EVP? To me they're fascinating since I've recorded many recently...

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Upon hearing the 4.19.2K9 episode with Paul & Holly AKA: Mully & Sculder I was pleased to hear one of my favorite Paracast episodes to date on a subject that interests me. Of course I enjoy most topics on the show but once I started capturing EVPs by the bucket load recently on my iPhone 1st gen using: the built in mic, and Griffin Technology's iTalk app I've been hooked! The only problem is that there are "layers of audio" and that's about as good as I can describe it. Why? I hear multiple voices male and female, all in english which is strange BTW, but even though some seem totally out of place like stray radio waves, random echos from the past or perhaps a time warp from who knows where?
But many are intelligent and reply to questions but unfortunately not the specific ones I most want.
I don't believe these are what most people believe are "ghosts". So what are they? Heck if I know! LOL I try to approach it in a scientific manor I was hoping that someone here might be able to give me a few tips on how to process the audio although many are in little or no need of it since they're very clear without anything except a volume boost.
I've had quite a few that were funny and many that had direct replies to my questions. What gets me is I can see that there's more audio in the displayed waveform but extracting it is time consuming and frustrating. It's like they or it or whatever is speaking very fast so it's like a compressed audio file or clip that needs to be unstuffed/unzipped.
I've thought of doing more paranormal investigations and I've slowly started picking up equipment on a broken shoe string of a budget but it's tough. In the near future perhaps I can form a party of investigating friends or colleagues as sort of a weird hobby. Ha-Ha!
Any help or links to other articles would be greatly appreciated. I've tried the up sampling trick which helps a bit but I find that more needs to be done and I'm not an audio engineer by no means. I've done the pitch tempo and slow down and actually heard a few things once by up sampling. I started to record at 22.05 kHz but went to the software max of 44.10 kHz. Before you ask, I've tried it in Airplane mode and with the EDGE cell network on, wifi on and BlueTooth off and it makes no difference.
My current equipment is:
Hardware: iPhone 1st gen, iMac Intel Core Duo, MacBook Intel Core 2 Duo,
iPod 3G 30GB, Canon SE3iS & yes, a K2 Meter.
Software: Logic Express 8.0.2, Garageband '09, SoundStudio, WireTap Studio, and WavePad.

 

[David Biedny]

Good to see you on these forums again!

So I would strongly suggest ditching that low-fi rig and getting the Zoom H2, I've now seen it priced down to $158 (including shipping) at Buy.com, and all you'll need besides that is a decent size SD card, at least 4 gig, which are really reasonably priced these days (it comes with a 512 MB card, so it's totally useful right out of the box). The setup you describe cannot be trusted in terms of crosstalk issues, so I would take the results you get with it with a grain of salt.

So where are you capturing these EVPs?

dB

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Good to see you on these forums again!

So I would strongly suggest ditching that low-fi rig and getting the Zoom H2, I've now seen it priced down to $158 (including shipping) at Buy.com, and all you'll need besides that is a decent size SD card, at least 4 gig, which are really reasonably priced these days (it comes with a 512 MB card, so it's totally useful right out of the box). The setup you describe cannot be trusted in terms of crosstalk issues, so I would take the results you get with it with a grain of salt.

So where are you capturing these EVPs?

dB

Thanx! Glad to be back. Out of all places possible, I've recorded them at work and it's looking like it may be a focal point for some curious activity although, I'm assuming it's somewhat centered around one of my coworkers. I believe I'm sensitive to some of that activity myself so that may be another reason.

The last and most fruitful of the recordings was made with my iPhone using iTalks max setting of 44.10kHz AIFF and completely on Airplane mode. When I start my recordings, I tend to do it when the shop is about to close which is usually around 5PM Mon-Fri and 12 Noon on Saturdays and usually let them run several minutes. I'm almost always alone or I'm waiting for one of our local delivery drivers to return so I can lock up for the end of our work day. I always ask them to speak into the mic as close and as slow as they can and tell them to feel free to say whatever while I step out of the room. On that last recording my first reply was and I'm not kidding, I hear what I can only describe as an electric guitar and someone saying "Are you ready to chill?" On a previous session I asked it to tell me if there was more than one of them and it replied in a british sort of accent: "Pah, wouldn't say." I had direct response to a casual inquiry of "what have you been doing?" (I was the only one in the building and left the iPhone in the office area while I was tending to closing shop & the warehouse, lights , locking doors etc. I had re-entered the room.) It replied: "Practicing. About what, no comment." There's a repeating woman, or something imitating one, apparently horny as hell saying "F**k me! F**k me! Make love to me again ooohhh!!" Yeah! Weird stuff!

David, wouldn't the Airport mode theoretically prevent any outside electrical/radio contamination? I realize I'm not doing this in a controlled environment but I'm very curious since it's something relatively, intelligent or demonic or whatever. I mean is it like we're "The Sims" to them and they're in control somewhat? Or we're in the petridish being observed and are THEIR experiment? Or in a "Horton Hears a Who" syndrome? HA-HA!

Any thoughts on how to post process/enhance the audio and what filters I should try? I feel that some of them are akin to the old Wink of an Eye episode of classic Star Trek as compressed clips of audio. I have noticed that a possible Jeff Ritzman reference about the 3 knocks or something and I've noticed on some or most what sounds like someone snapping their fingers is more like 3 knocks on wood right before the voice is heard. At least it sounds that way when I up-sampled one of the recordings.

When you have the time could you give all of us here on the Paracast forums a list of gear that you'd recommend or suggest? Like audio and visual hardware and software? I'm thinking Red Cameras on the high end although they're awesome even at the price point they're selling them!

For us broken shoe string guys and gals or the few blessed full of cash wallets, maybe you could tells us what not to buy and no brainer basics we all should be aware of before we purchase anything? Please?

What about those so called full spectrum cameras which are modified to allow the ultraviolet to be photographed? Have you heard of them and seen some of the "possible" results? Are they worth a damn? I heard it's a hardware mod and not a software one but don't some web cams detect in the uv band such as the Apple iSight? If so and I know they're very low res compared to a decent camcorder but is there software to enhance that recording after the fact in post processing or a way to setup the web cam before hand?

Sorry to load you down with questions, please take your time and thanks for your help. I'm probably going with an H2 soon and I just ordered an 8GB SD card for $16.85 from meritline.com so it won't be long I hope.

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

This little EVP adventure does include a photo that my personal friend and Photoshop junkie/image expert says it's probably a trick of light and shadow since my Cannon SE3iS only takes JPEG images and not Raw. Overall, this camera in my limited use has been great and I've never seen this freak of a coincidence. Why would this be the only image that has a random pixel blotch of JPEG artifacts that just so happen to look like that? I know us mere humans, well most of us try to see a face or something in the shadows but it's mighty strange it just so happened this way!
I'm still curious since I told it that if you want to be seen then here's your chance. I didn't expect anything and no it wasn't orbs or mists but something in the shadows and I just thought I'd mention it since I began to scan over a recording I made last Friday afternoon and I heard it say "see right through me" The pic was taken several months ago and is still creepy today. I wonder if "it" was partially illuminated by the redeye reducer that flashes before the pic or was it the flashing red light while in video mode?
The weird thing about it is on the show Paranormal State, the main guy describes this almost 100% exact as a frightening childhood memory. A short little demon troll looking creature. I did take multiple shots on different isles of the warehouse but none of the rest look like this! It was around noon-12:30pm on a sunny day with a decently lit area with equally spaced large skylights.
The poor quality is apparent due to the fact that I believe I was shooting video while snapping shots but I'm not positive. That brought down the resolution even further. However, the video clip may back up the snapshot. Hmm....
I posted the modified image that's only been cropped and I used preview to add a few notes and observations. I've played with it a bit in iPhoto and for bunch of random pixels and JPEG artifacts I recall seeing teeth too BTW.

 

[Paul Kimball]

While I agree with David that it's always best to use the best equipment in the field, the real key is what you can do with the recording in post-production, i.e. afterwards. A good, experienced sound engineer and a good system is an absolute must in order to clear up any recording and see if what you have might be anomalous, or whether it's explainable.

Paul

 

[subject x]

Any chance of you posting any of these EVPs?
I'm sure others besides myself would be interested to hear them.

I've heard some that just sound like noise to me, while other people seem to hear words in them. I've also heard a few that really make me wonder...

 

[Tommy Allison]

You Suck.

Just kidding. I've tried to capture EVP's and I've never gotten ANYTHING. I'm envious!

 

[Bixyboo]

Creepy pic!

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Any chance of you posting any of these EVPs?
I'm sure others besides myself would be interested to hear them.

I've heard some that just sound like noise to me, while other people seem to hear words in them. I've also heard a few that really make me wonder...

Actually, I was thinking of posting a clip or two but I might not get 'em together till this weekend but I'll try my best.
I agree with Paul to an extent but I also agree with David since I've tried the 2 settings on iTalk and in the highest sample rate the raw quality gives better results. I have the software & hardware to enhance the not so hot ones in post-production, that sound like noise, but I just need a few tips such as: up-sample the unclear suspect EVPs to 64kHz or XXkHz, use the "Noise Gate Expander" filter, 10 band EQ, etc., just as a guide.
Paul or anyone that may have a few ideas please pass them along.

I've got an inexpensive 8GB SD card on the way so I'll probably pickup a Zoom H2 soon.

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

While I agree with David that it's always best to use the best equipment in the field, the real key is what you can do with the recording in post-production, i.e. afterwards. A good, experienced sound engineer and a good system is an absolute must in order to clear up any recording and see if what you have might be anomalous, or whether it's explainable.

Paul

Thanks Paul! Like I've said in another reply here I agree with both you guys but I'm not a sound engineer by no means and if I had a guide, that's not like 5-10 years old posted on an obscure website I could save loads of time and come up with better results.
BTW Any plans to return to The Paracast in the near future? It was so sad & frustrating to hear that you had so much trouble to go on location in the USA but especially in LA where I'm from. If you do decide to attempt another return to LA please let me know and I'll see if I can help in some kind of way on my end. Make some calls, ask around and who knows maybe if I know someone that knows someone that knows THE ONE or the few, maybe it'll happen!

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

You Suck.

Just kidding. I've tried to capture EVP's and I've never gotten ANYTHING. I'm envious!

Yeah, I suck the EVPs right out of the air onto my lil' old iPhone with the greatest of ease.
Well, in a very LSS (long story short) a colleague of mine heard me listening to an episode of the Paracast at work and that's where we exchanged stories etc. Then, I was informed that a shadow was seen in the warehouse in the daytime and other odd but small things started to happen. We discussed EVPs and I thought what the heck I've got an iPhone and a free app to give it a whirl and that's where I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED!! Something was there and later on I'd record a quickie and realized that whatever "it or they" are is intelligent even though I do get the occasional me so horny female voice and one time I heard out of the nowhere of EVP realm: "Daddy?" and the crazy stuff like:"Wouldn't it be funny if a cockroach go up in there?" A few months before that I ran a test for kicks in a different location and got nothing at all so don't be discouraged. Maybe it's "location, location, location" but I don't go for the idea it has to be a grave yard or an old building or place, yah know.

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Creepy pic!

You got that right and I truly hate to stare at it since I tend to see way more that I'd like to! LOL
Even though I tend to be slightly skeptical, I did see some type of shadow move really quickly several weeks after I found out this place is EVP Grand Central to me! LOL Later that day I told my coworker and they had also seen it earlier that morning!
I have a theory that these entities or whatever are known to an extent, to use electricity to manifest or whatever and the path that the shadow follows is in line with the main circuit breaker box. On the street the business is located is an industrial warehouse area where main telephone/electrical poles complete with transformers, run behind the buildings for at least several blocks or possibly more. I can only describe the movement of the shadow as if it was on tracks or rails or, to show my age & knowledge of obscure scifi television, not unlike "Automan" when his car makes turns at sharp angles. If you're curious here's a YouTube clip but the bit I'd like you to see is roughly between 16-18 seconds into it. That's an observation from what I've seen on some of the ghost hunting shows and in my own limited experience. So my theory extends to the possibility that some of these beings are not only drawing energy from these electrical sources but are using the grid as eh, public transportation?!

 

[subject x]

Actually, I was thinking of posting a clip or two but I might not get 'em together till this weekend but I'll try my best.

Excellent! No rush, take your time.

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Posting the suspect EVP clips here...

Excellent! No rush, take your time.

Sorry about the delay we've had some issues at work with coworkers etc., so that's totally screwed up my work and personal schedule. LOL

I could make 'em short and sweet in a compilation of sorts with vocal cues or text ones, any ideas or suggestions?

It's still happening and in fact I got one that seemed almost like an observation from a scifi flick or lab experiment or even from classic Trek's "Empath" episode. I setup my camera and left it in video mode while I had the iPhone recording in Airplane mode and I walked away to another room and the building was empty. Upon my return a voice commented:"Appears distraught." Different voice replies:"Watch again." WEIRD!! Right after that I heard "I seen my girlfriend." and a couple of seconds later, "Thank you."

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

Good to see you on these forums again!

So I would strongly suggest ditching that low-fi rig and getting the Zoom H2, I've now seen it priced down to $158 (including shipping) at Buy.com, and all you'll need besides that is a decent size SD card, at least 4 gig, which are really reasonably priced these days (it comes with a 512 MB card, so it's totally useful right out of the box). The setup you describe cannot be trusted in terms of crosstalk issues, so I would take the results you get with it with a grain of salt.
dB

FYI I ordered a Zoom H2 a refub at a slightly better cost savings and for kicks I told the eh, entities that I had one coming hopefully for this weekend the 13 and they said in reply in EVP mode of course, "Thank you."

 

[Jose Collado]

I'm sure a lot of you will be shocked to learn that I think EVP's are utter bunk.

We filmed a 13 part TV series in some of the alleged most haunted locations in the state. We have plenty of people walk away with what they concluded as EVP's. We got absolutely nothing with high end audio equipment. Nothing.

What I found was, the majority of equipment being used to capture EVP's was low end audio recorders that were never designed to capture a broad range on audio. They had internal mics which were cheap and their internal components allowed for compression, noise and distortion. Which resulted in what people classified as EVP's.

So the question is, why didn't we capture anything using high production audio gear? I assume it's because the equipment was of superior quality and the gear we used was used to suit our needs.

EVP's, in my honest opinion, are speculative and nothing but bunk. People hear what they want to hear and anything else is attributed to the poor audio equipment.

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

I'm sure a lot of you will be shocked to learn that I think EVP's are utter bunk.

We filmed a 13 part TV series in some of the alleged most haunted locations in the state. We have plenty of people walk away with what they concluded as EVP's. We got absolutely nothing with high end audio equipment. Nothing.

What I found was, the majority of equipment being used to capture EVP's was low end audio recorders that were never designed to capture a broad range on audio. They had internal mics which were cheap and their internal components allowed for compression, noise and distortion. Which resulted in what people classified as EVP's.

So the question is, why didn't we capture anything using high production audio gear? I assume it's because the equipment was of superior quality and the gear we used was used to suit our needs.

EVP's, in my honest opinion, are speculative and nothing but bunk. People hear what they want to hear and anything else is attributed to the poor audio equipment.

Hey Jose, I totally understand and if I had the extra cash lying around I'd be using some high end gear but it's not in my budget to do so. However, as a step up in that direction I got my Zoom H2 today and popped in an 8GB card & formatted it. http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/h2/index.php

On the best setting of 4 channel or "surround mode" is WAV 48kHz/24bit with a recording time of 3 hours & 49 minutes. I might step down to 44.1kHz/16bit to get up to 6 hours and 15min or even better for maximum bang for the bit, go with 44.1kHz/16 in 2 channel surround to get 12 hours and 30 minutes. If the results are good then I'll splurge on a 32 GB card next time around. Gotta get an iPhone 3GS 1st since my 1st gen iPhone is due for an upgrade at nearly 2 years old.

My goal is to make a near overnight recording on a Friday night at my usual hot spot so even though I'm not certain of the results.

It's Thursday night and I'm ready to set it up tomorrow evening and after checking it out over the weekend I'll post any results and hopefully some audio clips.

 

[Lemmy]

I totally agree with Jose! A few years back I searched the web for EVP and found one site that recommended that you place a diode at your recording input. This is called a crystal set where I come from.

Crap mic amps can easily pick up radio stations. I once bought a record player amp that brought in taxi cab conversations wonderfully (.

If you can't spend cash on some half decent gear then at least use an RF filter between the mic and it's input to the recorder.

Lemmy

 

[phantasmosxmagnum]

I totally agree with Jose! A few years back I searched the web for EVP and found one site that recommended that you place a diode at your recording input. This is called a crystal set where I come from.

Crap mic amps can easily pick up radio stations. I once bought a record player amp that brought in taxi cab conversations wonderfully (.

If you can't spend cash on some half decent gear then at least use an RF filter between the mic and it's input to the recorder.

Lemmy

I believe that most like 97%+ of so called EVPs are bogus, radio noise, interference or crosstalk issues no doubt. However, in my limited recording time, how do you explain the voices/messages that respond to your questions or those that comment on what you're doing at that moment? I've received "intelligent" responses to my inquires and in almost all replies are virtually instantly after I vocalize it. That's the ones that intrigue me the most. I've picked up random stuff that could easily be attributed to radio noise, crosstalk etc.

I'm not tech expert by no means but as far as radio noise, cell phones can be ruled out since they're all or mostly digital correct? Then I suppose that leaves analog bands such as: CBs, low power commercial radios for taxi & truck dispatch, EMS, Police, Fed and government, Ham radio, Air traffic & control etc., limited local radio stations and even more limited on TV stations after yesterday for sure. LOL

That said, if it is a "type" of radio communication then who or what is listening and responding and how accurate can that random noise be? I know it's millions to one or more if the reply is dead on, no pun intended vs vague one that resembles a newspaper zodiac fortune for the day. LOL

 

[Lemmy]

Sorry, I don't know what happened to the TV yesterday.

You are correct that you can rule out the digital stuff and you can almost certainly rule out FM too which includes TV (at least in the UK). That really leaves broadcast or ham radio, taxis or CB.

If you are really getting ~3% sensible responses then you've got me, I can't explain them. I and most people would be very interested to hear some. Could you post some clips?

Coincidences do happen of course, for instance, I was at a friends house about a thousand or so years ago having a few rum and cokes. He turned his TV on - it was 'My Friend Mickey the Martian'. Then he farted rather loudly and the chap on TV said "Mmm! something smells good!". Of course after the rum we found this hilarious.

This is a long way from a 3% hit rate though - more like the millions against that you mention.

Unless the replies are reasonably clear though, it's easy to hear what you expect to hear in the noise.

Lemmy