| Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters Society |
| Types of recorders used for capturing EVP AUDIO TAPE RECORDER The audio tape recorder is very good for capturing EVP. Any model of tape recorder will work as long as you use an external microphone. If you do not use an external microphone the recorder will pick up the sound of the internal gears that might block out some of the voices of the dead that are very hard to hear. Some models have a built in counter and are very good for EVP investigations. This way you can write the number present on the counter when you hear a voice that you suspect is EVP and go back later after you have reviewed the whole tape to listen to it again. The best tapes to use are high energy low noise tapes. We have had the most success with the Gemini brand cassette tapes which are high energy low noise tapes that will record for 90 minutes. Omni directional microphones are a good choice when using the audio cassette recorder because they pick up sound in all directions and not just from one area like a uni directional microphone will. This can be very important for EVP investigations because you never know for sure which angle or where a ghost or spirit will speak from. One thing to remember when using these recorders is to always use a new tape and do not record over a previously recorded tape. This will eliminate the possibility for parts of the old recording causing a bleed through that will ruin the credibility of your recording. Many researchers believe that the ghost or spirit actually creates an imprint that imbeds itself on the magnetic tape when using this type of recorder so this is the recorder of choice for many investigators who believe that theory. With an audio cassette recorder you always have you cassette tape as evidence when you capture an EVP giving it an advantage over its digital counterpart when it comes to evidence. COMPUTER If the right software or programs are installed on your computer and you have a microphone that is designed to be used with it you can try capturing EVP on your laptop or desktop computer. There are many programs that allow you to record from your computer microphone and capture EVP. Most of the newer computers or some of the older ones have sound recorder which can be used to record straight from your microphone. Adobe Audition, Cool Edit Pro, EVP Maker and other sound editing programs can be used for recording straight from the microphone and will allow you to play your recording back from the speakers on your computer. When using a computer you can also introduce white noise from a sound generator and play it in the background for different experiments. Using a computer for a recorder is a good option if you have a laptop that you take with you on your investigations. DIGITAL RECORDER The digital recorder is now a very common recorder used in paranormal research. It is by far the most effective for conducting EVP investigations. Any digital recorders will work for capturing EVP but some are better then others. You must watch out for the older models though because of digital static that some people confuse with voices at times. Although some investigators believe some background noise is needed to capture EVP and continue to use the older models. Through our research we have found that the newer models which are very clear and do not have digital static like the older versions are capturing more EVP and the sound and quality is much better when one is captured. Unlike the audio cassette recorder you do not need an external microphone when using a digital recorder. There are no internal gears to cause an unwanted noise which gives this recorder an advantage over the tape recorder. You must use caution with the built in microphones on these recorders though. They are very sensitive and will pick the sound of your fingers up when moving them against the casing of the recorder. It is recommended that you place the recorder on a flat surface to avoid this unwanted noise caused from moving the recorder in your hand. With the digital recorder it is easer to go back and review your recording sessions because it saves each session as a different track. Most models will also record the time and date at the top of each session in case you forget to state it while recording. The digital recorder is also more compact since there is no need for an external microphone. The small design of the recorders enables you to take them into a lot more harder to reach areas then before. The voices of the dead have been captured on all makes and models of digital recorder. The most common are Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, RCA, and the Radio Shack models but any are capable of capturing EVP. I prefer to use the RCA digital recorder, model No: RP 5012B. This particular make and model of recorder seems to be a sort of magnet for EVP. It is very successful in capturing EVP when set on the high quality and conference settings. It also has a flat bottom allowing it to sit up right on almost any flat surface such as a table or even the top of a tombstone. This allows sound to be heard from a more broader area which improves your chance of capturing EVP. Most Digital recorders run off of two AAA batteries and because they do not use cassette tapes it is much cheaper to conduct an EVP investigation using this type of recorder over the old fashion tape recorders. The digital recorder has many advantages over the tape recorder but because of the issue of evidence I choose to purchase a new recorder when I have filled it with EVP. This way the voices are still on the recorder and can be played straight from the source. It is a very good idea to keep the voices on the recorder for evidence since it is very easy to manipulate voices on the computer using software such as Adobe Audition or other sound editing programs. CELL PHONE Most newer model cell phones now come with a voice recorder that can be activated by a voice command or by selecting it from your menu. They will record for up to 3 minutes which is the recommended time for your recording sessions when attempting to capture EVP. I have captured EVP using a cell phone as a recorder and it is a great back up when the batteries go dead in your digital or tape recorder. I recommend taking the leather case off if you have one on your phone before using as a recorder for an EVP investigation. The leather case will cause less sound to enter the phone. You pick up a lot more sound when the case is removed. The recording session can be saved and played back on your phone or transferred to your computer using a special patch cord. VIDEO CAMERA The video camera is a excellent EVP recorder. Most paranormal investigators now use video cameras on investigations. The built in microphones on most video cameras are very sensitive and will pick up whispers at reasonable distances. EVPs have been captured many times on investigations by letting the video camera record for long periods of time. This is also good because you are recording an image as well. If you record an EVP on your video camera always go back and look closely at the footage to see if you happened to capture and apparition or other paranormal anomaly near the camera at the time the voice is heard. The video camera serves a dual purpose on paranormal investigations because of the ability to capture both sound and video footage. Often nothing can be seen on the video when an EVP is captured on these cameras but the audio will pick up a voice. All video cameras will work for capturing EVP as long as they record sound along with the image. There are some web cams and surveillance cameras that only record video and not audio so these will not work for capturing EVP. The positioning of these cameras is also important. It is best to use a tripod to mount the cameras on but it is not necessary. If you decide to carry the video camera with you and your purpose is to possibly capture EVP, then you must be aware fo where you step and that your own footsteps will be very loud upon playback. Make sure you know which way the wind is coming out of as well. That way you are not walking directly into the wind which will be picked up by the microphone. The EVP investigator must also watch out for creaky floors or other things that might cover up the often soft whispers of the dead. Like the tape recorder you always have evidence of the EVP captured because of the tape, unless you are using the new digital video cameras that do not use a video tape. |
| (c) Copyright 2005 by Jason Snider. All Rights Reserved |