This is a recording taken of the Bluebell railway (it was "The Pioneer" on 27/05/21) taken using em172 microphones with 20cm spacing under a bridge. Listen out for the whistle!

Steam Train over a bridge

This is a very short recording I took today inside an amusement arcade on a pier in Worthing, West Sussex, using my shiny new Sony PCM-D100. This sample was taken through em172 microphones with DIY wind protection (that got battered by the wind through the door at the end), spaced at 20cm.

I particularly enjoy the busy atmosphere on this recording.

Pier arcade (Sony D100)

This is a recording taken on an A320neo aircraft with no passengers, only cabin crew, walking through the aircraft during the climb to cruising altitude (from the back to the front). I really enjoy listening to the different sounds of the engines and the wind as you pass through a cabin!

Empty aircraft cabin

This is a recording taken from the back of an A320neo cabin during an empty flight, using a Sony PCM-D100 recorder internal microphones set at 120 degrees. You can hear the galley rattling as we climb through the clouds, if you listen really carefully.

Aircraft cabin white noise

This is a recording of my absolute favourite tenor guitar - a 1928 Gibson TG-0. I honestly reckon you could give this to a rhino and it would be able to make it sing - it basically plays itself! This was recorded using a Sony PCM-D100 with em172 external microphones.

Gibson TG-0 tenor guitar (1928)

This is a recording of walking across a wooden disability ramp at the back of a cathedral, alongside a wobbly stone panel in the floor. This was a really quiet atmosphere, taken using the s/n 100Db feature on the Sony PCM-D100 using external em172 microphones spaced at around 50cm.

Squeaky Shoes in a cathedral

This is a recording I've been wanting to capture for over a year, ever since I recorded the first time in Borough market. It's an incredible place, full of different cultures and wares everywhere.

This was taken using a Sony PCM-D100 and external em172 microphones spaced at 50cm.

Borough market atmosphere

I couldn't sleep last night in the heat, so I got up and had a cup of tea. As the sun came up I set up my rig on the windowsill and recorded for about 15 minutes as the birds started singing - this is a small clip from that.

The recording had the treble dropped and bass lifted slightly, and the fades, but otherwise unedited.

Recorded on a Sony PCM-D100 using em172 microphones at 50cm.

Dawn Chorus in the rain 4:30am (Sussex, England)

I had a great time over the last week or so listening to the storms rolling in from the channel to the south. This recording was taken around 4am, before I went to work. I was extremely lucky that the storm came in as early as it did, and I was able to get quite a nice clean recording.

Sit back, relax and listen to the sound of the storm as it gets closer and closer. I particularly like the fat rain about 3/4 of the way in.

Recorded using a Sony PCM-D100 through em172 microphones.

For some reason, soundcloud added a few little clicks to my upload, apologies!

Thunderstorm long recording

This is a recording taken in LGW airport of a particularly noisy travellator in North Terminal. You can tell it hasn't been switched off in a very long time.

This was recorded using the internal mics on a Sony PCM-D100 at 120 degrees.

Very noisy travellator

This is a recording taken of a hand cranked mechanical calculator - a Monroe L200 that I took apart and rebuilt. Inside it has lots of moving metal parts, and made some wonderful noises! I set up a pair of EM172 microphones very close to the body of the machine, about 30cm apart.

Monroe L200 Mechanical Calculator

This is a recording I took of my Underwood no. 5 typewriter from 1925 - the microphones were set up extremely close to the main body of it, which is why you can hear the carriage progressing from one side to the other like that. Enjoy!

Underwood No.5 Typewriter

This is one of my favourite thunderclaps from the storm that rolled through today. We sat in a barn in the middle of nowhere around 11pm in the dark, and watched the massive lightning storm roll in across the south coast of West Sussex.

This recording was taken on a Sony PCM-D100 though external em172 microphones spaced AB around 30cm.

Thunderclap in a barn

Lighting a match

A recording of a light rain cloud passing through the area from inside a car. I edited out lots of cars passing by, but kept one in because I liked the rain around it. This is my first attempt at capturing rain in stereo!

Light rain, convertible car interior

An ice cream truck arriving in the neighbourhood playing the classic ice cream truck music!

Ice Cream Truck

A woodland recording of some birds singing. This recording has a little background noise from traffic sadly - I went as far into the woodland as I could to reduce it! Towards the end, the rustling was a squirrel, jumping away from me between the trees.

The loud, “laughing bird” near the beginning is a green woodpecker.

Woodland birds

A field recording of...well...a field. There is a village nearby that you can hear going about its daily business. I did a 40Hz low cut to remove some of the noise, and a few trim cuts and fades.

Meadow (bees, birds and leaves)

A recording to test the em172 microphones, taken on Worthing pier in England.

British seaside town

This is a recording of the wind blowing through a cluster of yew trees in an ancient forest. You can hear the pine needles dropping and the birds moving around. Sadly, a little wind noise here and there, but mostly clear. 

Recorded using a Tascam DR-05X with external em172 microphones at Kingley Vale in West Sussex.

Yew Tree Forest

Recorded from under the A27 at Shoreham using em172 capsules and a dr-05x. You can make out the water dripping through the nearby drain cover.

Motorway underpass

The sound of the wind blowing through some trees on the edge of a farm. There was an old stone church on one side. A really peaceful spot. Recorded on a Tascam DR-05x using em172 capsules.

Broad Leaved Woodland wind

This is a recording taken under a massive tree and an umbrella. You can hear the wind blowing through the forest, and the big fat raindrops falling on the umbrella.

Recorded using a Tascam DR-05x and em172 stereo microphones.

Umbrella Rain 2

This is a recording I took of walking across a wooden bridge in a wooded area, with a big weir beneath it, plunging down into a small lake. It was very peaceful and relaxing.

Recorded using a Tascam Dr-05x and em172 microphones.

Crossing A Weir

This is a recording taken inside a Hyundai i10 during heavy rain by the side of the road in Sussex, as a big storm blew through, for the first rain after a long heat wave. It was very welcome and overdue!

Taken using a Tascam DR-05x and em172 microphones.

Rain with windscreen wipers (car interior)

These are stereo recordings I've taken with handheld stereo recorders. I wish recording sound had the same recognition as photography - you can become completely immersed in an environment from a recording. Memories too, can be stirred from sounds, much like old smells remind people of places.

I started recording at the beginning of 2020, and I believe good ambience can be found in the most everyday moments - in cars, trains and shopping centres. I love interesting, busy recordings, especially with weather, people and machinery. I first started with a Tascam Dr-05x (with much wind noise on my early recordings), then added em172 microphones shortly afterwards. Later I purchased a Sony PCM-D100. 

I've categorised some recordings in the 'playlists' section. Suggestions/advice (even requests) always welcomed! 

Recorded in stereo for listening with headphones.

Ambient sound recording

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