphone for that device (although i haven’t used it that way in the field).

cons:

  1. it’s not as small as some other portable recorders
  2. it doesn’t add a media creation date to the file metadata. the only dates are file creation and modification dates. so if i upload a sound-only observation, i have to put in a date manually. (not sure if other recorders add better metadata to their files.)
  3. i’ve noticed radio interference in cases where i was near electrical equipment.
  4. it’s not weatherproof (though i’m not sure if there are similar models that are).

overall i’m happy, and it’s been quite useful for learning my birds and just recording other interesting noises.

3 Likes
25

I record sound with my phone’s video camera, then strip the sound off it and, if necessary, edit it in audacity. I’ve found the sound quality doesn’t seem to be any worse than if I used a dedicated sound recording app.
The main problem is usually wind, I find the easiest way to avoid wind is to stand with my back to the wind and hold my phone to my chest.
There are many small, free programs to strip sound from video. I use https://www.avs4you.com/downloads.aspx (it’s for Windows).

2 Likes
26

there are windscreens that can help with the wind. see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok-VtEGizGo. a lot of these are not super cheap, but you could probably make one of your own. there are lots of videos and other tutorials online that provide DIY examples, from bandage+gauze to fancier ones.

1 Like
27

what i was trying to say is my method works very well. but thanks for the suggestion. :)