From: Ken Durling <>
> Exactly what I'm doing. I was going to check out the fake fur selection at
> a local esoteric fabric store today. I'm curious what commonly available
> materials you home-brewers use for the underlying hard skin. (Did Walt
> just mention something? - dang, I erased the email by accident , along
> with his comments on X-Y and M-S, Walt would you mind resending? Soo-r-rry
> ) The commercial zeps look like they're made from some kind of perforated
> metal or plastic, although I've yet to handle one. Would window screening
> work? Thinking of a light wood or wire frame to support it. Just as a
> starting point.
The commercial zeps come in two types as far as what I have, Rycote and
Sennheiser differ. And each has varied over the years. Comments below
are primarily on their current offerings.
Rycote zeps are built on a supporting structure of a slotted rail with
supporting plastic rings at the ends and maybe in the middle in longer
ones. On this is glued a hybrid mesh. This consists of a supporting
heavier mesh of about 4 openings/inch. This mesh is molded into a form
that resembles the original woven mesh that was used, but it's entirely
thermoplastic. I have a older zep in which that mesh is actually painted
cotton mesh, very, very similar to the latchhook mesh available in craft
stores for making rugs. Glued to the large mesh is a lining fabric. This
is a woven, thin fabric that has a fuzzy side out and a smooth side in.
It's glued on the inside of the large mesh in the zep. Rycote makes a
big deal about their special glue process, but it looks a lot like it
may simply be rolled into the large mesh with heat using a special
roller. It is attached before molding the ends. The slotted rail in the
zep matches the rail of the suspension, the two slip together in a non
rattling fashion, this is how you get the mic in and out quickly. One of
the hemispherical end caps is removable to do this, the other end is
glued on. If buying used zeps, the end caps are the most vulnerable.
I've spent hours carefully welding the mesh back together on some I
have. The other damage you will find is that the thermoplastic used in
the support rings is moderately brittle. I've had to plastic weld a few
of those too.
Sennheiser's zeps differ primarily in the lining material of the zep and
where it's located. They place their lining on the outside of the large
mesh, and it's a very fine, but heavy duty plastic screening. Their
slotted rails and rings are also heavier duty than Rycote's. And the
entire package is much more solid. I've not noticed any difference in
sound from the two brands. The Sennheiser and Rycote differ as to the
sound you get off the zeps in a wind when it's time to get fur on.
Sennheiser tends to use a much longer fur, that does not tend to mat as
bad a Rycote's can. A fur cover from both tends to come with a brush to
keep it untangled, more necessary with Rycote's.
As far a substitute material. I doubt that window screening would be a
good support material. Some folks have used hardware cloth. I've also
seen windscreens that were welded aluminum rod covered with fabric. No
supporting mesh, the fabric usually panty hose.
Craft shops carry a material called plastic canvas. It's used as a base
for needlepoint. It's available in sheets, and a couple molded shapes of
interest. The largest mesh you can commonly find is 5/inch, though I
have occasionally seen some 4/inch. It is a thermoplastic, resembles
nylon, but probably is something else. Can be molded if heated a bit
above the boiling point of water. I built a experimental two piece mold
and experimented and managed to mold the end hemispheres, but it's tricky.
A alternative is to go to the older way the commercial folks did it.
That's to go to the craft shop and look for latchhook mesh. Usually
available in rolls of material. This is cotton mesh, has a sizing
coating to keep it stiff. If soaked in water it's easily molded to
shape, and will hold the shape when it dries. It can then be coated with
paint to form a mesh that's very much like the commercial mesh. While
the paint is wet you should be able to attach the lining, though I've
not tried that yet.
The support rings could be made from sections of PVC tubing. Making a
locking removable end should be interesting. It would be easy to make
the slotted support rail and it's matching suspension rail on a milling
machine. Probably possible, but not as easy using other tools.
Sennheiser uses cam locks to lock the two together. Rycote has a rubber
insert and clamp bolts.
The fur cover is just a matter of sewing. Some commercial fur covers,
including more recent Rycote are lined with nylon taffeta. No big deal
if you know your way around a sewing machine. Could even be sewn by
hand. Usually there is a zipper or two, and some snaps to hold it all
together on the zep.
Choosing fur: I look for fur that has a elastic knit backing. None of it
stretches much, but a little helps to keep it tight and not flapping. I
choose fur that's of irregular length, long as I can find, has no fine
filler, and a backing thin enough that I can see light through it. You
can try putting it up to your ear, but I've not found that to be too
useful in a fabric store.
Suspension: this is part of a windscreen, and part of it's support
structure. The commercial setup has plastic clips on the mics, these
have several eyes that one can slip thin o-rings into. The o-rings are
supported by a ring that's slightly smaller than the inside of the zep.
Rycote uses a closed ring in their modular system, the o-rings are
attached with tiny plastic pins and washers to holes in the ring. The
ring itself is attached with screws to the rail, which has many
locations along it for ring attachment. A rubber H shaped piece is
between that flat rail and the outside handle support. This is slipped
into the groove of the zep to assemble. And then thumbscrews on the
outside lock the handle to the rail and zep. The rubber H can be
annoying to get on sometimes, with the legs of the H rolling into the
groove or whatever.
Sennheiser has a simpler system. Same inner mic clip design (in fact I
use Rycote clips on my Sennheiser setups). The ring is heavier and open
on the top. The o-rings are not attached with little pieces, but just
slip into slots in the ring. Note because it's open on the top there is
enough room in the mono setup to fit a M/S setup. The ring bolts to the
plastic, H shaped rail, again several positions along the rail. The rail
slips into the slot of the zep, and the zep is locked in place by two
cam locks. The rail also has the handle attachment molded. All these
parts are robust.
Rycote uses silicon o-rings. These are available from other sources for
far less than Rycote charges. Sennheiser is using the regular black
rubber o-rings. I am gradually switching everything to the silicon,
bought from http://www.allorings.com/
That's also where I get silicon o-rings for the modified SASS. I like
the silicon as they don't tend to stick to things like the rubber can,
and they stand up to weather better. However, they are not as resistant
to nicks and cuts, so have to be used with care.
My M/S page has photos of some commercial setups. Please note these are
not bought off the shelf things, every one was assembled from various
parts bought off ebay, and a few parts bought new. (try machining up a
equivalent to a Rycote mic clip some day)
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html
I'm not sure what comments on XY and M/S you refer to. I did state you
could not do a M/S with a cardioid and a omni, you really need a figure
8 mic or it's equivalent. And pointed out that commercial windscreening
won't work for XY, except for some small mics. If I've not covered your
question, ask. I believe I also mentioned the modified SASS, pictures,
etc here:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_mod_sass.html
Walt
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