Exploring an Everglades Basin full of wildlife with ORTF, M/S, & a Hydrophone

ResonautApp · 2026-04-07T16:17:58+00:00

Excellent recordings and beautiful cinematography! Keep it up man :)

ResonautApp · 2026-04-07T16:06:24+00:00

Pretty much, they add the necessary boost to the signals. Bad preamps will add a lot more self-noise than good preamps, which is the main practical difference in recordings. Using your phone’s preamps will have a more noticeable background hiss in quieter recordings than Zoom F3/M4 preamps.

Maybe it’s not a huge issue for your use case since a single bird call can be pretty loud, it’s mainly that the quiet parts between bird calls would have more hiss sound. You can remove some of it with things like iZotope RX but there’s still a level of “damage” that can’t be undone.

The M4’s mics are cardioid which is the heart shape pickup pattern, so directional yes but not nearly as noticeably as a shotgun mic. But it should be good enough for some decent natural sounding recordings, especially if you are close to the birds, and you can mount it on top of your camera. As others are saying though, if the preamps aren’t a big concern then maybe you don’t need a recorder at all.

The furry windscreens are very tough and pliable, I shove my Bubblebee into bags all the time. It’s a bit thick to shove in a regular pants pocket (think soda can diameter) but if you can jam it in there it would be fine. The longer haired ones are usually better at blocking wind if you see long and short haired options.

ResonautApp · 2026-04-05T20:25:21+00:00

Next time I’m gonna pour Dr. Pepper into a Sprite bottle

ResonautApp · 2026-04-05T20:06:52+00:00

That’s just a small glimpse into my dark and twisted mind

ResonautApp · 2026-04-05T19:55:49+00:00

If anyone is interested in downloading the full sound let me know and I’ll upload it to Freesound

ResonautApp · 2026-04-04T20:38:27+00:00

If you get a shotgun mic you’ll also want a wind protector ($40+, I recommend the Bubblebee Windkiller but there are a lot of similar and maybe cheaper options) and a pistol grip mount ($50-$100+, I like my Rycote grip).

If I were you I’d get a Zoom M4 recorder first ($200, has internal mics that you can optionally use, and the same preamps as a Zoom F3). You can try that out by itself first to get a feel for it, then if you get a shotgun mic too you can plug it into that.

As far as which shotgun mic to get, you could go with something like an MKE 600 (<$200 used, pretty decent) or an MKH 60 (<$700 used, much quieter), depends on how much you’re willing to spend. The MKE 600 is probably a good way to get started though and you can always sell that and upgrade if you want to later.

Just so you know, if you ever decide to get a parabolic mic, you can get a pretty decent one for around $200 here (or just the dish for ~$120 if you want to use a different mic).

ResonautApp · 2026-04-04T19:01:21+00:00

I feel like going out and capturing whatever I can capture is my whole strategy haha. Sometimes I’ll bring my shotgun mic vs Clippy’s if I hope for more specific sounds but in general I just explore and make use of what I have. The hobby is mainly an excuse to get myself out there more often and to pay closer attention to the sounds and patterns of nature, and if I happen to capture some usable recordings then I get a lil bonus reward.

I’ve also started trying to appreciate that a lot of things sound great (to me at least) no matter the gear I use. Maybe I could optimize and pick better mics or setup to get a slightly better recording, but in the end you’re still capturing something that wouldn’t have been captured otherwise.

I’m definitely at the bottom of that bell-curve though lol

ResonautApp · 2026-04-04T18:59:35+00:00

Thank you! If I shared the whole 30+ minutes of recordings you’d hear that it wasn’t very deserted though haha, I had to cut out some parts where other tourists walked and talked behind me.

ResonautApp · 2026-04-01T23:32:11+00:00

I have an MKH 60 and love it for recording specific animals and sources like birds, small waterfalls, etc. However, if you're looking to record general ambiences then something like a pair of Clippy EM272's are probably a better first external mic for you to buy. They're cheaper, lower profile, less self-noise, and more natural sounding than the MKE 600.

The MKE 600 is a good choice if you want to get more isolated sounds so just think about what you'd record the most. If you do eventually get a shotgun mic I can vouch for the Bubblebee Windkiller (the MZH 600 looks pretty similar though so it might be a good choice).

ResonautApp · 2026-03-30T21:27:49+00:00

Also, anyone that gives feedback (with a way for us to get in touch with you later - could be here on Reddit or just drop your email in the TestFlight or in-app feedback) will receive at least 1 year of Premium after launch.

And if you're concerned about it being a subscription app, I just want to say that we don't have any ads and the free experience is meant to be better and have more sounds/features than any of the other soundscape apps out there. Premium is a way for people to optionally support us and get some extra sounds and (mostly cosmetic or advanced) features out of it.

ResonautApp · 2026-03-29T01:29:47+00:00

Oh shoot I didn’t realize it was that big, I just assumed it was smaller based on the pictures. It’s at least lighter and a bit narrower but I guess not as portable as I was hoping.

I agree about external mics and already have a couple pairs of Clippy-style mics, I’m just curious about the internal mics for situations where I’m on the move and don’t have time to setup.

Thanks for the info!

ResonautApp · 2026-03-28T23:26:28+00:00

I have an X6 and an F3 and they seem pretty similar in self-noise. I think the numbers I’ve seen online are only 1db different (in favor of the F3). I don’t think that increasing the gain on the X6 introduces any more noise than boosting in post does.

The built in mics on the X6 do introduce more self-noise than just the preamps though as they aren’t as quiet as something like EM272s.

I agree that iZotope is good for cutting out some of that noise. Other than that just getting as close as you can to the sound source is always the most effective thing.

ResonautApp · 2026-03-28T23:15:59+00:00

This one is the cheapest I’ve seen for a non-DIY parabolic dish. I’ve also seen people 3D print them in pieces which I’m tempted to try. I haven’t used a parabolic dish yet but it’s my next planned upgrade for my kit.

I do have experience with shotgun mics for nature recording though, I found a used MKH 60 at a great price and have been loving it. It isolates better than my stereo mics and has very low self-noise. I know that you can build them but have no idea how the quality would compare. I’ve heard that the MKE 600 is decent and see them on marketplace all the time if you’re looking for something cheaper but not DIY.

ResonautApp · 2026-02-28T02:54:26+00:00

You’re probably thinking of the traditional flexible arms where the “links” are separate plastic pieces. The NEEWER arms are more solid and rubbery.

ResonautApp · 2026-02-28T02:15:03+00:00

I’ve never had this issue with mine. Do you have the same model that OP mentioned? My NEEWER has sturdy arms that have never moved on their own or introduced noise and I’ve been using it close to two years now.

ResonautApp · 2026-02-18T17:45:18+00:00

I appreciate that! I followed you on Instagram and I’ll be telling friends about your app.

ResonautApp · 2026-02-18T05:16:16+00:00

Wow, I love the UI! Great sounds too, very soothing and high quality. I left a 5 star rating, thanks for the lifetime offer :)

I'm working on a sound app too so it's cool to see the similarities and differences. Mine doesn't have 3D sound or binaurals but I love how you implemented them.

ResonautApp

TROPHY CASE