MKH 8000s

Field Recording

Recorded in Soomaa National Park, Estonia on the 20th of May 2013 beginning at 2.05am.  This is one of my favorite recordings from 2013.  Two Thrush Nightingales singing at each other on a clear calm night.  A deep blue in the sky to the north.  Recorded with a matched pair of Sennheiser MKH8020 microphones, a Sound Devices 'MixPre' pre-amp and a Marantz PMD661 solid state recorder.  

Nightingales At Night - 20th May 2013 - 2.05am

Wildlife sounds from Soomaa National Park Estonia, recorded during two visits, May 2012 and May 2013.  Equipment; A Rode NTG-3 (R.F.) microphone and a pair of Sennheiser MKH 8020 mics (Also Radio Frequency).  A Sound Devices MixPre mic preamp and a Marentz PMD661 solid state recorder.  
Creative Commons Licence, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.


Soomaa - Part 3 of 8

The first of three dawn chorus recordings I made on the morning of the 23rd of April 2015, beginning at 5.40am in Avondale County Wicklow, Ireland.  Equipment; A pair of MKH8020's, a Sound Devices 'MixPre' microphone pre-amp, and a Marantz PMD661 solid state recorder, the original made at 48Khz/24Bit.  
Recording 2801.  

Dawn Chorus - 23Ap2015 - Avondale

I am on bandcamp.com now
Two Thrush Nightingales in song.  Recorded at night beginning at 2.05am on the 20th of May 2013, in Soomaa National Park, Estonia.  This is the third of three recordings.  Some months ago I uploaded this same recording but a shorter version in 44khz/16bit, this recording is the full-length 48Khz/24Bit version.  Equipment; A matched pair of Sennheiser MKH8020 microphones, a Sound Devices MixPre microphone pre-amp and a Marantz PMD661 solid state recorder.
Recording 2502.
To help you find my other albums, here is a list of the names of the albums as sound cloud is not structured in such a way as to make it easy to find material that is a long way down or at the bottom of the page, so it is easier to search for the albums if you know their names, here is a list.
Put any of these names in the search bar and press enter.  
Central America . . . Belize.
Garden of songs.  	Forest Home.	  Out of the blue.
Jungle report.	Wild enough.	  Na Luum Ca - revisited.

South America . . . Brazil.
Xixuau   (2 disc production).
South America . . . Guyana.
Karanambu.	   Iwokrama.
South America . . . Peru   (4 disc production).
Otorongo.     	  Tahuayo. 
Europe . . . Finland.
Natures Song.	  At the blue moment.
Europe . . . Estonia.
Soomaa.
Europe . . . Wales / Ireland.
Morning Birds 3.	
Europe . . . Ireland.
Morning Birds 1 and 2.	  The joy of birdsong.	  Birds of the great Saltee.   Saltee Revisited.		Songs of silence.		Aubade.
More Suburban Birds.		 Suburban Birds (This one was never uploaded to sound cloud).

2 Thrush Nightingales - The 48khz/24Bit version

Pipestone Canyon

Pipestone Canyon preview

I compared a stereo pair of MKH 8020s mounted in a DIY foam SASS, with a pair of Audio Technica AT 4022s mounted in a Crown SASS.  These are consecutive recordings (rather than simultaneous), it was early dawn on Xmas morning, rigs were set up on my front verandah.  By ear I cannot pick the difference between the two rigs, but a sound spectrograph shows that the 8020s are a little noisier.  Both rigs alternately ran to a Sound Devices 702 recorder, I added 3 db to the 4022s in post, to match the levels.

SASS RIGS COMPARED: MKH 8020s v AT 4022s

Wildlife Sound Recording Society (WSRS) 2018 Competition 
- Individual Reserved Winner

I'd headed into Senonches forest to record the dawn chorus. I found a nice spot that was fairly open so set my mics up, then ran some long cables off to the side so I could sit down. I'd been recording for around 20 minutes when a Roe Deer came walking by, probably on it's way to drink from the nearby pond. It was only about 15 metres from where I was sitting and when it saw me, it ran off, then started barking loudly. Roe Deer bark (often repeatedly) when alarmed, so I had clearly surprised it.

Recorded with a Sound Devices 722 and 2 x Sennheiser MKH8040s on 09.04.17
Photo courtesy of Paul Appleton - Creative Commons License

Roe Deer Barks - Foret de Senonches, Le Perche, France

I'd headed into Senonches forest with the hope of recording the local Black Woodpeckers. As the sun began to rise the dawn chorus evolved, and all the birds of the forest were in full song. It took some time before the woodpeckers started tapping into tree trunks, but eventually there were quite a few in different locations all hunting for food. The wood taps reverberated nicely throughout the forest. In the recording we also here a distant Cock Pheasant as well as an Osprey.

Recorded with a Sound Devices 722 and 2 x Sennheiser MKH8040s on 09.04.17
Photo courtesy of Jean-Jacques Boujot - Creative Commons License

Black Woodpeckers at Dawn - Foret de Senonches, Le Perche, France

Three species of frogs were all calling together, then all stopping together, on a moonlit night after rain, at a puddle of water in dry woodland habitat, Capertee Valley, NSW, Australia.  First you hear Eastern Brown Froglet Crinia signifera with its persistent 'crik-crik-crik', then some Ornate Burrowing Frogs Limnodynastes ornatus join in with intermittent 'unk' calls.  Then Green Tree Frogs Litoria caerulea, with 'crawk-crawk-crawk'.   23 degrees C, 60% humidity, 4 Feb 2012, 3/4 moon, part overcast, 10:45 pm DST. SD702 recorder, 2 x MKH 8020 mics in DIY SASS rig.

798. ORNATE BURROWING FROG

On a recent trip to Ireland spent some time in Wicklow and explored Glendalough, a well known natural area close by. Although there was virtually no wind, it was raining a lot making recording conditions challenging. I arrived just as dawn was breaking and soon came across a robin singing high up in a tree.

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + Telinga Parabolic Mic
Recorded 13.10.18

Photo by David Mackie (Creative Commons license)

Robin Singing In The Rain - Glendalough, Wicklow, Ireland

Foxley Wood is Norfolk’s largest remaining ancient woodland. This recording of the dawn chorus was taken on a windy morning in May at around 5 am. The forest floor was covered in a magnificent carpet of bluebells and the birdsong was not overly busy, with plenty of separation between species. We hear a song thrush in the foreground, with a blackbird that occasionally pops in and out. Wrens, tits and other common woodland birds can be heard in the background, as well as the occasional call of a cock pheasant.

Recorded using a Sound Devices 722 and 2 x DPA 4060s in May 2014

SASS RIGS COMPARED: MKH 8020s v AT 4022s

Vicki Powys