Two entry-level, versatile, compact, sound recording kits for your consideration

I’m often asked by my students what’s a good sound recording starter kit that provides the most bang for the buck on a tight budget. In response to this question, I’ve assembled the following kits based on gear I’ve purchased and used myself.  While I often prefer to use bulkier, higher-performance professional sound gear in my documentary work, there are times I’d rather travel light and then I’ll use this gear.  While a professional sound recordist might scoff that this kit is consumer-quality gear, given the challenge of a versatile sound kit on a tight budget ($1,300. or $700.), I think the kits below represents a reasonably good balance between price, performance, and portability.

Your mileage may vary. Always seek a variety of opinions and try to use the gear before spending your hard earned dollars and make sure that whoever is giving you advice has actually used the gear they are recommending. There’s no substitute for real experience, especially in the audio realm.

The deluxe kit (under $1,300.):

• Roland R-05 Sound Recorder
• Rode VideoMic GO bundled with Mini Windjammer
• Rode PG1 Cold Shoe Pistol Grip
• Rode Mini Boom Pole
• Rode Stereo 3.5mm Mini-plug to Mini-jack microphone extension cable
• Giant Squid Podcasting Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone
• Sony MDR-7506 Large Diaphragm Headphone
• Beyerdynamic Velour ear pads for the  MDR-7506
• Rycote Windjammer for the R-05
• Rycote Lavalier Windjammer, pair
• Carrying case

The basic kit (under $700.):

• Roland R-05 Sound Recorder
• Rode VideoMic GO bundled with Mini Windjammer
• Rode PG1 Cold Shoe Pistol Grip
• Rode Stereo 3.5mm Mini-plug to Mini-jack microphone extension cable
• Giant Squid Podcasting Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone
• Sony MDR-7506 Large Diaphragm Headphone
• Rycote Lavalier Windjammer, pair
• Carrying case

Here are the items in the kits along with some commentary:

Roland R-05 Sound Recorder, est. $200.  This little recorder provides the perfect balance between price, performance, and portability. If you don’t need XLR connectors you can save a lot of space compared to the larger Zoom recorder. This little critter sports both microphone and line level inputs (e.g. for taking a feed from a mixer). The mic input provides optional 5V plug-in power for use with consumer condenser microphones that require plug-in power (e.g. Giant Squid Podcasting Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone, Rode VideoMic GO, etc.). I’ve been using this recorder since it first came out and I’ve been pleased with its high quality sound and small size. Most of the time this recorder lives in my backpack along with a Giant Squid Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone. The built in stereo microphone on the R-05 is quite good. If you’re going to use the built-in  mic outdoors on a windy day, you’ll need more than a foam windscreen, you’ll need to get a Rycote Windjammer for the R-05, est. $40. This recorder has a 3/8″ thread tripod socket on the bottom, so you can easily mount it with a GorillaPod or some other accessory with a standard tripod stud to place it where you want (perhaps at the end of a boom pole).

Rode VideoMic GO bundled with Mini Windjammer, est. $160.  If you need a hand-held or boom-mounted directional microphone, consider this value-priced supercardioid line gradient microphone that has an integrated Rycote Lyre shock mount. It’s available bundled with a furry windjammer specifically made for it, which I recommend. The microphone has a 3.5mm mini-jack output built in and comes with a short 3.5mm mini-plug to mini-jack cable. The integrated accessory shoe mount has a 3/8” thread so you can connect the microphone to a variety of support accessories. And since it’s powered by your sound recorder or camera’s external microphone input, you don’t have to worry about carrying extra batteries. On the other hand, if the recorder or camera you’re using does not provide plug-in power via the mic input jack, then this microphone is not going to work. Rode has other models that use batteries for these situations.

Rode PG1 Cold Shoe Pistol Grip, est. $30.  This pistol grip offers a convenient way to hold your VideoMic GO microphone. A 3/8″ thread on the base allows connection to a standard boompole or microphone stand (with an adapter). It’s got a standard accessory shoe mount at the top in which you can slide in the VideoMic Go. Handy for holding the microphone when you don’t want to carry a boom pole.

Rode Stereo 3.5mm microphone extension cable, est. $11.  This 10-foot extension cable that can be used to position the VideoMic GO up to 10′ away from the sound recorder or your video camera, handy to use in conjunction with the pistol grip and/or boom pole.

Giant Squid Podcasting Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone,  est. $80.  This stereo omnidirectional microphone is great for voice recording as well as sound effects and music recording. It’s nice you don’t have to worry about button batteries with these puppies. This pair of omnidirectional microphones have a five-foot cable that terminates in a 3.5mm mini-plug, and each comes with a windscreens and removable alligator clip. They are compatible with most cameras and recorders as long as they supply 5V plug-in power, the consumer version of Phantom Power. This includes the Roland R-05 and similar recorders, many Sony camcorders, most Canon D-SLRs, etc. On the other hand, there are quite a few cameras and recorders that don’t provide plug-in power, e.g. Canon VIXIA camcorders. I’ve been using the original model of this second generation microphone for years which I keep together with my Roland R-05 recorder and I’ve been very happy with the results. If you clip the left and right capsules on the left and right sides of a baseball cap, you’ll get not quite perfect but reasonably good binaural recording on the cheap. Don’t forget to use a lavaliere windjammer over the included foam windscreen on a windy day. It’s simply to use in an interview situation, and quite versatile in a variety of other circumstances.

Rycote Lavalier Windjammer,  est. $25 ea., $50 for two.  If you’re going to be using the Giant Squid Podcasting Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone (or any other lavaliere for that matter) in windy conditions, the foam windscreen will not be enough to cut down wind noise, you’ll want to add a pair of Rycote Lavalier Windjammers or their Ristretto variation (smaller in size) to your kit. These are available in white, gray, or black fur. In addition, Rycote offers three other useful lavaliere products: Stickies (adhesive pads used to affix lavaliere microphones directly onto skin or on clothing), Undercovers (use with Stickies to minimize the sound of clothing movement while providing protection from light wind), and Overcovers (discreet fur windjammers affixed to clothing or skin with a Stickie).

Rode Mini Boom Pole, est. $130.  The Rode Mini Boompole is a compact, lightweight boom pole features a fully extended length of 81 inches and 33 inches when collapsed. A 3/8-inch stud at the end attaches to compatible mounts and pistol grips. A boom pole will often let you place the microphone in a position that’s better than if you mounted it on the camera or held it in your hand with a pistol grip, so it’s worth the hassle of carrying it to and from the shoot, really, it is! Do some comparisons, listen carefully, and you’ll be sold on the idea of including a boom in your kit. Rode offers a companion boom pole bag (est. $40) made of neoprene designed to carry the boompole along with a shotgun mic and other accessories. The case has an inside pocket for small items and has an adjustable shoulder strap.

Sony MDR-7506 Large Diaphragm Headphone, est. $99 ea.  The best price/performance value in a professional quality microphone and pretty close to an industry standard. You can easily pay a lot more to make a fashion statement, however, this closed-ear, large-diaphragm headphone provides clean, detailed sound with a wide, flat frequency response for critical listening and monitoring. The 9.8-foot coiled cord is easier to manage than a straight cable and is terminated with a gold-plated 3.5mm gold-plated mini-plug that comes with a 1/4-inch screw-on adapter, so you’ll be ready to plug these into most anything with a headphone output. I have two of them, one for my sound kit and another in my camera bag. These headphones fold up for storage in the provided soft case. Usage note: Don’t wrap the cable around the headphones when storing them, this will damage the coiled cable, simply clump the cable and place it on top of the headphones after you fold them and place in the bag. You can find acceptable headphones for less, but consider good headphones as a long-time investment that will easily outlive your sound recorder and camera. The achilles heel of MDR-7506 is that the thin plastic ear pads start to crumble over time, leaving tiny bits of black plastic all over the place, and they are not that comfortable for extended wearing. I solved both problems by replacing my pads with very comfortable velour ear pads from Beyerdynamic,  est. $30 and while you’ll find some house-brand and knock-off items out there, I recommend sticking with the genuine Beyerdynamic pads which are available for just a few dollars more.

Find a carrying case or bag you like to carry these items (there are a lot of choices out there) and then spend some time practicing recording under a wide range of conditions and with one of these kits you’ll be ready for a wide range of sound recording adventures.  And since the two microphones listed here both use plug-in power, the only batteries you’ll need to worry about are easy-to-find AA batteries for the R-05 recorder.

Now if you really want to spend more money, you could certainly move up to professional microphones and a professional sound recorder, providing improved sound quality, lower noise levels, more versatility, however, now you’re looking at a kit at least around a 10x difference in price, there’s a huge price jump between the consumer and pro gear categories when it comes to sound recording gear. In the end, what you do with the tools is far more important than the tools themselves. Randy Thom, one of the most talented sound designers in the industry,  wrote  “the position of a mic generally affects the sound much, much more than does the brand of condenser mic you use”  (rec.arts.movies.production.sound on December 26, 1999).