Topic: Windscreen Advice

[Top Hat]

I had the Rode WS8 screens, and they performed quite poorly for me in strong wind gusts. The Movo WST50 do a far better job, at least for me.

I think a lot has to do with the mics you are using. My outdoor mics tend to be my CM3s which are extremely wind-sensitive.

I did have an issue with 40 mph gusts with torrential rain and hail which smoked my RRE set at Red Rocks. I doubt any windescreen would have been able to tame that kind of element. I live in the mountain west frequently record shows in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado where weather/wind is quite volatile and changes on a dime. I havent had many issues using hypers with these. I do have sources.

Please understand I'm not discounting your experience at all. But since you mentioned 40 mph gusts, that's what made me move on to the Movo's. This was years ago when I did a lot of marching band competitions, and the wind would whip through the stadiums in mid-November.

Wind was kicking up pretty good this day moving the mic stand around a bit. Stand @ 4ft Mics in DIN 20 ft from source

AKG ck61s w/ WS8 windscreens, winds 25-40 mph gusts. Check the reflection of the trees in the backdrop in relation to wind gusts.. Not to shabby
https://www.facebook.com/100067784240780/videos/436709512430805

[SamCastleton]

Given their price, its encouraging to hear people say such good things about the Movo WsT50, I was going to pull the trigger but then I read this Dr Badphil article and he found that they didn't stack up..

https://drbadphil.com/small-windshields

[Gutbucket]

At the moment I'm unable to listen to the examples on the page linked above, but it's not really a fair comparison and it's conclusion isn't surprising.  Good sealing is the primary factor, internal dead airspace volume is the main factor after that, fur or smooth outer surface third.

The Baby Ball Gag is a blimp type screen, which is always going to generally preform best.  It's also significantly larger than the Movo, with probably about twice the internal volume.  The Rode is fur covered, which is usually going to be more effective than a non-fur covered screen of the same size.  I'd like to see that kind of comparison made between usual suspects: Movo WST , the Rycote Super Softie, and the Sure A81WS, which all all more comparable and typically used by tapers when standard foam screens are insufficient.

The way I look at it, choosing the right windscreen is mostly about balancing how much protection is needed against size.  I went from small foam screens to big-ass foam screens, to adding fur to those, to BBG with a fur cover, and mostly use the Movos as the most effective solution for what I'm doing without being too large, too delicate, or too costly. It seems somewhat ridiculous to use them for my tiny 1/4" diameter body DPA directional mics, but its not the size of the microphone that determines how much wind protection is needed, and these be about the minimum size that seems to work effectively for me outdoors.  I do scheme about the possibly of making something smaller that is equally effective by 3-printing my own blimps designed around those mics.

Here's a question about the Movos: What's the difference between Movo WST and Movo WSTT?  I see them listed both ways.  They look the same, description is the same.

[goodcooker]

Given their price, its encouraging to hear people say such good things about the Movo WsT50, I was going to pull the trigger but then I read this Dr Badphil article and he found that they didn't stack up..

https://drbadphil.com/small-windshields

Depends on your use case and environment. His tests involve swinging the mics on a boom pole which isn't something people here do - and comparing them against similarly priced Rode WS8 screens and VERY expensive Rycote Baby Ball gags and blimps. It's not surprising that the $400 industry standard Rycote Blimp outperforms a $15 Movo screen but most users here neither need nor want that level of security or expense.

I've not done any testing with software to measure the results but I can say without a doubt - anecdotally - that the Movo WST50 has given me enough protection from wind in the Midwest USA in gusts over 35mph (and up to 50mph) that it did not negatively impact the recording.

It's up to everyone to decide where the XY point of cost vs performance is for them.