I emailed Thomman asking if Rode’s deadcat windshield would fit my T-Bone SC1100, but they replied that they do not have any windshield for large diaphragm mics. All they have are for shotgun mics.
So any suggestions on how to make a DIY deadcat without getting in trouble with the animal rights association?
Another cage, even without fur, would reduce the wind noise if the mesh was fine.
If you are applying fabric directly to your mic what about trying towelling type sock ? , not quite fur, but readily available in different sizes, (I don’t know what shoe size. maybe junior/baby).
Never thought of putting a sock on the mic but it could work… As for the size I think it should be adult size, because my mic is large. I might try one of my thick hiking socks
I also bought a pair of ski socks yesterday that might be the right textile for the job. I’ll have to wait for the stormy weather to go away before trying it outdoors though… it’s been too much wind and rain for any outdoor activity in the last couple of days.
If it has a foam windshield maybe put the towelling sock over the foam, towelling side out.
The foam not only reduces the wind noise further, but keeps any loose sock (or fake fur) fibres getting in the mic.
The mic has two metallic meshes, but not foam. The outter mesh is wider and the inner mesh is thinner. See pics below:
I’ll post a pic of the sock later
Thomann’s reply was that they didn’t have any windshield for large diaphragm mics, so I assumed none of those would fit my mic…
That in particular states 40-50mm diameter mics. Mine is nearly 60mm diameter. Still not sure if that would fit… Anyways next time I have an opportunity to record outdoors I’ll try with the sock only and see if that’s enough I’ll keep you posted!
I once made a wind shield from a length of plastic pipe (about 8 cm diameter).
I cut large holes into the wall of the pipe so that it was mostly open with just enough plastic remaining to maintain the cylindrical shape.
The pipe diameter was about the right size to gaffa tape (Duck tape) the microphone spider (shock mount) to the end of the pipe with the microphone projecting into the tube. The tube was then covered with thin open cell foam - if I remember correctly this was packing from a hard drive that I had recently had delivered by post.
It worked pretty well provided that there was not much wind. The thinness (about 2 mm) and open cell structure of the foam absorbed very little sound, possibly just a tiny bit off the top end.
If the wind was stronger, you could hear the wind on the foam, though it continued to prevent that horrible boom sound of wind hitting the mic directly.
For outdoor work with little wind almost anything will do as long as it is essentially “transparent” to sound and stops the wind from hitting the microphone.
The benefit of “fur” is that it moves when wind hits it thus dispersing the energy rather than creating sound.
Avoid anything that is too thick or dense as it will absorb too much sound - in most cases making the sound dull.
The trouble with most fake fur (or real fur) is that the backing is too dense.
I’m trying to remember who around me made a custom wind shield for his own microphone… It has to be loose so as not to attenuate high frequencies. It can’t sound like you’re listening through a wool sock.
Oh, and it’s “Gaffer’s Tape” which has a cloth fabric backing. Duct Tape has a plastic backing and will melt around theatrical lighting.
I can’t go outside yet (raining again), but I did some tests inside with a sock, but the sound was too muffled. The sock was probably too thick anyways I need to find a thinner one
And either are suitable for this application, though as I have a copious supply of Gaffa (Gaffer, Gaffer’s, Gaff) tape, that’s what I used.
Drifting further off topic; long before becoming a brand name, the term “duck” referred to a light waterproof cotton canvas material. “Ducking” was a tight weave canvas (“cotton duck” or “duck cloth”), treated with wax or oil to make it repel water for use as tent material, hence “duck paulin”.
Drifting back again; blowing on it is probably not a very good test. The wind effect that comprehensively destroys a show is the low end roar of wind hitting the diaphragm. Even a very thin material (such as ladies stockings) should significantly reduce that effect, much in the way that a vocal pop shield works. It may be worth waiting for the weather to improve before continuing tests.
It would look gawd-awful ugly, but you could make a cage around the microphone from bent metal clothes hangers and then stretch two coverings of ladies’ panty hose over it. Effectively making an all-direction pop and blast filter. It should have near zero effect on the pattern or frequency response.
I heard from the production guy on the fourth floor.
“It was a loofah washcloth that you could put your hand inside. I just slipped the recorder inside. I
found that the loofah material was fairly acoustically transparent, though not as much so as a proper zeppelin fur which is what will do the best job. Your mileage may vary of course.”
For future reference, I’d like to mention Reinhardt windshields. They make custom ones of you ask (fur and foamies), I just had one made for a Sennheiser MD441. Google if you’re interested.