Best fur to use for mic windscreen?

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Active member
I am patiently waiting for my Zoom H1s to come in. In the meantime, I am looking for some furries and there are no products out yet, or if it has come out, they will likely be overpriced. So I have decided to make some myself.

I have been sourcing some furs, genuine and faux but most fabric stores do not carry these kinds of items. I figure if it's a DIY job, I would want to go with real fur. I did go to a tailor shop that specializes in fur, and spent the afternoon talking with the gentleman about all things, fur. I'll tell you right now, the real fur is so sweet. Very, very soft and so smooth. I can imagine it being the best material for windscreens because evolution has made these furs super quiet to help them hunt/protect from predators. I got to sample mink, fox, rabbit and chinchilla fur. The chinchilla was HEAVEN, but it was pretty expensive stuff.

All the fur has that leather backing, which I don't know if it will muffle the sound too much when placed on a H1. So, which type of fur is recommended for windscreens?

I'll post a DIY project when everything is sourced.


UPDATE:

Finally made the furries for my Zoom H1. Pictures below:

IMG_3113.jpg
 
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Its rare, and difficult to acquire, but if you manage to get some Wolverine fur, i HIGHLY recommend it.

You WILL be the most badass gaffer on set guaranteed. (id also keep it in a special case with an audio trigger that nakes a SNNNCKT!!! sound, when you open it)

It automatically increases your stealth, and regernative abilities.

jon!
 
Well, since it's called a dead cat then it stands to reason... Just kidding, don't harm any kitties. :cry:

I went to a surplus fabric store and bought enough to go into business making them for $8. Made one for my Zoom H4, H4n, and have a lifetime (or 3) supply left. You want long hair faux fur which will have some elasticity to it. The backing on real fur will muffle your audio.

Good luck!
 
I am interested as well as I also have an H1 on the way. Plus I would like to make a stock on mini "dead cat" for the built-in mic on my camera.

I believe that most of the products out there use a synthetic fur on a fabric backing. As for using real fur I would think that the leather part would muffle the sound.
 
The length of the strands of the fur play a big part as well. When they're brushed out so they're not matted they break up the swirls of the wind.

Suggest you go to a sound shop and check out the brands. Note the type of fabric the fur is attached to, it's not thick and not leather.

I know Rode went to great trouble testing fur for their Blimp. They supply a comb to brush it out which you should do every time you take it out.
Cheers.
 
Real fur is not suitable.

Rycote makes their windshield with a polyester sleeve inside of it, as well Rycote makes their wind jammer with polyester fur, polyester batting between the fur and inside sleeve is made out of polyester/cotton/spandex blend.
Rycote makes the sock out of a polyester/cotton (used for mild wind not as furry as the wind jammer)

I believe your application does not require any fur whatsoever, I would recommend a foam screen replacement available at music stores.

Removing wind in the field can be as much as a four part (maybe more) system,

1) Narrow shotgun condenser with good off axis rejection
2) Windshield/Zepplin
3) Windjammer/wind sock
4) Low cut filter on mixer/recorder
 
I got my hands on some rabbit fur (leathery backing) and tried it with the Zoom H1. Indeed, it muffles the sound more than the dead cat I have with my H4n. I think real fur (or the leathery back) is out as far as a material for windscreens.

I will say, the Zoom H1 is very prone to wind noise, and I think any type of windscreen, the hairier the better, is an absolute must for the recorder. Looks like I'm back at square one.
 
Fur-style windscreens are uniformly based on man-made fabric. They depend on the acoustic transparency of the backing fabric. The leather backing from real animal skins is completely unsuitable for any application that depends on acoustic transmission.
 
I finally found faux fur at fourth fabric store. Now, I can create my little masterpieces. The project itself took about an hour, but about three hours to find all the materials, but when I found this particular fabric store, all the materials were available in one place.

Here are the materials and tools needed:

IMG_3115.jpg


I won't go into the details of how I actually sewed the pieces together, as it is pretty straightforward, but I did try to figure out the best way to make it with the least amount of hand sewing possible. If I had a sewing machine that can suture, the end product would look so much nicer.


For the full-body furry windscreen:

1. faux fur (I bought it from fabric bolts, 30cm)
2. white loft batting
3. soft vinyl mesh
4. velcro strips
5. contact cement

Scissors, needle and thread are required for both projects.

I first started on the full-body furry, because in my tests with the H1, the plastic body picks up wind noise very easily. In medium to high wind situations, I think a fully enclosed windscreen for the entire body is essential. To start, I needed a way to enclose the H1 in the fur, yet have an easy way to mount it and access the display and record button. I ended up with this slipper-like design.


IMG_3102.jpg

This sheet is comprised of three layers: Faux fur > batting > nylon mesh. I hand sewed them together into one sheet. This was painful. I then folded one end enough to cover the mic capsule (hood), and sewed the ends. Sew it inside out so the seams do not show when you turn it outside in. For the bottom section running along the edges, I contact cemented them, so that when the bottom flap is raised to cover the body of the H1, there is no gap on the sides. I cut a hole through the fabric where the tripod mount would sit once the unit is inside.


IMG_3110.jpg

Here is what it looks like with the H1 inside the furry and mounted to the clip adapter. I used velcro to secure the flap with the body. The remainder of the flap neatly tucks inside the hood.


IMG_3111.jpg

Fully closed, it's wind-tight. When I need to see the LCD screen to check levels and start recording, I can open up the flap halfway (the velcro keeps it from flapping fully open during recording) and tuck it in again with minimum effort and handling noise.


Cost of Materials:

The full body windscreen furry: $0.75
- faux fur 50 cents, batting 10 cents, mesh 5 cents, velcro 10 cents.



For the mic furry:

1. faux fur
2. elastic cord
3. plastic cord locks

This project was very easy, but the sewing portion was painstaking, especially creating the loops for the elastic cord. Anyhow, the design is basically straightforward; you take a rectangular piece of fabric measured to the mic (sorry I don't have the exact dimensions). Fold it in half with the fur touching itself. Sewing the sides halfway down. Turn it inside out so that the seams are on the inside. For the bottom, fold it slightly, and start the long process of sewing the loops that you need to string it with the elastic cord. Doing the ends first would probably have been easier. :huh: Add the cord lock, tie the ends. I used a double knot, but there is a special knot that does a better job and creates a better looking knot. You will have to figure this one out yourself. With that done, slip the H1 into it, draw the elastic and it's snug as a bear!


IMG_3107.jpg

Here is what it looks like fully assembled on the H1. Neato!



Cost of Materials:

The mic furry: $1.19
- faux fur 30 cents, elastic cord 10 cents, cord lock 79 cents


I have enough fur to make an additional 20 windscreens. (when buying fur, most fabric stores have a minimum length they cut to from the bolt, it was 20cm in my case). I guess I have enough material to last me a lifetime. :tongue:
 
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