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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: tim in jersey on November 14, 2023, 09:51:14 AM
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I am listening to a recent stealth show I made. It has some mic handling noise and fabric rub. Not much, but enough to bug me. Mostly between tunes, if/when I dare push my glasses back up and perhaps re-orient the hat if it starts to droop a bit. It's obnoxiously loud, but I can deal in post.
I recently remembered getting called in to mix for some local theater many moons ago. Not my balliwick, but I got it done. The hands used mole skin on the lav mics for the talent and I was shocked at how well that works for keeping close-mic'ed fabric rub sounds down on omni lavs.
I'm sure there is a technique to this. But I surely am unfamiliar. Anyone w/ experience care to chime in?
Does the mole skin go on the mics, clothing, or all of above?
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I've not tried moleskin, but I would think a patch of it would be used to cover the body of the microphone, taping it to the surface (the skin) or covering the adhesive tape used to attach to the surface with the fuzzy side facing out for fabric to brush against, basically adhered on three sides with the microphone's capsule grid opening facing out of the uncovered side. Best for omni lavs, will be a lot more challenging to keep the rear vents of directional mics uncovered and the sound unaffected.
Putting it on the clothing would be more likely to block sound transmission to the microphone.
I use the DPA concealers in a similar way, made specifically for omni lav use under fabric, reducing fabric noise. They are a little smooth clear plastic device into which the microphone fits, which gets taped down. The fabric then slides across the surface of the smooth plastic instead of the microphone itself. I alternately use the DPA boundary mounts for this (a re-purposed application) as they have a flat smooth surface and lay very flat. In combination with that I'm selecting fabrics that are both sonic ally transparent and "quiet", making less rustling and brushing noise. On top of that is geometry- there are essentially two ways to go with managing unavoidable fabric contact - loose or tight. Loose enough that there minimal, manageable contact, or tight enough that the fabric stays in place and doesn't shift in relation to the microphone.
Hats and glasses are different yet the same basic ideas apply.
If handling noise is being transmitted to the microphone through the cable, it can help to make a small cable loop near the microphone that serves as strain relief.
Any actual bumping or touching of the microphone is going to make noise no matter what.. especially anything contacting or brushing against the less than smooth grid of the microphone - particularly if its a woven mesh grid. A lot of what the concealers do is just keep direct contact off of the grid and microphone body itself, reducing direct contact noise but not fully eliminating it. SPL masks most quieter handling noise, so preferable to move and readjust during the loud sections and be still with minimized movement during the quiet parts.
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I use elastic banding handsewn into loops in my hat to hold them in place. One snug one to hold the body and a loose one behind it to keep the cable connector from swinging to the side. it will prevent noise. If not use a small thin windscreen
https://www.michaels.com/shop/fabric-sewing-shop/sewing-notions/elastic
Edit to say: feel free to pm for pics or a private discussion of >:D solutions
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https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/kmi90sjjhzkz2g3q2lcsj/h?rlkey=pgjun9bf4x7bvl8262hq9qqhm&dl=0
I can make a decent 007 tape. Trying to improve.
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Mole skin is usually applied to the clothing, specifically where the mic is positioned. You want to make sure it's securely attached to the fabric in the area where you anticipate the rubbing noise. It acts as a buffer between the microphone and the clothing, reducing friction and minimizing those unwanted fabric rub sounds.
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My concerns with putting moleskin on the fabric itself is that doing so will significantly alter the sonic transparency of the fabric, and a significantly large section is likely to be needed to provide sufficient contact area, aggravating that potential problem. Also, in addition to blocking clean sound passage through the moleskin itself, any materiel or surface which has a high acoustic impedance (meaning, not fully sonically transparent) placed in very close proximity to the microphone will to alter its frequency response. The semi-enclosed space it forms around the microphone forms something of a resonant filter, working in essentially the same way as grids of different length that can be interchanged on an omni microphone to change its response, although in a far less controlled and repeatable manner.
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I use elastic banding handsewn into loops in my hat to hold them in place. One snug one to hold the body and a loose one behind it to keep the cable connector from swinging to the side. it will prevent noise. If not use a small thin windscreen
https://www.michaels.com/shop/fabric-sewing-shop/sewing-notions/elastic
Edit to say: feel free to pm for pics or a private discussion of >:D solutions
hey rigpimp can you recommend some small thin windscreens for MK41
i use the akg ones now but they are pretty thick
can u send me a picture of how u used elastic
thanks keith
Taz