There are 7 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1.1. Re: Weatherproofing Mics?
From: Richard Youell
2a. quick question
From: Jonas Gruska
2b. Re: quick question
From: madl74
2c. Re: quick question
From: Dan Dugan
3a. Re: Field recording t-shirt
From: mrqwa
4a. Cable and Windscreen for AT822?
From: Jim Mooney
4b. Re: Cable and Windscreen for AT822?
From: oatcruncher
Messages
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1.1. Re: Weatherproofing Mics?
Posted by: "Richard Youell" ryouell
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 8:33 am ((PDT))
As Dan points out the ‘hogs hair’ filter material is very effective at removing
the loud plop of a raindrop. It is however, not waterproof – so it needs a
backing of something to stop the water filtering through to the windshield or
microphone. I find novelty ‘Umbrella Hats’ very useful for this purpose. They
are cheap, pack-up small and are very light. They fit perfectly on binaural
dummy heads and can be easily modified to fit a Rycote or Rode blimp.
See for example
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOLDABLE-NOVELTY-UMBRELLA-SUN-HAT-GOLF-FISHING-CAMPING-FANCY-DRESS-MULTICOLOUR-/181748953909?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3
<http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOLDABLE-NOVELTY-UMBRELLA-SUN-HAT-GOLF-FISHING-CAMPING-FANCY-DRESS-MULTICOLOUR-/181748953909?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a5114f335>
&hash=item2a5114f335
In the UK ‘hogs hair’ filters can be most easily obtained as filter material
for fish tank pumps. Larger sections can be obtained from The Foam Shop who
call it Reticulated Foam -
http://www.thefoamshop.co.uk/category/193/RETICULATED--FOAM
I find the 10ppi reticulated foam which is about an inch thick to be very
effective at dampening the noise of raindrops.
Richard
From:
Sent: 24 July 2015 23:20
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Weatherproofing Mics?
I've found that faux fur will keep one night of rain away from my WL183
electrets. The problem for me has been the thudding that drops on the fur make.
Exactly my experience. A good solution is a rainshield made of “hogs hair” air
conditioning filter material. That stops the plops.
-Dan
Messages in this topic (44)
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2a. quick question
Posted by: "Jonas Gruska" mrqwa
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 11:41 am ((PDT))
Hello everyone,
finally have some money to invest in some high-end mics for "special
moments" :)
Since low-noise and high reliability are my biggest concern, I came to
comparing Audiotechnica AT-4022 vs. Sennheiser MKH 8020.
Based on experience of other field recordists AT-4022 seems to be
slightly less noisy and MKH 8020 has nicer sound.
Also, I heard about some issues with 8020 breaking, so that is a bit
scary - to have a mics worth 2.4k euros, which cannot be trusted.
Anyone has any input on the matter?
Thank you,
Jonas
✺ ✺ ✺
http://jonasgru.sk
Messages in this topic (3)
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2b. Re: quick question
Posted by: madl74
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 7:39 pm ((PDT))
> finally have some money to invest in some high-end mics for "special
> moments" :)
> Since low-noise and high reliability are my biggest concern, I came to
> comparing Audiotechnica AT-4022 vs. Sennheiser MKH 8020.
Jonas,
Choosing mics is never a quick question. :-)
My own choice still is one or two MKH 416's. I've got several used ones and
for stereo you can afford to buy three and have one spare rather than pay
full price for one new one.
Why are you looking at omnis? You can of course add a fig-8 for stereo but
you will have full sensitivity for noise from every angle, including up and
down (ground reflections). This also applies if you add a fig-8 for stereo -
and stereo is a much more attractive option with wildlife.
The next best is a cardioid which can be used in pairs for a wide but good
clean stereo image with reduced sensitivity from the sky and the rear which
is important for nature recording. Unless of course if you record far from
aircraft routes and wind in trees above you.
For mono recording, a cardioid will give better discrimination and a quieter
natural background, but nowhere as good as a 416 or a similar gunmic.
With any quality mic, it takes a reasonably quiet natural background level
to hear the mic noise. I'm not saying noise isn't important, just
questioning whether it is worth an extra zero on the cost for the odd dB or
so.
If you use a parabola, this give a substantial lift in level so mic noise is
much less of a problem. In this case a cardioid facing inwards gives the
cleanest spectrum, but the overall frequency response is not flat, so a half
decent mic should be fine rather than spending three zeroes.
David Brinicombe
Messages in this topic (3)
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2c. Re: quick question
Posted by: "Dan Dugan" dandugan_1999
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 10:05 pm ((PDT))
> finally have some money to invest in some high-end mics for "special moments"
> :)
> Since low-noise and high reliability are my biggest concern, I came to
> comparing Audiotechnica AT-4022 vs. Sennheiser MKH 8020.
These are both excellent mics, but only one is “high end.” I’d say the 4022s
are best buys for economy, and the 8020s a serious investment that you won’t
regret.
I think the 8020s will hold up better after long-term exposure to humidity; my
3032s (same capsule) started having episodes of pops after a couple of years
being left out overnight on expeditions. I’m keeping them with dessicant now
but since I use them for backup I don’t know if that has solved it.
Since you’ve mentioned omni mics I’m assuming you want to record soundscapes
rather than catch individual species.
Regarding omnis v. directional mics, there are many “right” ways to do it. It’s
a matter of style. Spaced omnis, Jecklin disk, SASS, ORTF, MS, Soundfield…all
make beautiful nature recordings.
In motion picture and television production, you’ve go to get it whatever the
conditions. Directionality is essential for that craft. I’m in the omni camp
myself; it doesn’t matter to me whether the jet is lower thanks to a
directional mic, it’s still there. I document the anthropophony, and edit out
the clean parts for aesthetic productions.
> Based on experience of other field recordists AT-4022 seems to be slightly
> less noisy and MKH 8020 has nicer sound.
> Also, I heard about some issues with 8020 breaking, so that is a bit scary -
> to have a mics worth 2.4k euros, which cannot be trusted.
> Anyone has any input on the matter?
There were issues with manufacturing defects in MKH 8020s. I bought four, and
one developed low level noises. In early 2014 Sennheiser hadn’t trained the US
service shop in how to do the fix, so they all had to go back to Germany for
factory rework. Since their return March 2014 they have been perfect.
A bonus of the 8020s is they go up to 50K; with higher sample rates you can
catch wildlife that’s making sounds up there.
> Thank you,
>
> Jonas
You’re welcome, Dan
Messages in this topic (3)
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3a. Re: Field recording t-shirt
Posted by: mrqwa
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 12:38 pm ((PDT))
Thank you for sharing. I am actually the guy who runs the campaign. I really
like how it turned out :) Jonas
Messages in this topic (2)
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4a. Cable and Windscreen for AT822?
Posted by: "Jim Mooney" jmooney776
Date: Mon Aug 3, 2015 5:51 pm ((PDT))
Hello All,
Been lurking for a bit and enjoying all the discussions. I recently acquired a
AT822 at a great price but it does not come with a cable or windscreen. I
would really appreciate any recommendations for a cable to interface it to my
Olympus LS-10 and a decent windscreen for it as well.
I’m new to field recording and just getting the hang of things and want to
record mostly ambient sounds (ocean, woodlands, etc) to capture a sense of the
place I’m in.
Thank you all in advance for your help!
Best,
Jim
Messages in this topic (2)
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4b. Re: Cable and Windscreen for AT822?
Posted by: oatcruncher
Date: Tue Aug 4, 2015 12:14 am ((PDT))
Hi Jim,
I have the later version AT8022 which I bought secondhand, also without cable.
I can't remember the reason why; it might have been cost or unavailability, but
I ended up making my own cable. I can only say that if I was in the same
situation today I'd find a professional cable maker and pay him to do it! I
don't know if you're in the UK or States, if you're in the States you might
find it easier to buy an already made up cable, but here in the UK I seem to
recall it was a problem.
I was fortunate that my unit came complete with original wind hairy in new
condition and it works very well.
I've just realised I didn't say that I also bought mine to use with my LS-10.
I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but I wish you good luck with your
recording
Cheers
Max
Messages in this topic (2)
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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