"Zoom H2N can be set to recorder 2 seconds before you decide to hit record "
I didn't know that - there you go- drop your guard fro a second and someone sneaks up and teaches you something!
Thanks Mr R
There's an Irish collector who was reputed to hitting the button after the singer had started - a friend suggested that if he ever indexed his songs they'd have to be "by second line"
Most of our field recordings were done in people's homes - tabletop recordings (always reminds me of the "bedridden-table-topped" Peter Kennedy story)
I'm sure everybody is already aware, but it helps the quality of the recording if you spread a cloth or small towel under your mike stand to prevent sound-bounce and rattle.
The wife of one of our best singers always used to stop the pendulum of the wooden wall clock - they are both long dead, but I can still hear her voice calling,"The clock Tom, the clock".
Jim Carroll