Microphone Blimp

Wind across a microphone causes distortion and unwanted noise for videographers and nature recorders while taping outside. The purpose of the microphone 'blimp' is to attenuate the wind noise without interfering with the desired sound. Blimps are expensive. This project came in under $40.

Mics are interchangeable in this blimp (if the mic's diameter will fit inside).

Step 1: Materials

'Nugget' bird feeder from Agway ~ $20
Paint roller from Walmart ~ $2.25
Scrunchie hair elastics ~ $3
Sink strainer from Bed Bath & Beyond ~ $4
Microphone(s) (assumed you already have these)

(Materials not shown)
Five feather boas from Michael's craft store ~$10
Epoxy
Black thread and needle
paint roller extension pole from Home Depot ~ $16

Comments

[steve22222]

I bought a tripod stand $13 it cut the noise also.

http://www.martelelectronics.com/288.html

[onlinemastering]

That is genius! As these are normally very expensive items of equipment, thank you very much for the tutorial.

SafeandSound Mastering
mastering

[GanadoRH]

Warning! Before you buy any wireless microphone, be aware that the FCC (in the U.S.) has outlawed use of wireless mics operating in the "700 MHz band" (698 through 806 MHz) as of June 12, 2010. You can find out more here:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones/
Do not buy any that fall within that range, unless you don't plan on using them after that date.

[minniesfarm]

Just a little note - do NOT blow into microphones. The humidity on your breath is not good for it - don't do this even if you are in a humid place like Florida. Or Minnesota, or anyplace that is humid!! Love the rest of this great and super creative Instructable!! Well done!!!!

[Kurt Vonnegut]

What people do when you hand them a hand held mic- say "test" into it, ask why it's not making sound, blow on it, tap on it, and finally ask why it's not working (again).
I now give lessons before handing out a hand held.

Just one question minniesfarm- Do you really know what all those knobs do? ;-)

[M4industries]

 You are using a diaphragm microphone, they are good for recording things close up.

Filmmakers like me use a shotgun style mic, which records sound from all directions.

[Kurt Vonnegut]

Omnidirectional microphones pickup sound from all directions.
Shotgun mics are highly directional, so mainly pickup in front of them.

eu.audio-technica.com/en/resources/tutorials/Polar%20Patterns.pdf.
(shotgun is the last polar pattern in the pdf)

[ducktape1]

 I believe that shotgun mics are uni directional 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microphone

[cptbuc]

As a very long time professional sound engineer (started 1982), I need to clarify a "shotgun mic" is NOT unidirectional NOR omnidirectional.  The best way to define them is roughly 70% of their sound field/source comes from ONE direction, then 10/20% from rear, 10/5% left and 10/5% right...thus the professional recording engineers use them for recording in a very specific direction yet allow a very small bit of ambient sound to "leak" in so the recording sounds more "live/natural" than sterile from "close in" mics .

Ducktape1, sorry, but here is a quote from the link you gave at wikipedia....""Shotgun" microphones are the most highly directional. They have small lobes of sensitivity to the left, right, and rear but are significantly less sensitive to the side and rear than other directional microphones are."

This link also has a good explanation as well as show the "polar pattern/ recording field" examples for the three most popular types http://lafcpug.org/reviews/review_shotgun_mic.html.

One example, I discovered is when I mic/record acoustic drums.  I used to use 2 condenser mics, like the AKC C1000s ( http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/AKG-C-1000-S-Condenser-Microphone?sku=271131 )  "boom mounted" about 3-5 feet above the drum kit to pick up primarily the cymbals (other parts of the kit where close mic-ed).  Problem was both cardioid and hypercardioid patterns were not narrow enough and I was picking up too much of the rest of the drum kit.  As a test I borrowed 2 Rode NTG1 shotgun mics from one of my video friends and tested them.  With a bit of tweaking to account for the new mics I found I was picking up MUCH LESS of the drum kit and MUCH MORE of the specific cymbals I wanted (Left only or right only)

One note I have tried virtually every "cheap trick" (musical pun intended) to (1) get by with cheaper mics and/or (2) "force" mics to record (or ignore) more/less than they we designed to do....with a few successes but mostly failures (re: yeah I may have recorded but the quality suffered more than I liked).  I even built a "Pringles can attenuator/shock mount" for one of my C1000s...the shoke mount was great...but the sound quality sucked and even had to fight feedback even more so.  Thus trying to "force" a "regular mic" to be a shotgun mic might work....but may create more issues.

One final note....I really do like like this instructable as a very good idea for a DIY wind screen....GOOD JOB.

[haasjeover123]

something uiu can do to modify your c1000's is put tape around it and you will have an omnidirectional mike.place it near the bell of your cimbal and it will sound very natural.because you can place it close to the cymbal yiu won't have too much crosstalk anyway.

an omni sounds best because no sound can reach the diafragm from behind causi'n fase problems that sound unnatural.

[werthy94]

ouch for the mic,
1st Problem: tape leaves residue on mic=not good for mic.
2nd Problem: Spl, aka, the diaphragm will be DESTROYED. if not straight away, it will over a short period of time. A better option if placing a mic on the bell would be the AKG C430, designed for drums AND relatively inexpensive. (no need for tape either) see : http://www.akg.com/site/products/powerslave,id,278,pid,278,nodeid,2,_language,EN.html

love the instructable, maybe work out a way to fit a wired mic. (shouldn't be too hard, and cheaper on mics/batteries over time too)

[cptbuc]

Hassjeover123...I have to agree with werthy94 and add even more. C1000 uses phantom power which is powered by either a 9 volt battery inside or via the preamp or mixer...that makes them VERY hot mikes. They are so sensitive that I have used a pair of them to mic a choir from 10 feet (left and right with center bias) and you could hear breath noises. To crank the gain down so low to get them near the bell and not blow them odds are would create such a dirty and un-natural signal to not be worth the effort. Plus the tape will increase feedback potential.

Bottom line find the best mic designed for whatever you are trying to do with the best mix of quality and price. I have tried virtually every trick in the book with most types of mics and why I have well over $15,000 in just mics...every experiment seemed like a good idea until I heard the recordings and most were not a good idea....but this is still a great instructable!!!!

[haasjeover123]

1.remove the tape imediately after the recording-session
2.use a -20dB pad.
3.read up on the basics maybe then you'll understand why and how this works and why (if you do this right) it will sound more natural.
4.we where talking about about a recording-session so what is this about feedback???

[werthy94]

upon further research, I have discovered that more recent C1000's at least, have a switch to change between cardioid (standard) and hyper-cardioid (closer to a shotgun mic) so if you really really want to use a pair of C1000's as overheads on a drum kit, lift them, and put them in hyper cardioid, they should be able to handle this at about 1 meter out. this MAY be your solution but proceed with caution, I haven't tried this myself.

[werthy94]

1st = think cans, what exactly is your drummer drumming to, whatever it is, in my experience, they still need to hear themselves as well, e.g. drum>mic>recording console>cans>mics>etc...
(if you don't understand techy lingo, which I'm guessing you don't due to your blatant lack of knowledge, cans are headphones used to monitor the recording/let the technician talk to you)

2nd = Blatant lack of knowledge. i.e. microphones have a certain point they get to before they rip apart from the inside, also known as the Max Sound Pressure Level (Max SPL) which is measured in db's (decibels). basically this means that if you have a mic with an 80db spl max, it can only stand up to 80db of audio at the diaphragm. the spl produced by a standard set of cymbals is well above the max spl of the C1000. your diaphragm is screwed, I feel sorry for ALL of your equipment.

[kissiltur]

I never knew what the big fuzzy microphones were for, and now I do. Thank you.

[luvit]

 this makes me think of male olympic curling, but not as boring. ..i think.

[munkeeboy]

Will this dampen the sound entering the mic though? Would it make it harder for it to pick up sound? I've been considering getting the atr-55 for a while now.

[gezortenplotz]

I have used this at my job (I seem to be getting a ton of video work these days) and if there is sound loss, I think you'd have to have dog's ears to hear it. The only hassle I've found with the ATR-55 and this blimp design is remembering to take the mic out from the elastics and turn the switch to OFF to save batteries.

[munkeeboy]

Thanks! I just ordered an ATR-55 off of amazon.

[audiophile]

will adding the blimp to a regular cardiod mic give it the pick up pattern of a shotgun mic?

[gezortenplotz]

Unfortunately, no. The sole purpose of the blimp is for recording where wind noise across the mic diaphram might be a problem. The shock elastics inside the mic mounting also dampen transmission of handling noise of the mic boom during recording. I just bought a dandy cheap shotgun hypercardiod mic on sale from Sound Professional for $30.00. This will fit in the blimp quite nicely.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/ATR55

[DIY Dave]

Just curious, does a wireless mic need a pre-amp or does the mic and receiver pre-amplify it?

[picbuck]

Amp and preamp are relative terms. The key fact is that a preamp is expected to have an output level of around one volt, which is also the expected voltage at line in/out terminals. A preamp can't effectively drive a speaker, though it might work with headphones. An amplifier, of course, has an output of nominal 4 ohms or 8 ohms, and can drive a speaker. Here's where things get relative. An "amplifier" does not have enough input sensitivity to cleanly handle a microphone, guitar, or other low-level input. If it says "amplifier" on the outside then the unit needs a 1-volt input from a preamplifier to achieve its rated output. However, an amplifier made for a specific purpose--such as the wireless mic you ask about--will have a preamp built in. This preamp is just one additional stage of amplification. So if it comes as a unit in a box, then it probably has a built-in preamp, in the form of one additional stage of amplification. While if you buy "an amplifier," then you'll probably need a preamp, depending on what it is you're amplifying. But anything that will drive a headphone, such as a CD player, will probably have close to a 1-volt output, so it will act like a preamp and drive an amplifier. By the way, when I speak of "levels" I mean voltage, power, or sound levels. Not impedance. None of this has anything to do with impedance, that's another story--and not one you need to much worry about with solid-state devices. Also, none of this has anything to do with an amp's 70-volt output, if you have one. That's for driving many speakers on a very long wire run--and of course the 70 volts will blow anything electronic you accidentally connect to it.

[n0ukf]

Many wireless mic receivers have both mic-out and line-out available (or one output adjustable from mic to line level), but you have to look at their features to see whether the one you want has both or just one of the two. In the case of a line-out, yes it pre-amplifies but not to the point of being able to drive speakers or headphones (though you might hear something with headphones). You might also find some receivers that have a headphone out for monitoring.

[gezortenplotz]

The wireless mic I bought online cost about $75. It's not your top-of-the-line unit. I've had some minor problems with it. In a staged video situation, I run the mic receiver into a channel of a Mackie mixing board and the output from the board goes both to the camera and a separate digital recorder. In this way, when I edit the video, I still can use audio from the separate recorder. I haven't needed a preamp yet, but I have run it through an RNC compressor in a noisy lab video. Hope this helps.

[assman111]

THE MOTHERSHIP! THE MOTHERSHIP! THE MOTHERSHIP'S THE ONE! LOL! but serousily, great instructable

[MC24]

I am wondering where I could get a microphone like the one shown, and what I would need to go about recording the sound from this microphone? Any help?

[gezortenplotz]

MC24: I got the Nady wireless mic (shown here) from an ad I saw on the Internet. I thought it was a clever choice because I wouldn't need to run any wires from the mic & I could run the mini-plug wire receiver pac to the camera and have synch'd sound. Well, it was a cunning plan, but the Nady systems, while cheap, are tempermental and chew up 9 vdc batteries pretty quickly. The nice thing about this blimp project is that just about any mic will sit inside the elastics and you can wrap or tape any mic wire around a painter's pole that you screw into the blimp handle. Remember, if you don't use a dynamic mic (like a Shure SM57 or SM58) you'll need a 48 vdc phantom power supply to power the mic. There are also connector adapters that you might need to buy to run your mic into your camera or alternate recording device. If you have a problem, please drop another note on this. Thanks for your interest

[gravecicada]

Excellent! Always wanted one of these.

[alwayschooseford]

Just got done with mine. Thank you for this great idea!! Mine was only $22!! Thanks a million!

[ahead]

sweet! I gotta add this to my media toolbox

[kimro]

for a boom all you need to do is get a pant roller that has a place to put a broom stick (most of them do) or go to radio shack and pick up a $10 boom ground stand an remove the base

good instructable, i faved it ^_

[gezortenplotz]

piper1234: If my neighbor asked, I'd help him try to find his cat. When we found his kitty, I'd interview him with this microphone blimp that I made.

[James (pseudo-geek)]

I dont think you got it......

[xiamonque]

Lowe's/Home Depot has a point roller that can be pulled out to about 3 feet, which could add a little more length to your boom pole. If you really need to go cheap on a boom pole you can also use a painter pole as your boom pole; some are hollow so you can thread a mic cord through it if need be.

[DIY Dave]

I would like to buy nice cheap mic stand. Does anyone know where I can get one.

[gezortenplotz]

My God, man! How cheap do you want? Ordering online is like musiciansfriend.com or zzounds.com. Check 'em out at your local music store. In many instances, you'll find them below $25.

[DIY Dave]

Thanks ;)

[UrbanMacGyver]

Where do you get that specific model agway bird feeder?