fork preset

I want to accomplish two things with this video. First, I want to show you something that’s really cool. Second, I want to challenge you to think about the way you choose tools like microphones.

I’m tying a piece of string to a fork. Dental floss works great. I’m going to wrap the string around my finger and put it in my ear so that the sound travels up the string and transfers mechanically to my ear.

Now, you don’t hear what I hear. What I hear sounds like a soundtrack. How do you record that?

This is a good example of how an engineer chooses something like a microphone. We have a problem and we need to think about how to solve for it. I’ve tried a few different mics and they don’t capture what I hear when I put it in my ear.

I’m going to use this little contact microphone. I suspect you can’t hear this. That’s definitely closer to the sound I was hearing.

The point is, we’re not choosing the best microphone. We’re identifying a tool to solve a problem. I think you should try this.

Stick the thing in your ear. I promise you won’t be sorry. Sample it.

Do the stitchy thing. Share it because there’s a song in there and I’d love to see what you come up with.