Shock mount, blimp and windscreen

Pettersen

Pettersen

Well-known member
I built this with things I had lying around, except the windscreen, which cost about 3$

The shock mount was very easy to build, all you need is a suitable cylinder, rubberbands and to peices of wood which is going to be the pistol grip. I just taped the cylinder to the grip with some electrician's tape.

skjerm17hn.jpg


The blimp is actually a fly net with foam glued onto it. When you're making this, you want to be sure you have enough glue, cause you'll need a lot of it. This was the hardest part and the most boring thing to make :)

skjerm20yp.jpg


The cylinder fits snuggly inside the blimp. I have to be a little careful when removing/adding the blimp; I don't want to rip it. It's not a professional blimp, obviously, so you have to be nice to it :)

skjerm39kh.jpg


The back end is attached with fishing hooks I modified a little. I also used a rubberband.

skjerm40og.jpg


Here's a closeup of the hooks and as you can see, the furry windscreen is being attached.

skjerm50wb.jpg


It's essential that you use fake fur for this application, unless there won't come any sound through.

Here an overview picture of the whole shebang with the maker holding it. That's me.

skjerm65gy.jpg


Here's where I got the idea ---> www.wiremonkey.com

It's really nice, and it almost blocks all the wind. Of course not everything, but what can you expect from a 3$ location sound package?


Comments and questions are welcome, as always. :)
 
kewl, but man, how much sound would that thing block? I could probably make a 3 buck cover but im sure as hell little to no sound would be picked up.
 
Nope, maybe the sound is a little muffled, but that's so little I really don't care. Or notice as for that matter.
 
Heh, that first picture i was thinking why is he showing a bag of laundry on the floor. I didnt see the wrist in the shot.
 
Hi Pettersen,

Thanks for the information.

I have a question for you.

The core seems blocking the sound to the microphone. Don't you plan to drill lots of holes on the core to allow free pass of the voice?

TIA

Regards
Leigh

Pettersen said:
The cylinder. It's just one of those things you get when buying cord.

http://www.rocketseals.com/Images/cord_stock_image(ok96o1).jpg

You know, just without the cord. It's just the core of the stock.
Click to expand...
 
The microphone I'm using, AKG 1000, doesn't let sound in from the sides (it's a shotgun), so that shouldn't be a problem. Here's a pic of the mike.

Even if I did drill holes in it, I'm afraid it would weaken the structure, and I don't want that to happen:)
 
Oh boy, you sure are in need of some basic audio studies...

Given the quality of some members here sombody might take you seriously...
 
Well, if you think it's a crappy sound-package, tell me what improvements I could make instead of just telling me how bad it looks. It might just be me, but last time I checked this was a community for helping and giving people tips, not just critisize without backing it up with reason.

I've spent a lot of time building this thing, and yes, I'm not an audio expert, but seriously I'd like a better explanation than just you telling me, and other people who have responded to this post, we are idiots for trying to save money. :furious3:
 
Well, I'm sure the sound enclosure you built would definitely help on windy days. However... I wouldn't use it if I didn't have to. The foam looks like it might muffle the sound. I't a great DIY solution, although definately not pro. What improvements would you make?
 
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I know how you feel Pettersen. I've asked simple questions before and gotten very rude responses in return. But what can you do though, right? I'm sure most of these people wouldn't speak to you like that if you were face to face with them; that is, unless they're complete A-holes. Anywho, JUST STICK WITH WHAT WORKS MAN!!!!
 
My microphone looks different than yours which has lots of holes. I just briefly read the patent of the manufacturer about the design of my microphone. It seems that manufacturer audio-tech very proud of their microphone's design. That is some of the reason I am using silk as windscreen. I have no knowledge about the theory of sound except that I can hear the sound :)

Regards
Leigh


Pettersen said:
The microphone I'm using, AKG 1000, doesn't let sound in from the sides (it's a shotgun), so that shouldn't be a problem. Here's a pic of the mike.

Even if I did drill holes in it, I'm afraid it would weaken the structure, and I don't want that to happen:)
Click to expand...
 
Hi Pettersen,

Can you give me some hint how to download your files? I am just bit lost while I went to the link.

TIA

Regards
Leigh

Pettersen said:
I have a small audio clip here, but since Putfile.com is under mainentance, I had to use rapidshare.

I say the same thing two times. The first time is with the blimp only, while the last is with the blimp and the windscreen.

http://rapidshare.de/files/15434186/Blimp.wav.html

Enjoy!
Click to expand...
 
good job on completing a DIY project. haha man rapidshare is quite an ironic name for how long it takes to get to the download on that site :P. too bad putfile was down.
 
The AKG C1000S is a great microphone, but it's a cardioid condenser, not a shotgun mic. There is a converter, the PPC 100, which will give it a more hyper-cardioid characteristic, but even then it's still not a true shotgun mic.

With all of that said, I'm sure that with careful placement of the mic, it's perfectly capable of recording great audio for film or video.
 
Okay... I've been having fun with these DIY threads as I honestly appreciate DIY efforts... but here's the real deal here:

Windscreens need to be acoustically transparent from all sides... the truth of the matter is that you don't want any kind of acoustic blockage on any side. If you don't notice a drastic change in the sound of that mic once it's inside of that tube then that mic can't be any good. The directionality of a shotgun microphone works by allowing sound to come into the mic through the open side ribs and down the front. Blocking the sound entry directly from the side will change the sound of the mic and in any normal case it should clearly sound like it's in a tube.

In keeping with the spirit of this idea what you need is a wire-mesh cage like this here:

7073813cms4552_l.jpg


That is a wire mesh pencil cup... but you can actually find TALL wire mesh tubes for other purposes. A good place to look is WalMart, Target, Office Depot, Staples, etc etc.

Next you need some acoustically transparent foam like this here:

item28.jpg


That is acoustically transparent foam which is available at most pro shops like Trew Audio, as well as Markertek, etc.

The cage structure of the metal basket will allow you to easily attach several heavy duty rubber bands in an X pattern at both ends... also be sure that the bottom of the cup you choose is ALSO MESH or else CUT IT OUT COMPLETELY.

Now you should be able to easily attach a handle of some sort (I have an idea of where you could get one that's already threaded) by just drilling or poking it into the wire mesh and using a wing nut to tighten it down...

Now you want to wrap that acoustic foam around the entire assembly ONLY ONCE with the size you already measured to perfectly cover this... you can use two more of those heavy duty rubber bands to secure the foam around the tube as well as a piece of foam covering both ends (that is just long enough to overlap and be held by the rubber bands... like about 2" extra to cover the ends and fold back just a bit.

Finally you can stretch a BLACK NYLON stocking over the entire assembly! Or use GRAY! You want KNEE HIGH stockings which will be in the women's department of the same store that sold you the wire mesh tube! They will only be about $.99 per pair and you can use one pulled from each end of the tube and pull them to join at the center... or wherever the handle is along the length.

Now you have something that while not totally professional... IS capable of transparent and effective support of the mic that is enclosed.

Ideally you want a mesh tube between 3-5" in diameter... obviously the larger diameter the more dead airspace and the more effective the screen will be from all directions.

Your cost for all of that will still be dirt cheap and the screen will be way more effective while being way more transparent and if you take your time it will look like a REAL professional part from even a short distance away.
 
MattinSTL was faster, we had a night here...

Yes, Pettersen, your mic is not a shotgun, only hypercardioid at best. Putting mic inside a solid tube brings on all kinds or reflections, standing waves etc which never make the sound better. The pickup pattern will change in strange ways, too. Also wrapping the contraption in too much of non- acoustic foam wrecks havoc with higher frequences.

What comes to the suspension it might work, even though pro systems take into consideration also the weight of the mic to find the right resonance frequency of the system to fight exectly those freqnces where handling noices are the worst. Thus just criscrossing a bunch of rubber bands is not necessarily the optimum solution. This part is not nearly as critical as the tube thing, though, as it is difficult to make the sound worse with rubber bands, but with the solid tube that is quaranteed.

I am certain that the contraption you have made blocks wind, but at what cost???? (sound quality).
 
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