geophones

I'm often asked about them; where to buy them, do I sell them etc. but the ones I adapt & use aren't something I can yet sell commercially. The process is long & complex so the cost would be prohibitive and I have also built software for working with the resulting recordings.

I've noticed that some geophones are available online, for audio use. Now, this is where it gets tricky;

My motivation for writing here is to ensure folks understand what is possible and whether they can achieve what they want to. As I said I don't sell geophones so this isn't about competition. That said what I can say is that the JrF c-series contact mics can achieve frequencies into the infrasound range when used with higher specification recorders / pre-amps. I use them also because of their wide sense of available clarity and sense of materiality.

Additionally, importantly, all digital recorders have built in limiters that can't be turned off without hacking, meaning its impossible to record sounds below 10hz.

If folks still want to give working with geophone elements a go then the ones used in all of the more recent designs on the market are available across the internet for around €20-40.

It is possible to buy or loan higher spec, industrial geophones, like the ones I use, but they tend to be scientific instruments and quite expensive. This is another reasons I use hand built elements in the c-series contact mics; to give folks lots of those low frequencies whilst also providing a lot of detail and, I believe, a more engaging overall sound.

To demonstrate what can be achieved with the c-series contact mics that could be said to be geosonic (down to 10hz) do take a listen to various recordings of mine made with them, such as these (you'll need headphones or full range speakers to get the full effect and of course each of the sites they are uploaded to have their own processing which affects some of the lowest frequencies available);

0:00 - 1:00 - two JrF c-series contact microphones + impedance adaptors into a Sound Devices mix-pre recorder. No processing or eq-ing - this is straight out of the recorder. As you can hear there is a very wide frequency response and the overall sound is rich and detailed.

1:05 - 2:05 - same recording processed in Reaper, to emulate commercial geophone* responses, using one of the free plug-in's that come with that DAW (digital audio workstation). One setting, applied in a few seconds. This same effect can be done in-recorder during the recording itself with some recorders, or in live performance settings via a DAW.

2:10 - 3:10 - one brand of commercially available geophone* device. There is more noise, some flutter and a narrower frequency response.

3:14 - 4:14 - another brand of commercially available geophone* device. This one, in my opinion, appears to have not been correctly adapted for audio output.