Good Windscreen Material

swiperstopswiping

swiperstopswiping

Well-known member
I am in need of a really good "wind-cutting" material for a windscreen. I am having a hard time finding the actual material. I went to Michael's, but they only had furry yarn and crap like that. I was wondering if anyone here actually knew a really good material to use.
 
actually, i was just at the METV television station today and they have a windscreen just like you are talking about, and it literally is just fake fur sewn up in to the shape of a round cylinder, with one end cut with a slit. kinda like a cap to slide your mic through. I imagine they sell fake animal fur at a nearby fabric store.
 
Faux fur may be harder to find than one might think. For the amount you need for a mic, it's easy and cheap to go to a thrift shop (Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc.) and buy a stuffed animal for $2-$3, then take the "pelt." They usually have some long-haired choices. I don't vouch for the stuff working, but if it does, I'd bet the long hair is better than the short fuzzy kind. P.S. Don't let kids see you.
 
So a fake stuffed animal material is the recommended material? I see where you two are going with that, as it is the type of material I am looking for. However, i am worried that sound waves will not be able to pass through stuffed animal fur because of the lining which the fur is attached. Any comments about this?
 
Pelt
  1. The skin of an animal with the fur or hair still on it.
  2. A stripped animal skin ready for tanning.
Not exactly recommending it as a windscreen, because I haven't tried it. I'm recommending the stuffed animals as an alternative source of the furry material Forrest Schultz was describing.
 
At least around here you just go to a shop selling fabrics & yarns for clothes, drapes etc and head to scraps bin. Nice pieces of fake fur & long hair fleece at different sizes, cost about $2 a piece max.

Real (blue fox) pelt would be flashy, but I am afraid the skin would block higher frequences... Still a normal fox pelt is cheaper than a Rycote Windjammer... No kidding.
 
The whole idea of the fur windshield is that it has to be transparent to sound waves. So any skin will not work. it has to be fake fur. The base material should not be too dense, Test by looking through it on a strong light source, You need to see
small holes. Or cover your ears with it, and listen to the ambient noise, should be the same as without it.

So why the hairs ? why not just a thick material? and why Rycote are supplying them with a hair brush ? (This is a major clue!) Any ideas?

Danny.
 
danny said:
So why the hairs ? why not just a thick material? and why Rycote are supplying them with a hair brush ? (This is a major clue!) Any ideas?

Danny.
Click to expand...

Why the hairs? The hairs are necessary in cutting the wind. Without the hairs to cut the wind, air could still quickly blow through some of those "holes" in the material causing that annoying whispy sound. Thick material on the other hand could block not only all the wind, but also soundwaves that exist mainly in the treble (of someone's voice).

I am not sure why rycote would supply anyone with a hair brush. The only thing that i could think of that may be a possibility is if the rycote windscreen has been set on the ground, it is possible that the fur/hair would then be matted down on the device, making it work less efficiently than it would had the furs been combed upright. Or maybe the people from rycote are concerned with styling issues.
 
By adding a 50 cent brush to the 3 dollar fur thing they can sell the set for $100, that's why...
 
Forrest Schultz said:
actually, i was just at the METV television station today and they have a windscreen just like you are talking about, and it literally is just fake fur sewn up in to the shape of a round cylinder, with one end cut with a slit. kinda like a cap to slide your mic through. I imagine they sell fake animal fur at a nearby fabric store.
Click to expand...

It really does...It looks like someone skinned a
gray lookin woodland creature and put a zipper on it.
 
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