Windscreens

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:00 am

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap but decent quality wind screens for Schoeps and similarly sized mics?

I'm doing several recordings of college marching bands in the coming season and the standard foams that come with Schoeps aren't great at blocking wind (not to mention, my cat somehow manages to steal mine and destroy them everytime she can!)

I'm fine with staying with the Schoeps brand, but the ones that protect against wind cost upwards of $90! (For FOAM!!!!)

Cheers -

J.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 3:42 pm

Forget foam- get a Zeplin- Rycote or other similar one. If you are outside, that will be by far your best bet.

You can certainly use those really big thick foam ones as well, but they are really expensive for what you get. The ones that are 2-3 inches thick work quite well, but in the end, not as well as a softie. Oh yeah, they'll cost a lot more than $100 too. Sorry. No cheap way out of this one.

I'd also suggest using Omnis as well- not only for the extended low end, but also because they will be much more forgiving on wind noise.

--Ben

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 4:56 pm

You have probable seen them already, but Baby Ball Gags are the only ones I have used that actually work.
http://www.mvsvideo.co.uk/equipment_rycotebabyballgag.htm

Gunnar

Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:49 am

See

http://www.studio1productions.com/mic_muff.htm

http://www.lightwavesystems.com/products/miniscreen/default.asp

http://www.olsenaudio.com/general.html

http://www.markertek.com/ProdList.asp?cat=AUDIOEQUIP&subcat=MICACCESSR&prodClass=WNDSCREENS&search=0&off=0

http://dvshop.ca/audio/windsock.html

http://www.thewindcutter.com/

http://www.sweetwater.com/c377--Windscreens

and

http://is.dal.cawww.acoustics.org/press/136th/mshust.htm

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 7:43 am

Thanks for all the links guys!

I'm hesitant to use solutions that are so expensive since so little of my business consists of outdoor work. However, I've been eyeballing some rycote stuff anyway.

I'm very interested in some of the stuff you put up Tom. It looks affordable and well-made.

Re: omnis -

I'll definitely be using a few omnis (actually I've found that Schoeps and Gefell omnis are so minimally affected by wind that it's capable to use them even in moderate winds without any significant issue.)

However, this will be in a VERY large football stadium. While omnis will definitely work, too many omnis will make the sound very diffused. I'm planning on using an overhead pair (ORTF) of directionals as well as a directional pair to spot the drum line and one last directional mic to mic the bass cabinet. Beyond that, it will definitely be omnis.

The good news is that the football stadium will shield much of the wind. However, if it's aggressive wind, the wind tunnel effect can exaggerate the problem.

Thanks for the tips guys!

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