How To Record Water Tips, Techniques, and Gear

Introduction

Water is one of the most versatile, and deceptively challenging elements to record in sound design. From a gentle drip to a crashing wave, water sounds can evoke calm, chaos, tension, or even comedy, depending on how they’re captured and used. 

While some sound libraries offer an immensely wide range of pre-recorded sound effects, it feels great to experience the texture and specificity of recording your own. But working with water comes with its own set of technical hurdles, such as splashes, unpredictable acoustics, and the ever-present risk of damaging your gear. 

In this guide we will show you how to record water, and we’ll explore the tools, techniques, and creative approaches you can use to record water safely and effectively, whether you're after a serene stream or the unpredictable chaos of water's motion.

Why Record Real Water?

Both recording your own water sounds and using a pre-made library come with their own advantages. The right choice often depends on your specific needs, access to equipment, and how much time you have to work with. Below, we’ll explore the benefits of each approach to help you decide what works best for your project.

Purchasing a bundle: 

• Get high-quality sounds instantly, ready to drop into your project
• Access a wide variety of water types without needing to record them yourself
• Perfect for tight deadlines and fast turnarounds
• Often more affordable than investing in recording gear
• No need to worry about location, weather, or recording conditions

Capturing your own water sounds:

• Full creative control over the sounds you capture
• Results in unique, original audio that’s truly your own
• Easily customize textures, tones, and environments to match your vision
• Potentially more affordable if you already have the right gear and access to a suitable location
• A valuable learning experience that helps build real-world sound recording skills

Ultimately, the choice between recording your own sounds or buying a library comes down to your preference and workflow. If you choose to purchase a bundle, be sure to evaluate its quality carefully. Look for reputable providers, assess whether the price and file size offer good value, and ensure the sounds include UCS metadata for easy organization. High-resolution audio (preferably 24-bit at 96kHz or 192kHz) is a must, and most importantly, confirm that the library contains all the water sounds you actually need to make the purchase worthwhile. If you’re considering purchasing a sound library, be sure to check out 344SFX’s own bundle, Water In Motion, a solid option for high-quality, versatile water recordings.

Recording Gear

When it comes to recording water, having the right gear is essential, especially if you're aiming to capture underwater sounds, just be sure to keep a few towels nearby, recording water can get unexpectedly messy! 

Underwater Recording

A hydrophone is a specialized type of microphone designed for this exact purpose. Unlike standard microphones that detect vibrations in the air, a hydrophone picks up pressure changes within the water, allowing it to record sounds beneath the surface with clarity and detail. This makes it perfect for capturing audio such as:

• Bubbling or gurgling
• Submerged splashes
• Aquatic life
• Underwater movement (like swimming or paddling)

The H2a Hydrophone is a solid microphone choice for anyone interested in underwater recording, offering reliable performance and clear sound capture beneath the surface.

Directional or Outdoor Recording

For focused outdoor recordings, like a flowing stream, crashing waterfall, or rain hitting a surface, a shotgun microphone is an excellent choice. These mics feature a narrow pickup pattern (typically supercardioid or hypercardioid), allowing them to capture sound directly in front while reducing noise from the sides and rear. This makes them ideal for isolating water sounds in environments where wind, wildlife, or distant traffic might otherwise interfere.

• Dripping taps or leaking pipes – Isolate sharp, clean drips in indoor or quiet settings
• Pouring water – From bottles, jugs, or buckets for use in Foley or kitchen scenes
• Waves or splashes – Focused outdoor capture of specific wave crashes or splashes
• Showers or streams – Isolate the direct water flow while minimizing ambient noise
• Hands interacting with water – Great for Foley (washing, stirring, scooping)
• Rain hitting specific surfaces – Leaves, metal, umbrellas, windows, etc.
• Sprays or mists – From spray bottles, hoses, or misting systems

The Sennheiser MKH 50 is a high-end directional microphone that's excellent for this type of recording. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly alternative, the Sennheiser MKE 600 is a solid and reliable option when learning how to record water.

Don’t forget PROTECTION: A creative tip for protecting your microphone from water splashes or if you don't have access to a hydrophone, is to cover it with a non-lubricated condom, a surprisingly effective DIY barrier that doesn’t significantly affect sound quality. However, keep in mind this isn’t a foolproof solution, so use it with caution and avoid exposing your gear to direct or heavy water contact whenever possible.

Wind protection is important even near calm water, and waterproof covers can save your gear from splashes or accidents. Keep a few towels on hand just in case! As for recorders, most portable field recorders, like the Zoom H5/H6 or Tascam models, are more than capable of handling water recordings with solid preamps and multiple input options.

Recording Techniques

Capturing great water sounds is as much about technique as it is about gear. Experimenting with different containers and surfaces can dramatically change the tone of your recording. Pouring water into a metal basin, for example, produces a sharp, resonant sound, while plastic or glass containers create smoother, more muted tones. Try combining various surfaces and water levels to achieve a richer, layered effect, or utilise other pouring techniques such as:

• Plastic gallon into plastic tub
• Glass into plastic coffee cup 
• Glass into Glass of different sizes
• Paper cup pouring into plastic cups

As you can see, there are endless possibilities when it comes to recording pouring sounds. The key is to capture plenty of variation, try slow, steady pours, medium flows, fast rushes, and even short bursts. These subtle differences can make a big impact in your final mix and give you more flexibility during editing.

Mic placement also plays a major role in shaping the final sound. A close mic position will capture fine textures, like bubbles, drips, or subtle movement, while placing the mic further back gives a more ambient, environmental feel. This is especially useful when recording in natural spaces like streams or rivers. Keep in mind, you don’t need a professional studio or the ideal environment to record great water sounds. As long as you have a container and some creativity, you’re already well on your way.

Try experimenting with different actions, like splashing the water using your hands or various objects, or blowing into the water through a straw to create bubbles with different textures and intensities. This kind of hands-on experimentation is where a lot of the fun, and creativity, happens. 

The team at 344 Audio recently contributed to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, providing a rich collection of water recordings for one of the campaign levels. In the featured clip, you’ll hear a blend of underwater movements, surface transitions, splashes, crashing waves, and rainfall, each element carefully crafted to enhance the immersive atmosphere of the scene.

When working with moving water outdoors, try recording from both upstream and downstream. Upstream recordings tend to be cleaner, capturing water as it approaches the mic, while downstream can add more of the rushing and echoing qualities of flowing water.

Finally, consider layering your recordings. Break the scene down into elements: record isolated drips or pours, a broad ambient “bed” of flowing water, and sharper splashes or interactions separately. Layering gives you far more control in post-production and lets you shape the final sound with more precision and depth.

Experiment with Underwater Actions: Beyond just submerging a microphone (or using a hydrophone), consider interacting with the water to produce diverse sounds. Tapping objects underwater, swirling water with your hands, or blowing bubbles can create a range of textures and tones. These actions can add depth and variety to your recordings.

Be Mindful of Equipment Safety: Water and electronics don't mix well. Always ensure your recording devices are adequately protected. If you're improvising with DIY methods, be aware of the risks involved and test your setup in controlled environments before moving to more challenging locations.

By combining the right equipment with creative techniques, you can capture compelling above water and underwater sounds that enhance your projects. Remember, experimentation is key, and each recording session offers an opportunity to discover new sonic possibilities.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even with the best gear and intentions, it’s easy to make a few missteps when learning how to record water, especially if you're just starting out. Being aware of these common pitfalls can save you time and help you capture cleaner, more usable audio.

Getting Too Close Without Protection
As mentioned earlier, but is worth mentioning again, water and electronics don’t mix, so recording too close to the source without splash protection is a big risk. Not only could you damage your microphone, but water droplets can also distort your recordings. Using a windscreen, plastic cover, or even a DIY splash shield can help keep your gear safe while still getting you close enough for detail.

Ignoring the Background
Outdoor water recordings often come with extra baggage, birds chirping, distant traffic, wind, or people talking nearby. These sounds can easily creep into your recordings if you're not paying attention. Always monitor your environment before pressing record, and consider using directional microphones to better isolate your target sound.

Over processing the Audio
It can be tempting to “fix” your recordings in post with heavy EQ, compression, or noise reduction, but too much processing can kill the natural character of the sound. Water has its own dynamics and nuances that can get lost if over-edited. Aim to capture the cleanest possible recording at the source so you don’t have to rely heavily on post-production.

By steering clear of these common mistakes, you’ll get more consistent, professional sounding results, and spend less time troubleshooting and re-recording.

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‍Conclusion

Recording water is one of the most unpredictable, and rewarding elements to work with in sound design. Its range of textures, tones, and rhythms makes it endlessly versatile, whether you’re recording a single drop or a roaring ocean wave. The beauty lies in its unpredictability, no two takes will ever sound exactly the same, which opens up a world of creative possibilities.

Don’t be afraid to get hands-on when learning how to record water, experiment with different techniques, and even make a few mistakes along the way, that’s part of the process. With a bit of curiosity and a careful ear, you can capture water in ways that feel fresh, immersive, and uniquely yours.

We hope you found this blog both useful and inspiring. If you're aiming to achieve the kinds of water sounds we've explored, without the time, hassle, or mess of capturing them yourself, consider 344SFX’s Water In Motion. This professionally crafted bundle includes over 13.6GB of high-quality recordings and more than 1,600 individual sound effects, offering an extensive collection of water textures to suit any creative need. Inside, you’ll find splashes, rinses, pours, pops, bubbles, drips, bursts, swirls, emerges, submerges, waves, streams, rivers, you name it. Whether you're designing for film, games, or experimental sound art, Water In Motion delivers a complete toolkit for capturing the dynamic and expressive qualities of water with ease and precision.