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This recording was made at dusk on 18th December 2012 on the very steep and rather precarious grassy slope below the rather exposed coast path a bit south-west of Perranporth, Cornwall, which contours the main cliff slope from near Cligga Head to Droskyn Point, at which latter point you are in Perranporth proper. It was made at exactly the same spot as https://www.freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/168716/, with the recorder pointing in the same direction, and with similar but also subtly different sea conditions.
As in that recording, I placed the recorder on a very low drystone wall running down the slope, whose top was covered with vegetation, and the minor headland with Shag Rock almost against its tip was ahead and somewhat to the right. This grassy slope ends just a little further below, in sheer and indeed more or less undercut cliff, so that the big waves are in a state of pandemonium as they hit the cliff (invisible to me on the steep slope above).
On this occasion the tide was too low to get the impressive 'whoomphs' from the Shag Rock blow-hole as I got in my previous recording at this spot, BUT there are plenty of such 'whoomphs' anyway from other spots here, and indeed this recording seems to me to be my most impressive yet at that spot, for there is a real thundering of the odd waves breaking before reaching the cliff, with an almost constant rumbling and thumping of the sea in the undercut concavity in the cliff right below me, where I could see from a distance just before my arrival here, that repeatedly big plumes of spray were violently shooting straight up.
It was a bit bold of me, making this recording, for, at 4.10 in the afternoon near to the shortest day, the light was already fading, and by 4.45, when I finished the recording, it was on the dark side of dusk - and, once I'd got to Perranporth I still would have to hitch-hike (in the dark) back to Exeter.
All the booming and deep rumbling in this recording is caused by the sea's arguments with the obstinate, obstructive cliffs, and none of it at all is caused by wind in the microphones, as this spot was virtually completely sheltered from the wind, which was only light to moderate anyway.
Please note that only very good speakers / headphones with a very extended bass response will do this recording real justice. Also, it may sound unpleasantly boomy on speakers that have any sort of boominess (like my computer speakers!). Please also note that the volume level of this recording has been carefully adjusted for listening purposes, and ALL my recordings so far are meant to be listened to with a volume setting that would give a realistic level for playback of CLASSICAL music (a large but not exceptional symphony orchestra). If you have the right volume setting, you should not need to change that setting from one recording of mine to another.
Recording made with a Sony PCM-M10 on a Hama mini-tripod, using the built-in microphones covered with a Rycote Mini Windjammer. I have used a graphic EQ profile in WavePad to compensate for the slight muffling of the sound caused by the Windjammer.
Please remember to give this recording a rating!
This recording can be used free of charge, provided that it's not part of a materially profit-making project, and it is properly and clearly attributed. The attribution must give my name (Philip Goddard) and link to https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/172163/
Type
Flac (.flac)
Duration
38:22.599
File size
183.3 MB
Sample rate
44100.0 Hz
Bit depth
16 bit
Channels
Stereo
11 years, 3 months ago
Thank you, Matthew, for your comments and good wishes!
For the benefit of others, Matthew's apparently cryptic reference to his 'mini-sphere' refers to the Clarity-Sphere.
11 years, 3 months ago
*Do a challenging hike
P.S. Happy New year Marcel and Philip!
11 years, 3 months ago
Your recordings are truly wonderful Philip, it's great to be able to for example, a challenging hike, and still be able to get more joy from listening to one of your recordings! My mini-sphere seems to be helping me tune in to the subtle and not so subtle sounds here :-)
11 years, 4 months ago
Thank you indeed for your generous comment and all your good wishes, Marcel.
Actually, I've looked up this Rode Blimp that you talk of, and of course immediately recognised it as fairly standard gear for pro recordists. However...!
Marcel, you make me laugh at your really kindly meant suggestion! That device is enormous! Even if somebody gave me one I would not be able to use it, except at home, where I would not normally make recordings (city centre noise, which I do not wish to share with others) - and in any case I do not see how one of those would fit my diminutive little Sony! The truth is that I make my recordings on hikes where I hitch-hike to and from my hiking routes, and my recording gear - all of it! - must fit in the diminutive vaguely elasticated slim front pocket of my rucksack! :-) That is a compromise that I make through not being a full-blown dedicated 'pro' recordist - and also through being a non-driver and thus relying on hitch-hiking.
-- And of course I would still have to give EQ to every recording done with a furry wind shield anyway, to restore the muted higher frequencies.
Also, I have come to the conclusion that for most of my recordings of natural soundscapes actually the wind noise in the microphones tends not to be such a bad thing as I used to imagine (because everyone else seemed to think it was such a Bad Thing to avoid like something nasty in the woodshed), and indeed, in reasonable moderation, is an enhancement - i.e. where the wind is part of the sound picture anyway - and normally doesn't warrant the sort of EQ that I had been applying to wind-affected recordings. So, while a slightly more effective wind shield would be nice, actually I am not seeing that as a great issue in my normal wind conditions. However, a very effective wind shield would be great for where a gale is blowing, and at the moment I would probably not be able to get worthwhile recordings of REAL stormy HUGE waves crashing and violently erupting against those Cornish cliffs. But I still couldn't carry anything like a Rode Blimp out with me! :-(
11 years, 4 months ago
What a beautiful recording again Philip. I really like the booms and bangs of the large waves against the cliff.
I hope Santa gives you a Rode Blimp next year. Your way of recording deserves that. The benefit of it is that it protects your Sony better against the wind-noise and you do not have to EQ the recording that much. The 'booms' with than audible a little bit better.
Too bad for everyone with cheep speakers, the bass-cone's will fall out than. ;-)
Please keep on recording. I love it.