I also agree with John,
Cardioid mics (i.e. NT1a) are much more prone to wind noise than omnis, so =
as discussed
already go for some small electret omnis like WL-183s. Then either spend so=
me time making
a good windshield or buy a Rycote. 30mph with higher gusts is going to be a=
real
challenge. It has also been said that you need an air gap between the mics =
and the
windshield, this is very important don't be tempted to use foam windshields=
and add a
layer of fur on top of that, it just won't work, been there got the t-shirt=
.
To be honest unless you are good at DIY, you should be looking at spending =
more money on
the windshields than the mics, at least for your application anyway. DIY ri=
gs are always
heavier and larger than a commercial version like a Rycote. So if you inten=
d to hike to
your recording spot, bear the weight and size in mind, and remember you wil=
l also need a
tripod or other stand, the recorder, cable, spares, batteries, food & drink=
etc, it all
adds up.
I am passing on some hard learned tips here having gone down the DIY route =
for a couple of
years, only to realise that most of the rigs I have made are too large, hea=
vy, or don't
perform in wind like I hoped they would. So after spending ages on making D=
IY windshields,
making every increasing smaller and lighter versions (after realising that =
I can't carry
them very far), I ended up buying a Rycote windshield and I wish I had done=
that in the
first place and saved myself lots of money and more importantly time and sp=
oiled
recordings.
There are cheaper windshields about, try ebay, there are some that come fro=
m India, I have
one and to be honest for the money they aren't bad. I can't vouch for 30mph=
winds though.
Regards,
Mike
>Hi Bruce and Rob
>
>Honesty, with my current windscreen design for my NT1A rig, recording in a=
ny breeze higher than 7 mph would likely produce excessive wind rumble. Thi=
s may be a consequence of my choice of windscreen fabric. I can often reco=
rd sounds of stronger winds as long as they somehow miss my mics. Topograp=
hy and ground cover often buffer the wind to manageable levels at microphon=
e level. One solution is to find a spot where you can hear that wind withou=
t feeling that wind. That could be very challenging for an open coastline =
setting, and especially with the gale force winds that Bruce is interested =
in recording. Perhaps building a larger wind blind to record from within w=
ould help.
>
>My recording of wind in the desert sage I made last year by placing WL-183=
s a few feet apart on the ground below a sage brush worked well for the win=
d, though I'm not sure this approach would sound good for surf also.
>http://www.rockscallop.org/ear/jh-080425-1700_sage-wind.mp3
>
>John Hartog
>
>
>--- In Rob Danielson <> wrote:
>>
>> At 8:00 PM +0000 6/29/09, brucethehoon wrote:
>> >Thank you so much for your reply. The number of private email
>> >replies I got rather overwhelmed me and as such I didn't get back to
>> >the group in my usual speedy manner.
>> >
>> >To update, I have purchased the PCM-D50, realizing that I really
>> >don't care how much this costs, but ruggedness is a factor.
>> >
>> >That said, as requested below, my first and most important use will
>> >be to record one hour or more of waves / surf at a california beach
>> >with 30mph winds gusting to 50mph.
>> >
>> >I will have the unit on a sand compatible tripod (legs buried) and
>> >would like to record the EXPERIENCE of being there. While not
>> >necessarily suggesting a binaural setup, I would like to play it
>> >back later and be fairly able to close my eyes and be there again.
>> >
>> >If I was able to pack the whole setup (excluding tripod) into an
>> >average sized backback, that would be "portable" for me.
>> >
>> >Spending ANOTHER $300-500 on microphones seems reasonable to me. I
>> >can appreciate that it might seem absurd to drop so much in advance,
>> >but I would rather take the risk of spending too much money than
>> >take the risk of getting a lower quality recording during a once in
>> >a lifetime trip.
>> >
>> >I am using Shure E5C's as my listening method, so I suppose anything
>> >they can't play, I don't care about, when it comes to quality :)
>> >
>>
>> Hi Bruce--
>> In the $300-$500/pair price range, the rigs that John Hartog and
>> variations others have made for Rode NT1-A's have produced striking
>> recordings and these ultra low-noise mics provide the ability to
>> record very quiet locations too.
>> http://www.rockscallop.org/how/barrier10.html Any condenser mic will
>> require phantom powering which the PCM-D50 doesn't have. The cheapest
>> way to provide phantom powering (with no compromise in quality) is
>> with a portable phantom power supply like an Art Phantom II or Rolls
>> PB224.
>>
>> For dealing with steady winds that strong, Rich Peet has some designs
>> made with "Shop Vac" filters that work very well. [Contact him
>> directly at If you go with a traditional
>> zeppelin approach, I'd favor a larger than usual "basket" size with
>> 3-4" of dead air space around the capsules, an inner liner made of
>> taut panty hose stocking and an outer layer of long pile fake fur (2"
>> or longer). Here are some NT1-A ideas:
>> http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/Rode_NT1-A_Mics/NT1-A_index.htm
>>
>> Another thought. Surf and wind are quite loud so you can get by with
>> small electret mics and put some energy into making wind protection
>> for them. The tiny Panasonic WM-61A's mics are very accurate in terms
>> of tonal response and can be purchased in a variety of packages well
>> under $100 a pair:
>> http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-reports/PanasonicWM-61A_OtherBinauralRigs=
/docs/CompareCommercialLavs_1_2009.doc
>> The popular Shure WL-183's are larger and quieter. You'll find lots
>> of discussion about the WL-183's in the list archive. These electret
>> mics will produce considerable "hiss" if used in quiet locations
>> where the record level is turned up high but they are fine in loud
>> locations. Rob D.
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>
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