My girlfriend and I drove to Newport Beach to get some well-needed sun, and of course to do some recording! I got right up to the water's edge and held the mics on a boom for a little bit to capture this. It was quite windy, so I decided to try using the long pile fur on the Cinela Pianissimo. I was surprised by how transparent the recording still sounded, and how little EQ I needed to add to compensate for the attenuation of higher frequencies. I cannot recommend Cinela's products enough, but of course they speak for themselves :)

Recording Date: 2021.03.13
Recording Time: 14:30 PST (UTC-08:00)
Location: Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, California
GPS Coordinates: 33.5958642, -117.8884239
Heading: 227°
Audio Interface: Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth: 192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain: 50 dB
Microphone(s): Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement: MS Stereo
Mic Protection: Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)
Edited in Reaper with iZotope's RX & OZone, and Goodhertz Midside

Bonus Content! — youtu.be/1-XBKYFzaU8
I did a separate recording session from further away in order to capture some video as well. It was my first try at syncing the two, and also at adjusting the soundstage to match the shot.

Balboa Peninsula Waves (Senn. M/S)

The weather was super nice today (84°F and not a cloud in the sky), and I was feeling antsy just sitting inside, so I ventured out to record some sounds. I originally wanted to go to the Great Park Ice & Fivepoint Area, but I would have had to register online first to even go inside as a visitor because of COVID-19. So, instead I walked around the rest of the park, and I came across a mostly isolated area where some flag-less flagpoles were clinking.

Recording Date:		2021.03.28
Recording Time:		16:10 PDT (UTC-08:00)
Location:			Great Park, Orange County, California
GPS Coordinates:	33.6721201, -117.7371369
Heading:			222°
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		48 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			65 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)
Edited in Reaper with iZotope's RX & Ozone, and Goodhertz Midside

Great Park Ambience (Senn. M/S)

Metrolink passenger train arriving and departing from the Irvine Train Station. This one was a bit more of a challenge than I'm used to because of the extreme dynamic range of the recording (quiet ambience to a train roaring through), so I had to dynamically adjust the gain of the recording in Reaper for a more consistent and enjoyable result. Recording in 32-bit floating point was really helpful for this!

Editing done in Reaper, iZotope RX 8, Ozone 9, Goodhertz Midside

Recording Date:		2021.04.17
Recording Time:		3:06 PDT (UTC-08:00)
Location:			Irvine Train Station
GPS Coordinates:	33.65709997198827, -117.73306030201636
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		48 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			65 dB
Microphone(s):	Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)

Irvine Train Station Arrival & Departure (Senn. M/S)

My neighborhood has been overrun with swallows! It is quite annoying as they are loud, they poop on everything, and they are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 so they cannot be removed. I understand that the world doesn't solely belong to humans, so we are trying to make the most of it. The neighborhood is usually quite active, so it is hard to get a clean recording of these birds. I did, however, manage to capture about 1 minute's worth of their sound patterns.

Edited in Reaper with iZotope RX 8, Ozone 9, and Goodhertz Midside.

Recording Date:		2021.04.17
Recording Time:		4:15 PDT (UTC-08:00)
Location:			Home
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		48 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			65 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)

Noisy Swallows (Senn. M/S)

Being Memorial Day, I took advantage of having the day off of work by driving over to Salt Creek Beach. It took what seemed like forever to find a parking spot — in reality about 15 minutes — but I eventually got lucky and found one. The beach was very crowded this weekend, but for the first time in a very long time I felt safe around so many people. It was nice :)

Recording Date:		2021.05.31
Recording Time:		15:00 PST (UTC-08:00)
Location:			Salt Creek Beach, Dana Point, CA
GPS Coordinates:	33.476134, -117.722578
Heading:			259°
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			60 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)
Dynamic Range:		DR17 (foobar Dynamic Range Meter)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9 and Goodhertz Midside.

Memorial Day Beach Ambience (Senn. M/S)

Recorded during a layover at O'Hare on Independence Day. There is a McDonald's on the right (person yelling out numbers), a flight disembarking on the left, an electric personnel shuttle driving by and honking, a PA announcement, and lots of people talking as they pass by.

Recording Date:		2021.07.04
Recording Time:		07:37 CDT (UTC-06:00)
Location:			Chicago O'Hare International Airport (Terminal 1, Gate B12)
GPS Coordinates:	41.9804434, -87.9065382
Heading:			229°
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			60 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS
Dynamic Range:		DR18 (foobar Dynamic Range Meter)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9 and Goodhertz Midside.

Field Recordings

O'Hare Airport Ambience (Senn. M/S)

I've been struggling to think of new, more intentional (not just ambience) ideas for recordings, but today I thought of a compromise — the airport! There's a little area at the end of Airport Loop Drive near John Wayne Airport that is popular for watching planes, so I decided to take a trip there and see if I could find any good spots for making recordings. The first spot I went to was where cars would park and watch the planes, but interstate 405 was also right there and added a lot of background noise. I went a little further along the perimeter of the fence and found a gap in the hedges to put my recording gear in. The tripod extended just high enough for the mics to peek over the cement barrier. As you'll hear it's quite a busy little airport — there are planes constantly taking off and landing, a helicopter circling around, and the mics were right on the side of a service road, so you'll also hear some facilities workers driving right by in their trucks.

Recording Date:		2021.08.15
Recording Time:		14:30 PDT (UTC-07:00)
Location:			John Wayne Airport, Orange County, California
GPS Coordinates:	33.6840529, -117.8654391
Heading:			90°
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			65 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9, RX 8, and Goodhertz Midside.

John Wayne Airport Arrivals & Departures (Senn. M/S)

As I was laying in bed and trying to fall asleep, I saw a bright flash of light shine through my blinds. It looked like a flash of lightning, but we've lived in southern California for over five years and have never seen lightning. A few seconds went by, and sure enough I heard the familiar rumble of thunder in the distance. I debated whether or not to get up and put my recording equipment together, but I ultimately decided to do it. I managed to capture a few more rumbles as the mysterious storm moved past. If you think that you're hearing rain at any point, we didn't see a single drop of it.

Thumbnail credit: /u/ArceusBlitz

Recording Date:		2021.09.09
Recording Time:		22:45 PDT (UTC-07:00)
Location:			Orange County, California
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:			65 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS
Dynamic Range:		DR16 (foobar Dynamic Range Meter)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9, RX 8, and Goodhertz Midside.

Rolling Thunder (Senn. M/S)

Happy New Year! I set up my rig on our balcony and hit the record button just a few minutes before midnight so that I could capture the moment outside. We live near the mountains, which is pretty far away from most of the action in Orange County, so most of the fireworks you hear are way in the distance. However, heads-up that there is a pretty loud one at about 17 seconds in. Let's make '22 a great one!

Thumbnail credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Fireworks#/media/File:2021_starts_with_a_bang_DSCN0005_-_Flickr_-_ianpreston.jpg

Recording Date:		2021.12.31
Recording Time:		23:55 PST (UTC-08:00)
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		48 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:				65 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS
Dynamic Range:		DR17 (foobar Dynamic Range Meter)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9, RX 8, and Goodhertz Midside.

2022 New Year Celebration Ambience (Senn. M/S)

Happy Lunar New Year! I went to a celebration nearby that featured a traditional lion dance, which I had never seen in person before. According to Wikipedia a lion dance is "a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune," and that "it is commonly performed to a vigorous drum beat." This particular dance featured two dragons, each being manipulated by two performers. I decided to bring along the recording equipment to capture the drummers and the crowd's reactions. I edited down the drumming quite a bit to stay within a reasonable amount of time, and to feature a bit of the ambience at the end.

Recording Date:		2022.02.12
Recording Time:		16:30 PST (UTC-08:00)
Location:			Great Park, Irvine, CA 92618
GPS Coordinates:	33.670941931138906, -117.72153203858777
Heading:			105°
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II
Rate, Depth:		192 kHz, 32-bit float
Gain:				60 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050, MKH 30
Mic Arrangement:	MS Stereo
Mic Protection:		Cinela Pianissimo DMS (w/ Long Pile Fur)

Editing done in Reaper with iZotope Ozone 9, RX 8, and Goodhertz Midside.

2022 Lunar New Year - Lion Dance (Senn. M/S)

Boredom on a Sunday afternoon led me to practice recording things around the house, one of which was my espresso machine. The supercardioid polar pattern of the MKH 8050 makes recording sounds without the room very easy!

Recording Date:		2021.02.14
Recording Time:		17:00 PST (UTC-08:00)
Audio Interface:	Sound Devices MixPre3-II (192 kHz, 32-bit float)
Gain:			45 dB
Microphone(s):		Sennheiser MKH 8050
Mic Arrangement:	Mono
Mic Protection:		none
Editing:				Reaper, OZone 9 Advanced
Upload::				FLAC 48 kHz, 24-bit

Espresso Machine

One of my favorite things in life is enjoying beautifully detailed, transparent, stereo recordings, and my personal mission is to capture the world around me in the same manner. For the best experience, I recommend listening to these recordings in an environment with accurate stereo image reproduction, or with a nice pair of headphones. Helpful comments & critiques are welcome.

Recommended Reading: The Magic in 2-Channel Sound by the late Siegfried Linkwitz https://www.linkwitzlab.com/The_Magic/The%20Magic%20in-Edit-SL.pdf

Christen

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