Making people hear the water in a swimming pool, the vibration of a bridge or a stage floor: for a sound installation or a performance, the hydrophone and the geophone open up possibilities no other microphone offers. Here's what artists have already done with them, and ideas to adapt for your own projects. Everyone makes them their own, and that's all the better!
They did it: sound installations with our microphones
Four hours in a swimming pool
In Milan, in the Mincio swimming pool, a long-duration performance brought together sound compositions, Bluetooth speakers sealed inside balloons held on leashes… and a hydrophone. Four hours of experimentation!
The sounds of an old factory
At Festival CREA 2023, Mathias Klenner Rouliez presented a multichannel sound performance in an old factory, organised by Carolina Olivares, Lolo & Sosaku. The work drew on the site's resonant acoustics and the sounds of the architecture itself.
A vibrating bridge
Valentin Maugain lowered his microphone from a bridge, along the pipes, to record the bridge vibrating with the water. Listen on headphones:
Abstract sounds, a track, a film
Roel Meelkop created abstract sounds, LaScience released “Josh's heart” on the album Weekly Beats 2024, and Gaby Muñoz, a filmmaker, filmed our hydrophone offshore with pilot whales. All these projects can be found in our community.
See and hear the community's creations
Sound installation ideas with the hydrophone
- A pond, an aquarium or a fountain heard live: visitors put on headphones and discover what's happening beneath the surface.
- Live fish : a pond, the Bait accessory, and the audience hears the fish come and nibble.
- A swimming pool as an instrument : objects, speakers or performers in the water, and the hydrophone sending everything back to the room.
- A work that changes with the weather : a hydrophone in a pond, played back indoors, evolving with the rain and the wind.
- Drops falling from a sculpture into a tray of water, amplified in real time.
Sound installation ideas with the geophone
The geophone is the microphone for vibrations. It turns any structure into a sound source:
- Under a stage floor, so the dancers' steps and jumps can be heard.
- On a metal sculpture, with the Magnet: every touch, every gust of wind makes it sing.
- Against a railing, a bridge or a footbridge : the passing public becomes the material of the work.
- On a wooden table that visitors touch, scratch or tap: an interactive installation that's very easy to set up.
- An object to shake : the Float filled with sand becomes a maraca the audience can play with.
- Planted in the ground with the Ground Spike, to let visitors hear the earth beneath their feet.
Please note: in its standard version, the geophone is not waterproof. Keep it dry, and use the hydrophone for anything that happens in water. A waterproof version of the geophone is coming soon!
A few tips for live use
- Plan for a recorder or sound card with a good mic input: the signal needs plenty of amplification.
- The geophone goes very low: check that your PA can handle it, and watch out for feedback when the mic sits on a resonant structure.
- For a long-running installation, route the cables away from footsteps and water. The hydrophone's mic is waterproof, the plug isn't!
- Think about cable lengths: 3 m or 8 m for the hydrophone, 3 m for the geophone.
Your questions about sound installations
Which microphone for a sound installation in water?
The hydrophone, which is 100% submersible. The standard version of the geophone isn't waterproof; a waterproof version is coming soon.
Can the sound be played back live?
Yes: plug the microphone into a sound card or mixing desk with a mic input, and send the signal to your speakers or headphones.
Does it need power?
No, both our microphones work without 48 V phantom power.
And everyone else?
The same microphones are also used for plenty of other things:
- Our microphones for sound designers : bubbles, fizzing aspirin, heartbeats, sand maracas.
- Our microphones for nature recordists : dolphins, nibbling fish, marshes, cracking ice and trees.
- Our microphones for musicians : samples, water and instruments heard differently.
Ready to record?
It's up to you to make the unheard heard! The hydrophone is available from €79.99, the geophone from €129.99. Both are handmade in France and tested before shipping.