> The Rode Blimp works well, I just wish there were a less bulky
> alternative.
As I often say, the secret is in the size. Foam sleeves, "puffgags"
and hairy slipons are fine for indoor use, for breath noise reduction
and, with booms, for the air going past a moving boom, but for real
wind you need size.
We are nature recordists and part of outdoor nature is wind. Some
mails ago I advised putting money into a good blimp and cover. With an
"affordable" mic and a good blimp, you are still in business outdoors.
With the best expensive mic and a poor windshield, you are lost.
For mics in a fixed position you don't need a fancy mount, just soft
enough to cushion the mic from vibration. Rubber bands will do this.
Outside you need a cage to hold the real wind shield - a soft membrane
which is resistant to blowing through, but which lets throegh the
sound. Provided this doesn't flap around the cage supporting it, this
can be made of any sort of stiff netting from two inch to half inch
pitch. Like two kitchen sieves and a cylinder of garden netting which
softens with a heat gun. If you're handy, you may be able to form
round ends when they are hot. Just make sure the hole you put the mic
mount etc. through gets covered over.
The criterion for letting through HF is the thickness of the
windshield membrane which should be about a tenth of the highest
frequency wavelength you want to get through. Surprisingly, thin
blanket material is often OK, so try all sorts of cloth by putting it
over your head and listening.
If you want to look posh, spend out on a costly windshieled assembly
but if you just want good outdoor sound, experiment.
David
David Brinicombe
North Devon, UK
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
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