November 6, 2023 – THUNDERSTORM 5 is alive! Thirty years ago I began recording thunderstorms while living in downtown Seattle in the early 1990s. I remember the very first lightning strike I ever recorded. I was on the rooftop of my apartment building with my AT-825 stereo microphone and my trusty Panasonic SV-255 portable DAT recorder. I heard the storm rolling in from the South so I stood in the doorway and patiently waited. Then… wham! Out of nowhere the strike hit the ground somewhere in the city and I was hooked! I was on a mission. After moving to North Idaho a few years later I was able to record thunderstorms without all the back ground noise of the city, the rest is history. Number 5 is alive!
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New York Times Magazine: How to Record Thunderstorms
“Find a quiet place and be patient. Prioritize your safety.” Illustration by Radio

I was contacted in March 2022 by The New York Times to discuss the ins and outs of recording thunderstorms for the Magazine section of their Sunday edition newspaper. Not a very technical article, mainly for beginners, that’s OK with me. It’s wonderful that a field recording article ended up in the Times.
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Hi all The Recordist fans!

Message from Frank:

In late 2021 Charles contacted me and filled me in on some bullet impact sounds he was creating for his work in a Seal Team episode that had lots of interior gun battles. He built a Soundminer v5 Radium preset with sounds from our sound collection called Bullets Re-Imagined. He added some interior reverb vibe and bounced them out so he could quickly work with them during his crazy ass busy work on the TV show. He liked them so much he wanted to share them. So, here they are in the original designed form and with the Radium preset he used. If you need sounds with no interior vibe, open the preset in Radium and have at it. 1000’s of combinations are at your finger tip. Enjoy! All my love. -Frank
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NEW SOUND EFFECTS COLLECTION!

The Recordist is excited to present the series of HD Professional sound effects libraries featuring rare and unique guns. Next in this series is Submachine Guns. Recorded on a private 400 acre ranch in North Idaho with a huge array of microphones and handheld recorders.

Perspectives include: attached, very close, medium and distant. From just a few inches out to 150 meters, this collection offers a wide range of multi-channel source material. 10 mono and 7 stereo microphones time aligned and level matched provide a “ready to go” set of 24-bit 96k WAV files with detailed Soundminer Pro metadata from this crazy collection of magazine-fed, automatic carbines. Single and burst variations are included along with mechanical action “foley” sounds. Special close-up and medium distant designed microphone combinations are also included. The weapons recorded are authentic, not replicas.

As a bonus a Glock 18 machine pistol which is a self-loading pistol capable of burst or fully automatic fire is included.
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This Video is about recording sound effects. We were testing custom 50 caliber ammunition my armorer built for a video game. Our goal was to see how it shot and how it sounded impacting metal targets and dirt. We shot from 250 yards and 500 yards. In this video we are at 250 yards.


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FREE Crazy Sound of the Year: August 2021. No gimmicks, no sign ups, no bullcookies – just a nice sounding thunderstorm recorded with two MKH-8040ST ORTF microphone sets back to back for free, my gift to all of you wonderful audio professionals.

Backstory:
I have multiple sets of Sennheiser MKH-8040 microphones. I use two matched stereo sets, one XY, the other ORTF and a back up set. As you may know I love using the MKH-8040 microphones on guns and other sources but one of my favorite uses is for recording the sound of lightning and thunder. I have been recording thunder for over 30 years and have released many collections. All of these have been in stereo and they are wonderful but I wanted to up my game a bit and record in four channel format.


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The AK: Kalashnikov Rifles is a comprehensive library of single-shot and full-automatic fire from a variety of legendary Kalashnikov assault rifles. Modern versions of this classic weapon are also included. Recorded with multiple microphones and at various distances to give you a wide variety of angles to use. Recorded at my favorite locations around North Idaho. They include a wide open field, forest and a ranch that has fantastic detail and character in the echo tail. As a bonus, suppressed shots with subsonic and supersonic ammunition are included.
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The Recordist is excited to present Helicopters 2 HD Professional – the second chapter to one of our most popular library series.

Helicopters 2 HD Pro continues the journey started with Helicopters 1 back in 2015. After 3 years of going to the local airport and recording various rotorcraft I can finally reveal to you this stunning set of 97 sounds from a wide variety of helicopters.
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Five years in the making and 34 storms later the next chapter in this sonic adventure is complete. 60 brand new thunder sounds including close up dry lightning, deep booming rumbles and gentle claps.
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