Life recording on MD player with microphone needs sound quality improvement (flanging effect)

Report · Sep 12, 2020

Dear all,

I have a life recording from a band The Gathering that has been recorded on a MD portable with a microfoon. The sound is acceptable but the high frequenties sounds like a flanging effect.

(like you are playing two indentical vinyl records at the same time)

I would like to improve the sound quality by removing this strange effect.

Does anyone know how to proceed?

Regards Robin

Report · Sep 12, 2020

Couldn't tell you without listening to a bit of it, but generally there isn't much you can do about stuff from MD recorders using dodgy microphones, usually hand-held in rather less than desirable positions. And that's before we've even considered the limitiations of MD as a format. Is it a stereo recording or a mono one?

Report · Sep 13, 2020

Hi Steve, thanks for your reply.

I understand that it is difficult to improve sound that isn't there at the first place.

It has been recorded on a Sony MD-recorder MZ-R700. Nothing special but stereo.

It sounds like the high frequenties are often blown away by the wind.

Report · Sep 13, 2020

Hmm... it's not difficult to improve sound that hasn't been recorded - it's impossibe!

You could well be correct about missing high frequencies being messed around by the wind - that is typically what happens if you record outside at a distance. But, I have to tell you that this is completely unfixable, I'm afraid. Don't believe what you might have seen on CSI - their ability to 'fix' things was complete make-believe.