Topic: Mics and tobacco smoke

[boojum]

I have three sets of mics I am using now and have a new pair coming.  I do record in bars a lot and smoking is still allowed in them here in Oregon.  I make it a point to have the windscreens always on them as I have heard that helps protect the diaphragms.  Should I wash the windscreens now and again?  And the new mics I am getting are expensive.  Should I not expose the to smoke at all, with or without windscreens??

Any advice is welcome.

Cheers   

[DSatz]

boojum, electrostatic air cleaners work on the same principle as condenser microphones; both are extremely good at removing small particles from the air. Microphone windscreens are made from open-pore foam so the protection they give isn't perfect, but it's an awful lot better than nothing at all.

On the other hand smoke particles, by themselves, aren't quite the worst thing that happens to a capsule. The motion of a condenser microphone's diaphragm is damped not so much by the mass of the diaphragm and whatever little particles may be riding on it, but more by the air surrounding that diaphragm and the friction created by the construction of the capsule backplate, so a tiny amount of extra mass is usually no biggie.

It's far worse when heavy smokers sing directly into a condenser microphone so that smoke particles from their breath get deposited on the membrane along with saliva and food particles. That will lead to unreliability and likely eventual failure of the capsule since the goo that forms becomes a way for current to get around the insulation of the capsule. Sometimes it can't even be removed by cleaning (or it can, but then the ultra-thin gold deposit on the Mylar membrane comes off with it ...).

Windscreens can be washed, but may take a long time to dry out naturally, so don't wait until the day of a recording to do this. I would avoid using hot water because (I'm not sure, but) I'd worry that it might deform the windscreen. Also note that old foam windscreens (10+ years) start giving off tiny crumbly particles and thus become part of the problem rather than part of the solution. They should be replaced before this occurs.

--best regards

[boojum]

DSatz -  Thanks, I owe you and egg creme.  ;o)

L8R

[cheshirecat]

Rather than washing, it might be advantageous to just replace them if they get too funky.  I used to use these guys, they're cheap and did the trick:

http://www.markertek.com/SearchProduct.asp?item=WT300%2D01&off=5&sort=prod

[BobW]

boojum, an electrostatic air cleaner works on essentially the same principle as a condenser microphone; both are extremely good at removing small particles from the air. Microphone windscreens are made from open-pore foam so the protection they give isn't perfect, but it's an awful lot better than nothing at all.

On the other hand smoke particles, by themselves, aren't quite the worst thing that happens to a capsule. The motion of a condenser microphone's diaphragm is damped not so much by the mass of the diaphragm and whatever little particles may be riding on it, but more by the air surrounding that diaphragm and the friction created by the construction of the capsule backplate, so a tiny amount of extra mass is usually no biggie.

It's far worse when heavy smokers sing directly into a condenser microphone so that smoke particles from their breath get deposited on the membrane along with saliva and food particles. That will lead to unreliability and likely eventual failure of the capsule since the goo that forms becomes a way for current to get around the insulation of the capsule. Sometimes it can't even be removed by cleaning (or it can, but then the ultra-thin gold deposit on the Mylar membrane comes off with it ...).

Windscreens can be washed, but may take a long time to dry out naturally, so don't wait until the day of a recording to do this. I would avoid using hot water because (I'm not sure, but) I'd worry that it might deform the windscreen. Also note that old foam windscreens (10+ years) start giving off tiny crumbly particles and thus become part of the problem rather than part of the solution. They should be replaced before this occurs.

--best regards

So, I take it that it is NOT recommended to to run your mics through the dishwasher after each use?   

[DSatz]

> So, I take it that it is NOT recommended to to run your mics through the dishwasher after each use?

Right, especially if they're still connected to phantom powering. Nor would I recommend this procedure for ribbon or other dynamic microphones.

For those using two paper cups connected by string, simply rinsing the cups out with water and allowing them to air dry should generally be sufficient.

Thank you for helping to make this discussion complete.

[BobW]

> So, I take it that it is NOT recommended to to run your mics through the dishwasher after each use?

Right, especially if they're still connected to phantom powering. Nor would I recommend this procedure for ribbon or other dynamic microphones.

For those using two paper cups connected by string, simply rinsing the cups out with water and allowing them to air dry should generally be sufficient.

Thank you for helping to make this discussion complete.

 

[GroundHog420]

I have three sets of mics I am using now and have a new pair coming.  I do record in bars a lot and smoking is still allowed in them here in Oregon.  I make it a point to have the windscreens always on them as I have heard that helps protect the diaphragms.  Should I wash the windscreens now and again?  And the new mics I am getting are expensive.  Should I not expose the to smoke at all, with or without windscreens??

Any advice is welcome.

Cheers   

Wow.  The missus and I are selling our place in MN and moving to Portland shortly, and this was news to me. As much as we did research the usual stuff about moving to a new area (jobs, neighborhoods, transit, etc), I never thought about the smoking thing, as MN has had an indoor smoking ban for a couple of years now, and I've gotten quite used to it.  The drag here is that my wife is highly allergic to smoke carcinogens, much more so than most of us.  she tries to weather it, but I've witnessed the toll it takes on her, and it ain't pretty.  So, even though I know there's a lot good music waiting for me to record in our new town, now it looks like she might not be able to enjoy a lot of it with me.  Jeez, you know how hard it is to find a gal that will share the trials and tribulations of live recording?  Not that many, let me tell you...  Anyway, thanks for the heads-up about that, all the same.  I've often wondered about the effects of smoke on recording gear - especially since back in the day, said gear relied on tape heads to capture the moment.

[Brennan]

For those using two paper cups connected by string, simply rinsing the cups out with water and allowing them to air dry should generally be sufficient.

Aww....and I JUST stuck my rig in the dishwasher not 10 minutes ago

[boojum]

For those using two paper cups connected by string, simply rinsing the cups out with water and allowing them to air dry should generally be sufficient.

Aww....and I JUST stuck my rig in the dishwasher not 10 minutes ago

I ruined my new mics!  Yikes!   LOL