Recorders

  • Sound Devices 702 recorder – A discontinued pro-level 2-channel recorder with fantastic preamps and lots of pretty lights.
  • Sony PCM D100 A discontinued handheld 2-channel recorder, used with the Rycote Windshield and Suspension Kit (a must-have for steady, usable recordings)

Microphones

  • Line Audio CM3 I use two of these fantastic Swedish cardioid microphones, that many compare to a Schoeps MK21, in an ORTF mount.
  • Audio-Technica AT3032 Discontinued omnidirectional Condenser Microphones x 2. These are low-noise, high-output, underrated mics. I usually use them as an A/B stereo pair.
  • Clippy XLR EM 172 stereo-matched pair. These are low-now, low-cost, high-output fantastic little mics that I use inside my DIY binaural head.
  • Luhd PM-01AB stereo microphones. They are tiny plug-in power (PIP) microphones providing very nice sound for the price and size. I use them in a few different A/B configurations including spaced Omnis and on a DIY quasi-binaural rig (pictured below).
  • Induction coil (telephone pickup) x 3. I picked these up on eBay. They are tiny suction cup mics that in their day, were used to record old-school telephone conversations.
  • Aquarian Audio Hydrophone H2a-XLR 9 meter x 2 (30 feet long). Aquarian Audio has been very good to me. These mics have seen some abuse. The company stands by its products.
  • Barcus Berry 4000Pi Piezo Crystal Sensor x 3, with matching Barcus Berry 4000XL preamp. These are fragile mics intended for pianos, harpsichords, and alike. They’re not intended for the ways I use and abuse them but with care, they’ve held up and have produced great results of sounds we would never hear with our naked ears.
  • Audio Technica AT841UG Omnidirectional Boundary Microphone x 2
  • Realistic/Radio Shack 33-1070 omnidirectional dynamic microphone x 2 – This mic was made by Shure in the 1980s as a competitor to the EV RE50. Its frequency response goes beyond the RE50 as well.
  • Shure SM58 cardioid dynamic microphone.

Playback

  • Sennheiser HD 25-1 II Closed-Back Stereo Headphones
  • Sony MDR 7506, An industry-standard set of headphones with a flat frequency response that I use for extended periods of listening.
  • Apple iMac 21.5 computer

Measurement

  • Bruel & Kjaer type 2225 sound level meter. This is a pro-level meter that gives accurate A-weighted decibel readings between 25-140 dBA. While it’s as old as the Carter administration, I’d trust it over a cell phone SPL app any day.
  • Bruel & Kjaer 4230 calibrator.

Bags

Various Domke and Think Tank Photo bags for different circumstances. These are what I ‘grew up with’ as a photojournalist. That said, I also use a myriad of other camera and luggage bags I’ve picked up at thrift stores. They don’t look nearly as cool as a Domke bag, but do much the same thing.

Cameras

  • Fuji XT2

Lenses

  • Rokinon 12mm F2.0 NCS CS Ultra Wide Angle Lens (18mm equiv full-frame equivalent)
  • Fujinon Lens XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 Zoom Lens (27-84mm equiv)
  • PC-Nikkor 35mm f/2.8 Perspective Control (Shift) Lens (52.5mm equiv)
  • Helios 44-2 58mm f/2 Lens, a Russian-made lens that works well for portraits on the cropped Fuji sensor (87mm Equiv)
  • Nikon 100mm f2.8 Series E lens (150mm Equiv)
  • Nikkor 200mm f/4 lens (300mm equiv)

Support

  • Gitzo GT2540T Series 2 Traveler Tripod  I’ve used a dozen tripods over the years. This carbon fiber Gitzo is the only one I’ve never cursed at in the field.
  • A handy little VDB boom pole that extends to only four feet or so.
  • Gorillapod flexible tripod and another knock-off that works just as well.
  • Benro MP63 monopod.

Various other bits and pieces

  • Over 366 feet of XLR cable, including two 100-footers.
  • A variety of female and male XLR, RCA, 1/4 and 18th-inch connectors.

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