Zoom Podtrak p4 and phone interviews
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Zoom Podtrak p4 and phone interviews

Zoom has just released the PodTrak P4 ($199), an impressive recorder with the built-in ability to easily conduct and record high quality telephone interviews. As more of our oral history projects include remote interviewing, most of the focus is on online web conferencing systems such as Zoom or TheirStory. Web conferencing systems add an important…

Digital Audio Recorder: Sound devices Mixpre-3…OMG
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Digital Audio Recorder: Sound devices Mixpre-3…OMG

In my mind there were three tiers of portable audio recorders: the low-end (under $400), the mid/high-range professional ( $401-$1,499), and the super premium recorders (more than $1,500). For years, this tripartite structure worked quite well. If you were aiming for professional recording, I would steer you to the mid/high-range recorders. However, the competition between…

Superscope PMR61: An Unexpected Surprise
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Superscope PMR61: An Unexpected Surprise

In just the past few years, professional quality portable audio recorders have continued to evolve and improve.  I am the director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in the University of Kentucky Libraries where we loan dozens of professional-level recording kits to our interview project partners. In so doing over the years, I…

iOS Recording: Rode iXY-L
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iOS Recording: Rode iXY-L

The Rode  iXY-L ($199.00 USD) brings high quality stereo recording to your iOS device turning your iPhone or iPad into a powerful portable recorder.  The Rode iXY-L microphone is Rode’s newly updated iOS microphone attachment that is compatible with Apple’s Lightning Connector on newer iOS devices.  In conjunction with Rode’s Rec App, The iXY-L records and exports a multitude of formats including the uncompressed Wave,…

Testing 1-2-3: Zoom H-5 Microphone Test
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Testing 1-2-3: Zoom H-5 Microphone Test

Here is an initial audio test of the Zoom H-5 digital audio recorder using the standard X/Y microphone module, an external (XLR) lavaliere microphone, and the optional MSH-6 Mid Side Stereo and XYH-6 microphone modules. Example #1:  Mic: Standard X/Y microphone module Position: Directly at source Settings: 24/96 .wav   Example #2: Mic: External lavalier…

iOS and iPhone Recording for Oral History
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iOS and iPhone Recording for Oral History

I commonly get asked about iOS and iPhone recording options for oral history, so I will be launching a series of posts reviewing several of these devices.  When recording oral histories, I strive to get the best recording possible.  Oral history records, by definition, more than a single audio source (interview + interviewer), and I…

Flash Media Failures: Lessons Learned
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Flash Media Failures: Lessons Learned

One of my greatest fears has  always been the risk of recording a one-of-a-kind oral history interview and having an unknown digital data or technical failure.  I spend a lot of time obsessing about best practices and, recently, mostly focusing the majority of my attention on the recording machines.  I haven’t thought about the importance…