Any birders here? CMIT5U v Parabolic? Grad student

[Goonie]

I hope to be in the PNW capturing birds and biotones for the rest of my life, and I already have a Schoeps CMIT 5U and the respective rycote blimp/deadcat. I'm a student ecologist and want to document organic sound and then use them for advancing research. I currently have a 744t, though it would be nice to have something smaller (can't afford a mixpre 3 atm). What are your thoughts on a rycote cyclone vs og blimp? I will be using my mic every single day for a study, so, I'm trying to streamline an efficient workflow and maintain a minimal footprint for when I'm in the field. I have a 10L Arc'teryx messenger bag that is waterproof that I'll store my recorder. Any thoughts or complications that you ran into? Thanks for your time.

Also, if there are any particular books/technical literature that changed the game for you in sound, I love to read and would be grateful for any recommendations.

[Jason Nicholas]

I’ve gone on a whole Soundscape Ecology tangent myself recently. I’m currently reading Pijanowski’s Principles of Soundscape Ecology as an excellent primer to the various aspects of the discipline. There is R. Murray Schaefer’s Soundscape (The Tuning of the World) as the base level sort of sacred text if you’ve not already read that. 

 

Concerning mic choice, it’s going to depend on your intent and needs for the day. Parabolic will be great for birding but constrained in the low end of the frequency range just because of the physics of the dish. For the more general biophonic sounds, a whole range of setups would suffice (you are considering more what you can carry for fieldwork and just the logistics of where you are going). Then there are various long term drop recorders that are left in an environment and record over a period of days or months then the sound from that is extrapolated into data for research (the big data side of that is an advancing field in itself). 

 

I’m editing an episode of The Apple and Biscuit Show this week with the Secretary of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (also a good resource; have a look at their journal) which might be of interest. Will post up here when it’s live.  

[inspire]

All microphones are good for recording birds! I recommend ORTF technique and NB! The most important thing is the fight against the wind - wind protection have an important place.

[The Immoral Mr Teas]

On 5/15/2025 at 11:04 PM, Jason Nicholas said:

I’ve gone on a whole Soundscape Ecology tangent myself recently [...]

 

Concerning mic choice, it’s going to depend on your intent and needs for the day. [...]

 

I’m editing an episode of The Apple and Biscuit Show this week with the Secretary of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (also a good resource; have a look at their journal) which might be of interest. Will post up here when it’s live.  

 

I'll look forward to listening to this, thanks Jason. (And good links and advice...)

 

On 5/15/2025 at 9:15 PM, Goonie said:

... What are your thoughts on a rycote cyclone vs og blimp? I will be using my mic every single day for a study, so, I'm trying to streamline an efficient workflow and maintain a minimal footprint for when I'm in the field. ...

 

I don't know what is meant by 'og blimp' but perhaps others do and I'm just old fashioned ...

You don't mention parabolic reflectors (or mic systems) in your post but it's there in the title - so - I'll agree with Jason with different mics for different purposes. So what you will be doing 'every single day' ought to have the best measurement / capture device or devices for the task. That said, I have a parabola and two excellent repurposed bags to carry it .. but I would never call that gear's footprint minimal in any way. I've never taken it anywhere remotely remote.

 

What I might consider as an addition/alternative to the CMIT would be an omni - or perhaps two, for stereo (and for the pleasure of others listening to the recordings of what you're hearing in the field).

 

Rest of your life? PNW is Pacific Northwest (at first I read it as Papua New Guinea...)? Must be an enticing place.

 

Jez

[grawk]

For recorders, if you're only utilizing 1 or 2 microphones, the new tascam FR-AV2 and the Zoom F3 are both really good, really small options.  

[driftc]

@Goonie If you haven't heard of/ tried the radius windshields, they might be an interesting option for you to consider as well.  If you'd like to see the rycote nano shields, and are somewhat close to me in Western Oregon, I'd be happy to try to meet up so you can see them in person.

 

I also agree with @grawk- the Tascam FR-AV2 and Zoom F3 would be great recorders for your purpose.  

 

Regarding parabolic mics, I'm also looking into those at the moment and have been considering options from Wildtronics and Telinga for trying to get some better sound of Murrelets in the Coastal forests.