Freesound Forums

Hi,
I'm thinking of dabbling with a shotgun mic.
For indoor foley (Though I'm also thinking of getting a large diaphragm condenser for that...) and bird recordings.

Though honestly, going outside with a blimp and shotgun mic is maybe a bit too attention drawing for me, and thinking more about it, I'm not sure what id do with it other than birds.
Pointing at things sounds like a cool field recording expedition, but if it's not a bird, I could probably do just as well if not better with my Rode NT5 and getting closer to the source.

Is a shotgun microphone a good thing to expand my tool kit? What kind of recordings would it be adapted for?
Do you use one?

Dream is a Sennheiser MKH 418-s.
Realistically id go for a MKE-600
Or a Zoom SSH-6 to test the waters. (I like the idea of having the optional Stereo channel, though maybe I wouldn't use it, like either use a normal Stereo setup or just the shotgun.)
EDIT : I would take a Zoom M3 MicTrak rather than the H5 extension. For 50€ more id get a dedicated recorder, and 32bit, shock mount. Seems like a more convienent setup than relying on my dying H5.

What are your thoughts of Shotgun microphones for a Field Recording setting ?

Cheers!

A list of times I wished I had a shotgun mic :
Fire-place recording, "zooming" in on the fireplace and not being directly close to it and the heat.
Bird recordings.

Actually today, there was an otter in a lake, diving and doing some noises, there i did wish i had a shotgun mic with me.

Edit 2025 06 11, the other day I did a folly in the city session, there's just so much noise a shotgun makes sense there, for : stepping on leaf, metal hand railing percs, bats in the sky while there's a dam /white noise near by, the dam but not the birds, the birds but not the dam, traffic like crossing button press. etc...

What about those parapolic dish mic setups?
Isn't that even more directional?
I suppose there's also more filtering going on with such a setup, or why aren't they used more ?

I use a shotgun microphone quite often in field recording, love the ability to close in on a subject and reject unwanted sound. I use a Rode NTG5 (supercardoid) with pole and blimp. Exceptionally focusable.

Update to all this I got a MKE-600 which I'm very happy with !
Perhaps we can use this forum topic for Shotgun mic technique.

A thing I struggle with, is figuring out where sounds come from and where to point the shotgun mic. Having headphones to monitor, it isolates the surroundings and makes it all mono, so specially figuring out where to point the mic is eh. However without headphones I can't monitor if I'm pointing it properly as shotguns mics are quite sensitive to changes and the sound can be totally different a few degrees appart. Not just for the intended source but isolating out background noise and the filtered timbre of rejected stuff.

I tried to record birds in a forest. It was hard! I generally struggle with sonic awareness with shotgun mics. Any tips?

Cheers!

All we really need is a variety of microphones for different situations, plus plenty of experience and ideas. A shotgun mic is very good, and it gets even more interesting when you combine it with something else, like ORTF, two shotguns, etc.
With two shotguns you can already get an even more fascinating result. A good stand is definitely very helpful, and in some cases a boompole and a blimp with the full wind protection (fur and all). And of course, lots of patience and the experience you gain by going out to record again and again.

In my opinion, any microphone is good for recording birds. A parabolic mic is also an interesting option — I’ve tried that too.