Micover Review

ripupthehwy

ripupthehwy

Well-known member
I recently got hold of one of the new inexpensive windscreens out today. Micover, from www.micover.com.

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I have an old Sennheiser Shotgun mic Model MF 80 I will be using it on.

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My initial tests using the mic plugged into my HVX200 camera, i did NOT notice any perceptible drop in audio or tone.

Here's a video cllip of me placing the mic in front of a fan. Without and then with the MICOVER:

http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/9387/1213032633.wmv

[MEDIA]http://www.dvxuser6.com/uploaded/9387/1213032633.wmv[/MEDIA]


I will find out alot more about the perfomance of the MICOVER in weeks to come. I will begin shooting a youth drama series for local television, mostly outdoors. I am excited to see how the MICOVER will perform. I'll update the thread when we begin shooting, but so far I would say that for the money (low price), MICOVER is definately and good buy.

cheers.

Rich Nation
ripupthehwy
 
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That's very cool of you to take the time and show everybody a practical test. Nice job!

Relative to other products out there I've always thought that mic windscreens are horribly overpriced. We've talked about it a lot in the past... so I'm glad to see that somebody heard us.

I don't know the exact REAL construction of a Rycote Softie, but I posted way back that the center appears to be the open-celled foam that's used as filter media in an outdoor pond system... you can even get that media in a cylinder... so you ram a mic through it, add a "plunger boot" to the end, and then wrap fur around it. How can that be $130?

I hope this thing is acceptable in a professional environment... I'm sure I'll be buying one just to find out how it compares with a regular Softie.

The cheap blimps (I think they were coming from Australia?)... are something I'm even more intrigued by... for any DIY guys or companies that want to tackle that one... the outer mesh appears to be the same thing as plastic netting (they sell this in sheets or rolls for various uses) and then all you need is a half ball for each end. The mesh is heat-fused to the nylon under skin... so if you put a thin "sock" over your form, then use heat to soften the plastic... it will fuse to the sock. K-Tek looked at the easier approach for the balled ends by making those half balls of acoustic foam.

The most effective windscreens use actual dead-air spaces, like in a blimp, but for higher winds (that you'll quickly encounter outside, even on what seem to be fairly calm days) you have to add the fur.

One thing I do find funny is how I was doing a bunch of DIY stuff a while back and getting flack for "copying" another company's product... and now the boards are filled with knock-off stuff that's embraced... I'm glad that is the trend though... for years we've been held hostage to the idea that this is a low volume niche market... and therefore we get bunged on every tiny item.
 
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I don't know the exact REAL construction of a Rycote Softie, but I posted way back that the center appears to be the open-celled foam that's used as filter media in an outdoor pond system... you can even get that media in a cylinder... so you ram a mic through it, add a "plunger boot" to the end, and then wrap fur around it. How can that be $130?
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I hear ya. Same as these plastic mattboxes that sell for anywhere from $900 - $3000. I guess you're paying for all their reasearch and product development. ha ha.

Coming from the broadcast tv world I learned that most things for them are priced high because frankly, big tv networks can afford them. Beta SP machines that we used cost $50,000, right up til the last one Sony made.
 
I promise that I will get that Rycote vs Micover comparison in the other thread done soon.

But in the meantime I ordered a 5cm Micover Puffin to try on my Oktava MK 012. I was unsure since the site doesn't specifically say that the 5cm fits the Oktava (in fact it doesn't list the Oktava at all, which will hopefully change given the popularity of the mic as a great alternative to more expensive hyper/multi cap microphones). But I figure the 5cm was a safe bet, and it fits perfectly. As I mentioned in the other thread, the Puffin seems to rely more heavily on the open celled mesh inside to grip the mic, so if there is any variance in that tolerance, it might not fit as well. Especially since, unlike many mics, the Oktava cap has a larger diameter than the barrel of the mic. But if it is constant through out their production of the Puffin, there should be no worries.

At any rate, given the sensitivity of the Oktava, the Puffin works very well. I took it outside (mild-moderate winds today) and heard no wind noise. Those of you familiar with the Oktava know that it is virtually unusable outside on even a calm day without wind protection. When I did a quick comparison between the wind noise between my AT-897 and the Oktava (both with a Puffin), the AT had less wind noise, but that is the nature of the mic, not the wind screen.

I know a lot of people use a BBG on the Oktava, (although I know Oleg thinks the BBG is not the best choice), so I would be interested in a side by side of those if anybody is up for it.

All in all, I am really liking what this company is doing. They also sent me a home-made Thank-You card, which was pretty nice.
 
I just spent a week up in the mountains shooting a bunch of footage for a non-profit camp. We did quite a few shots outside, using the micover on an Oktava MK-012 as an on-camera mic. The micover performed flawlessly. Hours of footage, not one bit of wind noise. Granted we weren't in the middle of a tornado, but we had typical breezy mountain conditions.

These guys are really helping us out with the value of this product.
 
Jim and Rich,
You demoes were better than the video that Micover has on their site! They should pay you guys!

Seriously though, I'm sold on the Puffin. I just need to find out if they make a version for the Rode NTG-2.
 
Sorry to dig back the thread but I was putting in an order with Micover on Dec22 and still haven't got the item. Emailed them 3 times and each and everytime, they said they already shipped it via USPS but when I ask if they have a tracking number, they just simply said No. Their email was very short... a word or two or one simple sentence...

has anyone got the same experience with them? I have a shoot on Jan 17 and I thought to put in an order on Dec 22 would be enough time to get it... I have a feeling that I'd never get the item
 
Man I would think 20 days would be enough time. Hopefully, you will get it very soon. Either way please keep us updated on this.
 
Am i the only one that went to that online store, watched the video..
and was unimpressed? I mean of course there was a huge difference between their product and an open no windscreen mic in the wind, but the fact that I still heard rumble through my computer speakers is enough to make me go..hmmm "and this is the promo video"?

Im sure it probably works about the same as the rycote softie though.

I've had better luck with the Ktek softies. The back is tighter letting less wind in.

Anything more than a moderate wind though and the softies are going to not quite cut it.
Time to pull out a full zep.
 
I'm thinking of canceling the order... screw this... if I can't get it ontime... I'm not gonna buy it from them.
 
vnguyen972 said:
I'm thinking of canceling the order... screw this... if I can't get it ontime... I'm not gonna buy it from them.
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I bought one of these & the same thing happened. It took forever...I called a few times & they claimed it must have been lost in the mail and would send a second one out. I got that one pretty quick, which makes me think they never sent the first one.

It works...nice to have, but I went ahead and bought the Rode Blimp...WAY better. :thumbup:
 
I just sent an email to their support and said if I don't get it by Friday, I will dispute my credit card charge... let's see what happens next.
 
ZazaCast said:
I bought one of these & the same thing happened. It took forever...I called a few times & they claimed it must have been lost in the mail and would send a second one out. I got that one pretty quick, which makes me think they never sent the first one.

It works...nice to have, but I went ahead and bought the Rode Blimp...WAY better. :thumbup:
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Where do they list their number to call? I looked at their site and found no number... just email and IM (which always offline)... I should have known if there's no support phone, the service will stink!
 
vnguyen972 said:
Where do they list their number to call? I looked at their site and found no number... just email and IM (which always offline)... I should have known if there's no support phone, the service will stink!
Click to expand...

My bad... I just checked...it was all done over email. Sorry, but they were really responsive and sincere....and corrected the error right away.
 
Well, it wasn't very responsive and helpful before my warning to dispute the charge. Here's what they came back with just now, a much better message.

----------------------------
Vu,

I'm worried your package is lost I'm going to cut my loss and ship another out to you with tracking information. Is that okay? When the other package arrives (or if it arrives) please let me know asap I will give you a shipping refund to ship it back first class. Sorry for the delay I have reason to believe your package was routed incorrectly or lost. I've had packages delivered 2 months later before.

I'll be shipping 2nd day.

Thank you,
Sarah
Support Team
support@micover.com
 
wow pretty obvious to me that they never shipped your first one.
"cut my loss" yea right.

vnguyen972 said:
Well, it wasn't very responsive and helpful before my warning to dispute the charge. Here's what they came back with just now, a much better message.

----------------------------
Vu,

I'm worried your package is lost I'm going to cut my loss and ship another out to you with tracking information. Is that okay? When the other package arrives (or if it arrives) please let me know asap I will give you a shipping refund to ship it back first class. Sorry for the delay I have reason to believe your package was routed incorrectly or lost. I've had packages delivered 2 months later before.

I'll be shipping 2nd day.

Thank you,
Sarah
Support Team
support@micover.com
Click to expand...
 
Yeah... and today the item came in like she promised.. within 2 days! I doubt that I would receive the first one ... i think they never ship it... but not sure why... oh well...
 
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