Topic: Shure big ass wind screens

[ts]

So I went to add these to my "make an offer yard sale" and when I opened the box they're in they were totally disintegrated. Any one ever have this happen? Stored in a box in a closet. Probably 20 years old. 

[vanark]

I've definitely heard this happens. I check mine out about once a year to make sure they aren't shedding onto/into my mics when I use them.

[opsopcopolis]

Yep, that’ll happen….

[hipporu]

This is the result of intentional or unintentional violation of manufacturing technology.
I've had RFT foam for forty years and it's as good as new.
At that time, Germany's chemical industry was the most advanced.
What is produced today I change in three years usually.

[goodcooker]

Same thing with a pair of DPA screens last year. They were maybe 6-7 years old. Got them out to use them and got black particles all over my desk.

I'll be more diligent about replacing screens every few years going forward.

[GLouie]

IMO, ALL such foam products are suspect, especially older ones, from any manufacturer. Check any mic or gear boxes with foam inserts, too. I've seen foam rot from Bruel & Kjaer, Neumann, Audio Technica etc.

Sometimes it turns to dry dust, and sometimes it turns to sticky goo, which is especially a pain to clean up. I regularly check my various foam products by just squeezing them - if they feel tacky and less springy, the end is near. If you don't want to check a foam regularly, at least isolate it with a polyethylene bag which seem pretty stable after 50 years or so.

I have a pair of old AT4050 mics and they came in those little vinyl covered flip boxes with foam cutouts. The foam is getting tacky, so I put it in a poly bag, put it back, and continue to store the mics in it until I can figure out a replacement plan. I may not replace it with more foam; old Neumanns came in wooden boxes with velour inserts. The original A-T foam windscreens also went tacky and I threw them away. Gads, even Windtech replacements for these are something like $60 each.

I'm sure a foam chemist could tell us what's going on. It kind of looks like analog tape sticky shed, a polyurethane recipe problem.

[eman]

Not as bad as the polyurethane in your hiking boots disintegrating to dust 5 miles into a backpacking trip, but bad. Vasque blamed it on a reaction of old polyurethane and moisture.

[Gutbucket]

I've also had a couple pairs of BAS get sort of less fluffed and beat looking, then outright shed.  Catch it early and replace.

X2 on putting mics in polyurethane bags to protect against failing foam and other environmental contamination.  When doing that I like to throw a small desiccant pact in there to trap any retained moisture.

Have wondered if better to store BAS and other foam screens in polyurethane bags or better to provide sufficient circulation.  If in bags.. with desiccant?  what about those little oxygen absorbing packs found packed with vitamins and some foods?  Some other charm?

[GLouie]

I don't know about polyurethane bags, I am now leery of all polyurethane for long life. I think I prefer the common polyethylene plastic bag, but have no way to test the material or know for certain. I once cleaned out my parent's old stuff that had common plastic bags that were roughly 60-70 years old and only a few were slightly tacky, but not sticking to the objects. OTOH, some plastic bags today are designed to quickly disintegrate. Hard to tell.

I would not put a device like a mic into a plastic bag without a desiccant, as I have seen steel rust quickly in a bag. I have been putting the sculpted foam mic box cutout into the bag, then laying the mic into it. I feel some air circulation is good, as well as a good shirtsleeve storage environment. The foam itself, I figure is a short term item now, and I figure the decomposition is mainly chemical and not environmental.

At any rate, many of our favorite devices are made of materials that probably won't last many decades anyway, like plastics, rubber, lead-free solder, capacitors, and so on.

I've also had a couple pairs of BAS get sort of less fluffed and beat looking, then outright shed.  Catch it early and replace.

X2 on putting mics in polyurethane bags to protect against failing foam and other environmental contamination.  When doing that I like to throw a small desiccant pact in there to trap any retained moisture.

Have wondered if better to store BAS and other foam screens in polyurethane bags or better to provide sufficient circulation.  If in bags.. with desiccant?  what about those little oxygen absorbing packs found packed with vitamins and some foods?  Some other charm?

[rocksuitcase]

I have had Shure BA windscreens (WS81 iirc) disintegrate. Now, we keep them in drybags for boating.

[voltronic]

If you are looking for a replacement, these block as much or more wind noise as the Shure / DPA style huge foamies without the HF roll-off.

https://www.adorama.com/mvwst50.html

[capnhook]

If you are looking for a replacement, these block as much or more wind noise as the Shure / DPA style huge foamies without the HF roll-off.

https://www.adorama.com/mvwst50.html

  Still the same price as ever.  Not too long ago they were out of stock everywhere.

[jcable77]

If you are looking for a replacement, these block as much or more wind noise as the Shure / DPA style huge foamies without the HF roll-off.

https://www.adorama.com/mvwst50.html

I used those like 3 times and went back to BAS's. They didnt seem to do much of anything in a light breeze. Just my experience.

[aaronji]

^^ Out of stock in that link also! Says it is on backorder...

[Gutbucket]

I'm about to order a few of those to see if I can figure out a way to use them in place of BAS's in my rig. Some tests are in order as the rig requires 5 of them. Problem is the mics are literally the diameter of a pencil so I'll need to adapt the rubber cuff to fit. 

Had to laugh at this part (my bold) of Adorama's description upon following the link above-
"Movo Photo WST50 Ballistic Nylon Windscreen for Shotgun Microphones up to 1.2" Long & 18-24mm Diameter"