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Re: Nature recording 101

Subject: Re: Nature recording 101
From: Ken Durling <>
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 11:14:32 -0800
Walt -

Thanks very much, that's a hugely informative post.  I suspected that
possibly the pop filters were possibly making things worse, but didn't
think to try them both ways.  You've clarified a number of things in my
mind, and I have a better sense of what to work toward.  Thanks again.

Ken


At 10:24 AM 2/23/2005, you wrote:
>From: Ken  Durling <>
>
> >
> > OK, I'm back from my first attempt at this.    There's one question tha=
t
> > clearly needs to be cleared up first before moving onto more refined
> > things:  what's the best way to deal with wind noise?   I may be able t=
o
> > shelf EQ some of it out of these recordings, but how do you folks deal=

> with
> > it?  Are the mics you use more resistant to it?  Granted I only had sim=
ple
> > foam screens over mine, but they had little or no effect,  although I
> > didn't try it without them.    It wasn't all that windy even, but when
> > there was anything more than a faint waft it zeroed the meters. Clearly=
 I
> > need more sensitive mics for distance work,  but wind noise might be ev=
en
> > more of a problem then?  About the only thing I can think of right now =
is
> > to have the mics sheltered somehow, which could interfere with their
> pattern...
> >
> > You all are way beyond this I know, so if there's a FAQ somewhere feel=

> free
> > to give me steer.
>
>Mic sensitivity and wind sensitivity don't relate that closely. There is
>also the claim that omni are less sensitive to wind, but in my
>experience that difference is minimal.
>
>Don't even bother with the foam, it's designed to be a pop filter for
>vocal use inside. It actually conducts the wind to the mic, sometimes
>making it worse than without.
>
>You need layers of still air around the mic. The king of the hill on
>that is Rycote, very expensive (as in you can end up paying more for it
>than the mic), but it works. At least up to the point where the natural
>wind noise around you is more of a problem than the direct wind noise.
>
>I prefer the very similar Sennheiser version, the zeppelin from
>Sennheiser is stronger than the Rycote by quite a bit and the suspension
>system is simpler. With Sennheiser stuff I can fit the M/S into a mono
>setup, it's much tougher to do that with the Rycote. You can see the
>setup on my M/S page:
><http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html>http://fr=
ogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html
>
>I dig the parts off ebay. Takes lots of watching, most auctions for this
>stuff go way too high. Off ebay, each complete setup cost me between
>$100 & $200 a few years ago. Generally I got it in separate pieces. You
>have to watch that you are getting pieces that are compatible.
>
>Note this is also a suspension to take care of handling noise. The
>zeppelin alone is enough to handle the light stuff, the fur stronger
>breezes. I also slip knit baby socks right on the mics now, which is not
>shown on that page. The three layer combo is quite effective.
>
>You can hand make something, but I've never seen any handmade that
>worked better, or was near as easy to set up. If you want to go that
>route, look for fur in the fabric shops that has long, irregular length
>hair and as open as possible backing. You can get a plastic mesh at
>craft shops to give a start on the supporting zeppelin layer, it's
>called plastic canvas. Remember, whatever you use it should not generate
>noise from the wind or increase your handling noise problems.
>
>Suspension is fairly easy to build using a piece of PVC pipe and cutting
>most of it away. Leave some projections to attach rubber bands, o-rings,
>or thin bungee to suspend the mic.
>
>For the SASS I use Crown's wind cover, which is a combo lycra and foam
>cover that slips over the whole mic. For higher wind a fur cover is
>needed over that.
>
>Walt
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>
>
>
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