Someone commented on this video the other day asking how the CSS-5 performed in quiet situations, more specifically the difference between the self-noise in “Normal” and “Wide” modes on the mic. I’ve never thought of the CSS-5 as a very quiet mic (and don’t ever use it for recording quiet things), but I wanted to give him some examples, so I did a quick A/B compare.
Here’s the original video:
Here’s the A/B:
I just did a quick recording on my back porch, so there are some rural noises in there (distant a/c hum, kids and toys, occasional traffic, etc…).
So first off, I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth! January and February were quite intense for me. I’m finally starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, so I’m hoping to start posting here a bit more often again!
So this morning, I was taking a shower, getting ready. I turned off the shower, and stood still – it sounded like my house had been moved into a aviary or something! I had never heard so many birds outside of my house.
So, naturally, I ran and grabbed a recorder (my Olympus LS-10 was the only thing that was handy), and ran outside. I got about 2 minutes of bird sounds, then all of a sudden, as if on cue, everything just went silent, and you just hear this bluejay in the distance. Very ominous effect!
Listen closely to the sound right as the birds stop – very strange! Not sure exactly what would cause it. Sounds very “phasey” or “underwater”, almost as if I ran it through a NR filter too hard. I don’t recall if I’ve ever heard a natural sound like that before. If you have any ideas about it, please chime in!
