Blind since birth, the 29-year-old Uruguayan-born Pablo Culasso has a unique perspective on sound recording. He credits his sight impairment for his drive and a greater dedication to his work: ‘My world is made only of sounds,’ he says. ‘The visual field is about 70°, while the ears can receive information all around – 360°. For this reason, I believe that my lack of vision contributed to my becoming a very passionate nature recordist.’
Culasso began his work as a nature recordist in 2003 capturing birdsongs. Today, he also records soundscapes, contributing his recorded nature sounds for publication, documentation, and in some cases, research purposes. Working on location, he uses Sound Devices’ 788T-SSD and 702 Portable Digital Audio Recorders as part of his rig
The 788T-SSD is a portable eight-input, 12-track recorder with time code, while the 702 is a two-track, file-based digital audio recorder. Their low energy consumption, fast start-up time, lightweight feel and solid construction are just some of the features that he says have aided him on his recent treks. Culasso regularly adds the CL-8 Controller to manage his mix.
‘The 788T is the best recorder that I have ever used,’ he says. ‘Some functionality, like the switches to solo the inputs, the one-hand input operation to turn on phantoms, limiters, and mute are really nice, because I do not need to go to a menu to configure these options. The 702 is my backup recorder. It allows me to make high-quality recordings for extended periods of time without interruption.’
Culasso recently spent several weeks recording in Emas National Park in the states of Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás, Brazil. He captured approximately 300 hours of audio, with plans to produce several albums of the material from this unique location. ‘The temperatures reached upwards of more than 110°F,’ he recalls. ‘The Sound Devices 788T and 702, even within such harsh conditions, worked extremely well.’
He regularly pairs his Sound Devices recorders with a variety of mics, depending on the specific project and situation, typically choosing Sennheiser or Telinga mics.
Culasso will be traveling to the South Pole later in 2015, and his Sound Devices gear will be with him: ‘Even in summer, the conditions will be very hard,’ he says. ‘But I am confident that my recorders will accomplish the task at hand without any problems.’
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