A Binaural Walk through Waterloo Station
I bought myself a new pair of mics for Christmas – MM-BSM-8 In-Ear Binaural Microphones (mine are a new, smaller design than the ones shown in the link) from Microphone Madness in the States. I’m embarrassed to tell you that I’ve only just got round to trying them out…..
I’ve started taking a slightly different route into the West End recently, which means my train now takes me into Waterloo where I catch the tube. The walk from the train platforms down to the tube takes you through quite a network of tunnels and corridors, and I’ve been struck recently by how interesting this walk is sonically, with acoustics changing quite significantly every 20-30 meters.
So I was wondering how well my new binaurals would capture what I was hearing.
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Overall, not bad. Unsurprisingly, they’re quite susceptible to wind (the track is unedited apart from the worst mic bumps and blows). Spoilt by using Schoeps mics most of the time, I think these binaurals lack definition a little bit but I’d be interested to hear them in a ‘cleaner’ environment as noisy backgrounds can sometimes be unflattering to even the best mics. I’ve left the track au naturel but, to my ears at least, the recording benefitted from a gentle low cut from 100 downwards and then a subtle presence peak and hi shelf lift. Haha! Apart from that they sound great!
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Lovely
Damn you, that’s another thing on my wishlist. That’s a really nice recording you’ve done there. I really like the way it changes as you walk through the different areas.
Thank you both! Very odd having no idea how the recording’s sounding until playback. May have to look out for a mannequin head and shoulders to use for certain situations. Not quite the same stealth factor though……..