Neil's Marshall Steam Tractor 'Moonraker' trundling through Broughton in Hampshire just after mid-day on Sunday 17th November 2013. Tractor has rubberised wheels. Living van has metal wheels. Water tender has wooden wheels.


The Greyhound Mix

'Moonraker' the Marshall Steam Tractor in stealth mode - not towing anything. Bonfire by side of road. Rookery Lane. Broughton. Hampshire.


Moonraker In Rookery Lane

A Grey Seal Pup on the beach at  Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk, UK. Recorded on 1st December 2013. Mid-side MKH30/8040 into SD702. Mixed to LR stereo.  Sea on the left.

T165 Grey Seal Pup MS Mixed To LR

Three recently emerged virgin Queens piping to each other in a colony of honeybees.  Recorded with a Lavalier mic at the top of the frame (mid) and a JrF contact mic embedded in the beeswax comb (side). Mixed to L-R stereo. Recorded to a SD702.


T280 3 Virgin Queens Piping

I recorded our local Pipistrelle bats from my back garden last night - both 'common' and 'soprano' varieties.  It wasn't until I listened to my recordings this morning that I realised I had also captured the sound of a passing Noctule bat too! A real delight to hear one flying high overhead.  Bats make sounds too high in frequency for humans to hear - so the recordings need to be processed - usually in one of two ways.  Hetrondyne mixing - to shift the pitch of the sounds down in frequency to something that humans can hear. Or, 'time expansion' - basically stretching out the 'best bits' of the sounds in the time domain by slowing them right down.  Time expansion is similar to what is sometimes now called 'granular processing'. I used some of my 'music processing' equipment to process these sounds - once I had made a small library of the bat sound samples that I liked.  I turned it into a 10 minute 'symphony' using a variety of tape loops, pitch-shifting, granular synthesis, delays and a little bit of reverb.  I'm still experimenting with the mix between 'light touch' processing of my field sound recordings and something a bit more 'musical' - You might hear a hint of  a I–V–vi–IV chord progression of the Noctule towards the end of this symphony!  Recorded using an an Echo Touch Pro 2 microphone at 384 kHz (samples per second).  Equipment used for sound processing included a Chase Bliss Habit and Mood MK II, together with a Hologram Electronics Microcosm looper 'effects pedal'. Some reverb was added via both the Mood and Microcosm. No DAW was used - I mixed it all 'live' from the clips chopped on my Koala sampler. Simples! 
Photo of a nearby tree, taken in 720nm infrared.

Bat Symphony

Recorded at my local spot - only about a kilometer from my home.  This section from about 5:20am on Sunday 5th May 2024, which was International Dawn Chorus Day (IDCD 2024).  In a ditch close to the bank of the River Cam.  Just opposite the sailing boat club - if you know that stretch of river.  Sadly, much fewer sedge warblers than we have heard over the last few years at this location due to the rather (over) enthusiastic hedgerow clearing over the winter by the sailing boat club.  Some traffic noise (to the left) from the local road as well as the A10 and A14 - the rumble of which can be clearly heard from this location over the flat and mostly treeless fen.  Recorded using two small mics (EM172) in wind 'fluffies' clipped to either side of a pollarded willow trunk. Recorded in 32 bit (floating) at 48kHz on a Zoom F3.  A reasonable selection of riverside warblers, finches and waterfowl can be heard above the background traffic noise. Sadly, no sign of any cuckoos this year - I haven't heard one (yet) this year and there are usually one or two along this stretch of river.

Waterbeach riverside listening at dawn on IDCD 2024

Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland - 3 miles (5 km) south of Mallaig. We start at dawn overlooking Morar village from the large hilltop Cross.  The dawn chorus is in progress and the falls can be heard in the distant background. At 1:30 We approach the side of Loch Morar (Britain’s deepest freshwater body) and head along the Loch edge towards Bracara. At 3:30 we reach Morar Lodge - a large fenced-off area of trees and shrubs with noisy song-birds.  At 5:00 we head further along the Loch towards Bracara with Loch waves lapping at the shoreline.  At 7:00 we turn and head back along the shoreline towards the hydro-power station and weir which can be clearly heard by 8:00.  We pass a small marina with some small trees and bushes with more birdsong. The sound of the weir dominates by 9:30 and at 10:00 we are above the thunderous crashing of 750 kiloWatts of hydro power. The river Morar is one of the shortest in the UK at less than 1km long - mostly waterfall. By 12:00 we are at the end of the river and in Morar Bay - a large expanse of white / silver sand. The bubblewrap seaweed can be heard snicking as it dries in the sunshine whilst the crashing waterfalls of the river can still be heard in the background. By 13:00 we head out of Morar Bay to the Atlantic coastline.  We are greeted by spectacular views of The Small Isles (Eigg and Rum) and of the Isle of Skye.
DPA4060 to MixPreD to LS11.


A walk around Morar - 16 minute version

Highlights from Easter Sunday's dawn chorus, recorded at one of the Wimpole Estate (National Trust) woodland belts - an ancient deciduous woodland near to Cambridge, UK.  A time compressed 2 hour, 5 channel recording into just 3 minutes of stereo to include the the Tawny Owls, barking deer (Roe deer?), pheasants, woodpeckers and lots of other birds. 

Wimpole Woodland Dawn Chorus 3 Mins

One of my bee hives has a frame with microphones permanently installed.  It is too cold at this time of year to lift the roof of a hive to visually inspect the bees ....but I always have a good listen to then on a day between Christmas and New Year. I made an recording this year for over an hour.  The microphones are a piezo contact mic embeded in their beeswax comb (which acts as a large diaphram) and a DPA4060 lavalier mic on the same frame in a brass mesh cage to protect it and prevent the bees from gumming it up with wax and propolis.  The microphones are orhtagonal to each other and are mixed in a 'mid-side' configuration - giving a nice 'stereo' soundscape.  This Christmas I got a Meng-Qi Wingie 2 audio resonator as a present.  Its a dual channel resonator which can 'chime' to certain frequencies if a sound of the right frequency is input.  I proceced  the recording through both channels of the resonator.  One channel was set to 'polyphonic' and I found a nice Minor Pentatonic triad - which made the bees sound like a choir harmonising toghether.  The other channel I set to 'strings' which makes a nice plucking/ringing sound when excited at the right resonant frequency by a loud bee and 'pings'.  The Wingie 'enhanced' version is faded in and out during the middle section of the recording.  I think I'm going to have fun with the Wingie - applying it to some of my (vast) library of field sound recordings.

Resonating Bees

The first proper outdoor test of my new homemade 'Gladys' hydrophone.  Some common frogs in a neighbours garden pond.  Thanks Katie!  Pleased with how they sound.  Nice flat response.

Frogs Gladys Hydrophone

Spring Equinox March 2025.  Whistlewood Common, Melbourne, Debyshire. Olympus LS-P5 recorder.  On the side of a small pond full of frog spawn.  Close to main road and East Midlands airport.

Whistlewood Equinox mix. Frogs and spring bird calls.

An early morning re-visit to Potton Woods to hear the dawn chorus from the top of my favourite 'listening post'.  The dawn chorus starts very early at this time of year and was almost at it's peak when I arrived at 3:45am.  Next time I'll sleep there so that I can start recording at about 2am.

There seem to be plenty of owls in this woodland and a few cuckoos today too. Unfotunately, there was also lots of aircraft activity which rendered the recordings of the owls and cuckoos un-useable. I can filter some of the aircraft noise out - but knocking out the low frequency roar of jet engines completely ruins the calls of owls and cuckoos.  This 8 minute section was the longest length of the whole 2 hour recording with very little jet engine noise impinging - it was after most of the owls had stopped calling and before the cuckoos had started.

Mics - ORTF MKH8040s to MixPreD and LS-11. 24/48.  
 

Potton Woods Dawn Chorus 25th May 2015

Dawn Chorus from about 3:30am to 7am on Easter Sunday morning 2025.  Recorded from the woodland on one of the islands in the 23 acre lake at Waterbeach. Good mix of birds and development of the chorus - from early stirrings in the heronry, robins, wrens, woodland species and finally building into a crescendo including noisy geese and corvids.  Bank holiday weekends are often good for recording dawn choruses as there's often very little human (traffic) noise early in the mornings.  Thanks to Urban & Civic for permission to canoe over to the island at dusk to leave my recording equipment, returning in the morninging to collect it again. Also, special thanks to Network Rail for cancelling all the trains this weekend (!) adding to the beautiful peaceful morning.  Binaural recording with 'Pammy' my dummy head with a pair of MKH8020 mics - recorded 24/48KHz to a SD MixPre-6.

Dawn Chorus Waterbeach Lake Easter 2025

Dusk at the Heronry - Waterbeach Lake. Easter 2025.  The unique sound of herons 'quacking'.  I understand this to be the 'begging call' of young herons at the nest.  Some distance away - I didn't want to get too close and disturb these birds.  I was setting up an overnight recording rig to capture the following morning's dawn chorus.  "Pammy' the binaural dummy head with a pair of MKH8020 mics to a SD MixPre-6. 24/48kHz.

Dusk at the Heronry

A small sample of some of the sounds I recorded on my first visit to the Seltún geothermal site on Iceland last week.  Just a random mix of of clips from 7 specific locations around the most active parts - including solfataras, fumaroles, mud pots and hot springs. 

My favourite is the large steam 'sub-woofer' which pulses very low frequency booms just next to a small, but boiling hot, stream near to the car park! 

I put this particular mix together during the flight home from Reykjavik.  It sounded great on the home speakers when I got home - so decided to upload it without further ado.  

This comprises most of my recorded material that I captured in a 2 hour visit that doesn't include the voices or footsteps of any tourists, overhead aircraft and helicopters, or passing loud motorcycles.   

All recorded Mid-side MKH30/8040 at 24 bit, 48kHz. 

OK on headphones - but better with something with a deep bass response. A complete waste of time played on a smartphone!

Seltún geothermal area, Krýsuvík, Iceland

The amazing sound of trams (numbers 4, 5 and 9) entering and leaving the east portal of the Burgbergtunnel - A 792 metre long tunnel under Castle Hill in Bratislava.  Recorded on a hot and remarkably quiet Sunday lunchtime in August. 

Spaced (40cm) EM172 omni mics to Olympus LS-11. 24/48.

Bratislava Tram Tunnel

Recorded between 'The Wall of Death', (a barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, 36 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep, inside which motorcyclists perform stunts, held in place by friction and centrifugal force) and a vintage, steam powered, Carousel ('Merry-go-round') with a built-in fairground organ.  Assorted other fairground organs, stationary engines and 'all the fun of the fair' noises can be heard in the background - together with the MC announcing the arrival of various traction engines and other assorted vintage farm vehicles.

Haddenham Steam Fair, Cambridgeshire. 14th September 2015.

Recorded with a binaural dummy-head - so it's best listened to via headphones.

Dummy-head with EM172 electret microphones in anatomically correct pinnae to Sound Devices 702. 24/48.




Haddenham Steam Rally, The Wall Of Death

My annual visit to Winterton-on-sea to see and hear the baby Grey Seal pups.  This year I was lucky enough to see this one being born.  I stayed with him and his mother for the first few hours of his life - a magical experience.

Background seascape recorded with 'Pammy', my binaural recording head - which also picked up some of the other nearby seals and pups on the beach (Primo EM172 electrets in anatomically correct ears, in a mannequin head).  Spot sounds from this pup (in mono) from a MKH8060 on a boom-pole were added to the mix.

(My previous years recordings didn't sound quite right, as the stereo was not recorded 'square' to the incoming waves. It's better to record the waves 'head on' rather than at whatever angle they happen to be to get the best recording from the seals. This 'square on' binaural seascape recording mixed with a mono 'spot' recording of the seal pup sounds much better - IMHO.)  

24/48 digital recording to a SD633.

 

Winterton-on-sea Grey Seal pup 2015

Recorded in the Black River Valley in south east Sweden.  A soundscape of birds at evening time.  Sedge Warblers, a 'booming' Bittern, 'drumming' Snipe and a pair of Whooper Swans fly overhead.  Recorded with a dummy-head, so it's best to listen back via headphones.  Dense forest on the far side of the river reflects the sound of the swans flying overhead - providing an echo on the near left hand side.
 

Whooper Swans, Black River Valley

Long Eared Owl wing-clap, with Snip.  Recorded in The Black River Valley, Sweden. April 2017. 

EM172 mics, spaced AB (40cm) to Sony D100

Long Eared Owl wing-clap

First test of the new Sound Devices MixPre-3.
Back garden - after dusk - birds and road traffic.
2 x MKH 8020 in a dummy-head
100Hz low-cut at 18dB/Octave ('Basic')
Gain @ 70dB (Cranked-up high to see if any noise could be heard.)
48/24

First test - Sound Devices MixPre-3

From pre-dawn to dawn on the side of Lake Öjesjön in central Sweden.

Edited highlights from a few hours either side of dawn.

Black Throated Divers (aka Arctic Loons) calling soon gives way to Black Grouse, Snipe, Cuckoos, Nightjars and a dawn chorus of lakeside and woodland birds.

Binaural recording made using 'Posh Pammy' dummy head. MKH8020 mics into SD702. 24/48.

Öjesjön Lake at Dawn - Black Throated Divers

Our own little private air show over the veggie beds.  Swooping and acrobatic diving - a small flock of about 8 swifts screaming as they fly over...and over again.

Spaced AB mins at 40cm. EM172 electrets to SD MixPre-3. 24/48.

'Back garden' recording - plenty of passing traffic noise.

Screaming Swifts. Back garden. Evening of 29th May 2017

'Tornado' - a Peppercorn A1 class steam train, No. 60163 passes through Waterbeach station on the evening of Monday 28th August 2017.  A 'normal' train passes in the other direction a few seconds later.

Binaural, dummy-head recording.  "Posh Pammy" with MKH8020 microphones to SD702.  24/48.

Tornado - a Peppercorn A1 class steam train, No. 60163

We're lucky here at Waterbeach - we have an old RAF airfield.  The Trooping of the Colour / Queen's Birthday flypast planes usually drop by  to say hello to 514 squadron HQ on their way to Buckingham Palace. Today was no exception - we had three circuits from a Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane - in close formation.  The fabulous sound of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines!  

'Posh Pammy' Binaural dummy-head with Sennheiser MKH8020 microphones. 24/48 recording by SoundDevices MixPre-3.  No Low-cut. No EQ.

Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane Flypast - Binaural

A small lake full of mating frogs and toads on a warm spring morning.

Ambient woodland sounds captured above the lake - including the distant rumble of highway traffic and some passing aircraft as well as the local bird life and the croaking of frogs and toads.  Schoeps mid-side pair into MixPre6.  Mixed in with simultaneous underwater recording of frogs and toads captured with two JRF hydrophones to a homemade hi-z impedance buffering amplifier to the same MixPre6.

48/24.

Quy Fen near Cambridge, UK.

Quy Fen Frogs Mix

The wonderful sound of stationary engines.  Recorded at Haddenham Steam Fair on 8th September 2019.  Over 100 stationary engines on display and running - I have lots of samples.  Here's a mix of 3 engines - including my favourite (pictured), a 1936 Petter M Type 4 BHP Universal oil engine.  

Schoeps MS pair (CCM8/5) into MixPre6.  24/48.

Stationary Engine Symphony

Evening at the corvid roost in Newborough Forest on Anglesey as the corvids arrive and settle down for the night.  Rather breezy and the sea still noisy from Storm Jorge which passed through a couple of days ago.

Binaural recording - best listened to using headphones.
 
The sea can be heard over to the left (Malltraeth Bay) and less so to the right (Llanddwyn Bay) whilst the wind billows around the Scots Pines - all around.

'Posh Pammy' dummy head with anatomically correct pinnae and MKH8020 microphones.  Recorded 48/24 to a SD MixPre-6.  2nd March 2020.

Dusk at Anglesey corvid roost - Binaural

A barn owl screech.

Pairs of EM172 electrets in a DIY yoga-block SASS 'Vicki'.

LS-11.  24/48.

Barn Owl Screech

It was great to hear the bats had returned to our garden this spring.  I think they are Common Pipistrelles - but I'm happy to be corrected.

A pair of MKH8020 mics 30cm spaced AB.  The left one inside a Rycote 'Super Softie' windjammer, the right one 'naked'.  To SoundDevices 702 recorder set at 192kHz, 24 bit recording.

The uploaded track is a mix of the track as recorded mixed with a 'hetrodyne' copy of that track.  The hetrodyne track was high pass filtered at 20kHz to remove all the human audible sound and then passed through the Reaper ReaPitch plugin and pitch-shifted down 3 and a half octaves.  What you hear a mix of the human audible sounds mixed with the 'bat sounds' pitched down by 3 and a half octaves.  Simples!

I notice that the Rycote 'Super Softie' greatly attenuates the bats ultrasonic sounds as the pitched-down mix is much quieter in the left channel than in the right channel - which was recorded with an identical microphone but without any windjammer.

It's all recorded in my back garden - with plenty of passing traffic, birdsong etc.

Bats in a Locked-down back garden

Waterbeach claps our NHS and key-workers at 8pm on Thursday 7th May 2020.  Recorded in my back garden - close to Waterbeach village green. A blackbird joins the appreciation.

Pair of MKH8020 spaced AB 40cm to MixPre-6. 24/48.

Lockdown - Clapping the NHS at 8pm on Thursday 7th May 2020

Impulse response of a large, empty, aircraft hangar.  Building 135 on Waterbeach barracks, Cambridge, UK.  Popping a balloon and recording the reverb.

Binaural recording - A pair of MKH8020 mics in a dummy head 'Pammy' to a SD-MixPre3. 24/48.

July 2019

With thanks to Urban & Civic for permission to record and site access.

Building 135 Impulse Response

A large, empty, aircraft hangar. Building 135 on Waterbeach barracks, Cambridge, UK.  I had intended to record a passing thunderstorm but the forecast storm never arrived - only some wind and rain, the large hangar doors moving in the breeze, roosting pigeons, corvids and other assorted wildlife. 

Binaural recording - A pair of MKH8020 mics in a dummy head 'Pammy' to a SD-MixPre3. 24/48.

July 2019

With thanks to Urban & Civic for permission to access the site and record.

ryouell

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks