certain synth patches put through a flanger box w. *really* high feedback (95-97% or so) make good ion cannon/laser sounds.

to capture sounds more organically (ie in the field) you want to use a shotgun mic. basically, it only picks up sound in a narrow "beam" which is adjustable, so you can stand quite a ways back from the sound source and still get a good, clean signal. They''re fairly expensive, but the multimedia department at your local university problem has one they loan out to their students for projects, so if you know someone (or are taking applicable courses yourself), you''re all set.

If you see the Buddha on the road, Kill Him. -apocryphal