The Olympus voice recorder is a handheld device that will allow you to make audio recordings "in the field" -- that is, outside of the studio (a.k.a. the classroom). 

 

It looks like this:  

 

 

It has a built-in microphone, but for better quality, we'll use an external microphone.  If possible, use the Audio Technica shotgun microphone.  This is a stereo microphone that can pick up sound from long distances.  It can also be set to "normal" for standard proximity.  It's a great microphone for capturing "ambient sound" while recording in the field.

 

If you are conducting interviews only with the recorder, you may wish to use the Shure SM58 microphone.  This rugged microphone can stand up to a lot of abuse, which makes him a popular multi-purpose mic, but unfortunately he's a mono mic -- that means he doesn't record in stereo.  No left and right channels of input.  No big deal, anyway, when you're still new to this stuff.  

 

Now back to the Olympus recorder.  The following pdf document will help you identify all the buttons and ports on the device.  This is a page from the manual, which we have in the classroom cabinet.  You can also access it as a pdf document in our resources directory. You may want to have the manual in front of you now, as you learn the device.  I'll indicate page numbers of the manual that apply.

 

 WS-311M WS-321M Manual_English 10.pdf

 

To turn on the power, slide the hold switch up.  Turn it off by doing the opposite.  Keep voice mode selected when you are using the device to record. 

 

Making a Recording p. 19-21

 

Press folder button to choose among folders A through E.  Try to pick an empty folder, even though others are responsible for offloading their files before putting devices away.

 

When you've selected a folder, press RECORD (right side) to start recording.  If you don't have a mic plugged in, it will record with the built-in mic.  The mic is at the top, so point that at your source.  Press STOP when you want to stop; press RECORD again while recording to pause.  If you pause, recording will resume from the same point when you hit REC again.  If you press STOP, a new numbered track will record when you hit REC the next time.   If you want to monitor through headphones while recording, plug in some headphones. 

 

Recording Modes p. 24 IMPORTANT

To select a mode, such as ST XQ (stereo extra high quality) or HQ (High Quality), press the MENU button for 1 second or longer.

Press OK button; "Rec Menu" screen opens.  Press OK with "Rec Mode" highlighted.  Use plus or minus buttons to select the mode.  When using the Shure SM58, always use HQ mode.  It's not a stereo mic, so you can't use the stereo modes with it.  If using the shotgun microphone or the  built-in mic, use ST HQ or ST XQ.  If you are trying to capture natural sound (like the sounds of a particular workplace) out in the field, always use ST XQ and the shotgun mic.  Press OK when ready.  Press STOP to close menu.

 

Microphone Sensitivity p. 25

 

Repeat steps above to get to Rec Menu, except select "Mic Sense."  Conf. = high sensitivity; Dict. = low sensitivity.  Pick one, then do a sound check with your source to determine if it's appropriate in your situation.  You may need to switch to the other.

 

Set the Low Cut Filter p. 26

 

This will help you reduce low frequency background noise so that voices will be heard more clearly.  In Rec Menu, choose "Low Cut Filter."  Choose "on" to turn it on.  Press OK.  Pres STOP to close menu.

 

Playing pp. 30 - 33

 

Always have headphones available so that you can do a sound check -- the built-in speaker is terrible, so don't rely on it.  Press FOLDER to choose a folder.  Use the forward and back buttons to move among numbered tracks.  Press PLAY (on the side) when you get to the track you want to play. The + and - buttons control the volume.  

 

Locking Files pp. 40 - 41

 

Read these pages if you want to learn to lock files so that they cannot be accidentally erased.

 

Downloading files to a computer  pp. 44 - 45

 

The manual doesn't mention using a Mac, but it works just fine.  Press the release button on the back of the device.  The lower part of the recorder comes off.  The upper part is now a drive that you can plug in to a USB port.  Plug it in.  It'll show up on your desktop as a drive.  Double click on it.  You should be able to see folders A through E here.  Double click a folder to open, and you'll see the numbered tracks.  Move the tracks you want to the appropriate directory on the computer, the network, or wherever you intend for them to go, by clicking and dragging.  The tracks will be in WMA format.  Before importing any track into Garageband, it will need to be converted using Quicktime Pro.  Open the file in Quicktime on your macbook, then choose File > Export . . .  Select the WAV format and export to the same directory where the WMA file was stored.  On a Mac, be sure to eject the device by dragging the drive to the trash.

 

Note:  Please drag files to your music directory on your home folder first.  Next, convert to WAV.  Once this is finished, back up the WAV files to your folder on the EMA drive.  Don't forget to create a sub-directory with the name of your project in each folder.

 

Formatting the Recorder p. 91

 

This is how you erase all the data on the recorder.  It's similar to formatting a card on a camera.