Topic: Need advice on lightening my field recording kit and upgrading my accessories

[jwo]

Hi all,
I would appreciate some advice on updating my field recording rig to make it lighter and more portable as well as making some other accessory upgrades.

The goal here is to be as light as possible and be up and running as quickly as possible while still getting great recordings.

While I am very happy with the microphones and recorder, the weight and unwieldiness of the rig has slowed me down. As a result I am doing less recording.

There are times when on a whim, I’ll want to throw all the gear into a messenger bag, hop on my bike and go do some urban crowd recording. Currently doing this is a minor PITA due to assembly time, size and weight.

Current rig:
-Sennheiser MKH 30/40 MS combo in Rycote blimp. The blimp is by far the biggest piece in my kit
-2 x MKH 8020 Omni mics in separate Rycote mini blimps spaced on a stereo bar.
-On Stage stereo bar. Rycote blimp with the 30/40 MS combo in the middle, and the 8020s in blimps on either side.
-Sound Devices 744 in a Sound Devices CS3 bag
-Aerco Preamp for 744 channels 3/4
-Manfroto Tripod. Don’t have the model # handy. It’s a nice one. But I think I could find a lighter tripod.
-Audio Technica M50 headphones. They are not amazing, but I like them just fine. They are the least of my worries.

I think the best candidates for upgrade are:
-stereo bar (this definitely is not up to par with the other components)
-tripod. Need a lighter one.
-recorder/mixer bag. The CS3 has served me well, I suspect there are better options out there.
-blimp for the 30/40 combo (The Rycote works great, but I’d love something that collapses to the size of a DPA Windpac, if I could find one!)
-I tried some onstage snap on mic clips, but they loosened over time and started introducing rumble noise into my recordings. There has to be a better option than screwing things into place every time!

Suggestions appreciated,

Jason

[John Willett]

Keep an eye on the Rycote website.

I was at a show last weekend and they were showing off the new Mediium and Small Cyclone windshields.

They are, they said, also planning MS stereo inserts for the Medium Cyclone - when that comes it should be smaller and better than the large stereo windshield for the MKH 40/30.

I also have a 40/30 in a stereo windshield and plan to get the new Cyclone version as soon as it comes out.

[jwo]

Thanks as always for your helpful advice John!