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Re: Introduction+Question

Subject: Re: Introduction+Question
From: Walter Knapp <>
Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 23:34:54 -0400
From: Tim Gray <>

>    My question is twofold.  First, for running an M/S pair of Schoeps 
> (or Senn MKH's), can you get by in the mono rycote screen with a double 
> mic clip, and if you can, is it advisable or is it completely 
> unsuitable?  Second, for those of you running the Senn MKH's in M/S 
> (which seems to be the mic of choice in this field), is the Sennheiser 
> blimp "better" than the Rycote system? These things seem expensive to 
> me and I want to make sure I get the best one for my needs.

Sennheiser's tend to be the mic of choice because of their extreme 
durability out in the outdoors. They have a long track record. There may 
be others, but they are certainly not known as well. And, of course, the 
sennheiser's are excellent mics as well.

I run M/S in mono suspensions/zeppelans, but the current rycote won't do 
it, at least with MKH. The rycote uses a full ring suspension, and there 
is just not enough room for the combo in regular dual clips without risk 
of them hitting the ring. You would have to custom machine a clip system 
that put the mics practically touching. I have a rycote modular mono 
suspension, and studied it to death trying to figure how to work it.

However, the Sennheiser suspension is different. it's a heavier ring, 
but it's open on the top, so you have more room. Two MKH in regular dual 
rycote clips will fit with no special effort. I cannot speak about the 
Schoeps, I don't have any to try.

I prefer the Sennheiser over Rycote for another reason. The Rycote 
zeppelin is much more delicate than the Sennheiser. When getting them 
off ebay used rycotes would often arrive with cracks in the mesh or 
frame, no Sennheiser I got ever had a crack. Note with a fine soldering 
iron tip you can plastic weld such cracks back together, but it's very 
tedious work. And does not come out looking pretty.

I also consider the Sennheiser easier to assemble. The heavy track slips 
into the slot in the zeppelin easier and smoother than rycote's multi 
piece track system. And the locking cams are easy to operate compared to 
locking screws. The end cap does screw on, which can be a little more 
problematic than rycote's twist lock. A very thin coat of silicone 
grease on the threads helps a whole lot.

You can see my MKH-40/30 and MKH-60/30 M/S with rycote clips and 
sennheiser suspension here:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html

The top mic (MKH-30) in each case appears too high, but actually clears 
the inside of the zeppelin by a fair amount. The rings are smaller 
diameter than the inside. I've not found that to be a problem. I usually 
use covers over the mics, currently baby socks, for a extra layer of 
protection and that clears too. It would be possible to lower the mics 
by modifying the oring arrangement, I'm just mounting the mid mic using 
the regular arrangement and piggybacking the side on that. If you study 
the photos carefully, you will see that the dual clip just clips the two 
mics together. Recently I reassembled the MKH-40/30 with the 40 on top. 
Can't tell any difference in the sound.

Farther down the page you can see the pair of MKH-80's running M/S in a 
rycote stereo setup. The 80's are larger diameter, harder to fit in the 
mono, and I happened to get the rycote first off ebay. The thing is the 
size of a small watermelon, far more bulky than the mono at 6" diameter. 
I believe there is a intermediate size too, not sure on that. The 
MKH-80's present another problem as they are side mics. The handle is 
not designed with side mics in mind. I'll do something about it 
eventually. It's usable as it stands.

Note make sure to keep threads lubed on these things. I got a big box of 
parts off ebay that were bad in one way or another. Most common thing 
was frozen threads. I've been able to salvage quite a few pieces with my 
machine tools.

For close in recording of things like the Cicada's you might also 
consider the modified SASS:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_mod_sass.html
It's excellent for widefield stereo.

Walt




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