What compact gear setup is be best for taking general-purpose environmental audio field recordings while traveling? [more inside]
posted by colinmarshall on Jun 22, 2009 - 7 answers

I heard a term somewhere that referred to the modern phenomena of sounds being decoupled from what produces them, in the sense that it's no longer a one-to-one relationship between sound and thing. So whereas previously every time you heard a bark you knew it was a dog, now it could be a TV, a computer, or a robot dog. Likewise, a big professional sound system could sound like almost anything. I think the originator was an academic. I distinctly remembering seeing mention of this on wikipedia once. What was that term? Who coined it?
posted by phrontist on Dec 9, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm looking for an MP3 player that you can treat like a USB drive. In other words, I want to load MP3s onto it by just plugging the device into my machine and the copying files over. I do not want to use a specialized program like Itunes, and I want to use a standard USB or Firewire cable to plug the device into my computer. [more inside]
posted by Afroblanco on Dec 24, 2007 - 32 answers

What else can be sensed passively? [more inside]
posted by viewofdelft on Jul 17, 2007 - 17 answers

I have an audio cassette tape which has been waterlogged and soaked in dirt for over 10 years. What are my options for respooling/fixing the tape with its contents intact? [more inside]
posted by 0bvious on Dec 26, 2006 - 12 answers

Strauss Without Singing - I'm a huge fan of Strauss' orchestra compositions but dislike the opera singing. I know this will make me sound unclassy but I have to ask: is there an orchestra recording of "Four Last Songs" that is just the orchestration and no voice? I've looked and can not find. And additionally, if I wanted to do it m'self - what software/hardware exists to either cancel out voice from music, and music from voice? THANKS AS ALWAYS.
posted by Peter H on Oct 26, 2006 - 7 answers

Recently I read an article about narrow-band sound and the attempt to develop it. For example, a siren from an ambulance on the street would clear the streets, but wouldn't wake people in their homes because they wouldn't hear it. I can't find the article and Google's no help. I'm tempted to say I read it on one of Marshall Brain's sites, but searching there was fruitless as well. Can someone find it?
posted by IndigoRain on Jul 14, 2005 - 6 answers