I’m more than 6 months into working on my first podcast project. And for a series focused on such an action-oritented subject as sports, I wasn’t recording much audio that actually had action.

I was generally happy with the content I was getting in my sit down interviews, but as I produced more episodes it became clear to me that I needed to start collecting other types of audio to supplement the dialogue I was getting in my interviews.

After doing some research I picked up what I found to be the best quality entry level field mic, the Tascam DR-05 Solid State Recorder.

I picked up the unit and wanted to immediately test it so that I’d be prepared to record audio for my show.

My brother in our backyard along the Yellow Breeches creek.

I was traveling to visit my parents that weekend and saw an opportunity to record noise from our creek-side backyard. From the happy shrills of the canoers and kayakers to the chirps of the chickens, next door, I knew I could find some compelling sounds.

It’s really interesting to see what catches your attention when you’re only focused on the sound qualities. Trimming some flower stems might not be the most exciting thing to look at (or I’ll be honest to listen to either) but the sound represents a lot more than simply cutting plants.

I did some editing to make the sound transitions more cohesive and was really happy with how it turned out.

I received some good feedback from neighbors I knew and someone a few houses away stopped my dad while he was walking to say how much they enjoyed listening to it.

The next weekend was a friend’s bachelor party at a cabin in the Hocking Hills area in southern Ohio. I was still excited about my new toy and took it with me. The mic was with me when we went hiking around Old Man’s Cave, as my friends were arriving and as we partied late into the night. I took some flak from my buddies for having a mic with me, but everyone had a good time.

After these initial test runs, I felt pretty good about using the mic and wanted to start using it for my original intended purpose — recording audio at amateur sporting events. I was invited to attend the 2nd annual Nelson Ledges Water Polo Scramble in July. You’ll hear below that I’m not intending strictly record the audio from the game, but to set the scene with the sounds, noises and voices I record. The guys and girls from the Cleveland Water Polo Club were so accomodating for me at the event, and I think it paid off with an awesome episode.

I’m extremely hapy with how the DR-05 performs. I’ve already had it body slammed in a wrestling ring, used it to record the knocking of cricket bats, and capture the noise of footsteps during a 24 hour endurance race, so I’m excited to share some more in-the-field audio.