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What microphone would be appropriate to record heartbeats? I want to record people off the street so it has to be easy for the person to hold in place themselves for a couple of minutes whilst standing up without causing too many extraneous noises. It would be great if it gave the impression of 'medically legitimate professional' rather than 'home-made pervert freak'.
It's being made in London to form part of the music for a modern dance show in Korea.
You could try Diego Stocco's method. Check out his stethoscope mic at :24. Looks like a Rode NT-6 with a modded stethoscope attachment.
Unless you are recording in a very controlled environment, I would recommend a contact mic (which is, ultimately, a better-sounding stethoscope). A standard capsule-based mic will likely generate too much noise (or pick up noise from the surrounding area) because you'll need to turn it up significantly to pick up a pulse.
Check these out: http://www.c-ducer.com/
They are contact mics that could easily be mistaken for medical electrodes but anyone who doesn't know better (it basically feels like a leather strip, and it comes with its own double-sided tape). I own a pair and they sound fantastic — very low noise and they come in a kit with a phantom-powered impedance convertor that terminates in a standard XLR to plug in to any preamp. They're advertised for violin, harp, piano, and any instrument where there is a resonant body. Properly fitted to the upper chest and/or neck, I'm sure you could get some good heartbeat sounds.
Best,
~Matt
come on, there's got to be a more extreme version that involves ingesting things or, you know, probing of some sort. :D
I have done some great hartbeat recordings with the H2a Hydrophone from Aquarian. It may be a good idea to try with the adapter
Hello !
If you've got one, you could try with a hydrophone mic in contact with your chest. It's not the best way, because you will have noise to deal with, but maybe you can get what you're looking for.
Clem
@Clem. If you're using a hydrophone, you could do the recording underwater in contact with your chest. This might actually make it feel like you're inside the bloodstream. You would need a very quiet body of water, though.
