Topic: anybody have humidity affect their recording?

[auto-de-fe]

let me begin by saying i run core sound cardioid's > battery box > microtrack--in case you couldn't tell from the signature.

my most recent recording soiree was to record mewithoutyou at a venue in oklahoma city. the night was humid and hot and inside the venue there was no relief from the heat. the show ended early, due to the heat, and i headed home fairly confident in my recording. when i listened later i noticed that each different bands set had an increasing amount of "pops" in it. the first band had next to no pops, the second band had more pops, and the third, mewithoutyou, had the most. i had recently recorded a couple weeks before--a cool venue in denver--and this phenomenon did not occur. so my question:

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

oh, i have two of the sets posted on TTD. if anyone is interested i will post mp3 samples of the popping at its worst.

the second band: http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39891
the third band: http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39867

[jkbyram]

while recording in a rain shower my akg's will produce some static and pops sometimes

[Brian Skalinder]

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

Yes, once - static and popping, I believe due to humidity, using my old MBHO KA200/603A mics.

[Church-Audio]

let me begin by saying i run core sound cardioid's > battery box > microtrack--in case you couldn't tell from the signature.

my most recent recording soiree was to record mewithoutyou at a venue in oklahoma city. the night was humid and hot and inside the venue there was no relief from the heat. the show ended early, due to the heat, and i headed home fairly confident in my recording. when i listened later i noticed that each different bands set had an increasing amount of "pops" in it. the first band had next to no pops, the second band had more pops, and the third, mewithoutyou, had the most. i had recently recorded a couple weeks before--a cool venue in denver--and this phenomenon did not occur. so my question:

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

oh, i have two of the sets posted on TTD. if anyone is interested i will post mp3 samples of the popping at its worst.

the second band: http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39891
the third band: http://www.thetradersden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=39867

It does happen.. The Panasonic mic capsules used in these mics are better then most for hi humidity, but the best mics out there for hi humidity recording are Sennheiser MKe2 or DPA 4060,61 because these mics are designed to be placed on sweaty actors they stand up well to high humidity.

[stevetoney]

It does happen.. The Panasonic mic capsules used in these mics are better then most for hi humidity, but the best mics out there for hi humidity recording are Sennheiser MKe2 or DPA 4060,61 because these mics are designed to be placed on sweaty actors they stand up well to high humidity.

Interesting. 

My first thought when I read the post, but I knew wasn't the case because it's too obvious, was that the pops were from beads of sweat falling on the mics. 

So what causes the popping in high humidity and is there any way at all to minimize or eliminate it?

[Church-Audio]

It does happen.. The Panasonic mic capsules used in these mics are better then most for hi humidity, but the best mics out there for hi humidity recording are Sennheiser MKe2 or DPA 4060,61 because these mics are designed to be placed on sweaty actors they stand up well to high humidity.

Interesting. 

My first thought when I read the post, but I knew wasn't the case because it's too obvious, was that the pops were from beads of sweat falling on the mics. 

So what causes the popping in high humidity and is there any way at all to minimize or eliminate it?

There are no ways that I know of in the field but when storing your mics you could use the crystal packages you get with some electronics. I forget what they are called... But they remove moisture from inside a box.. Its a good idea to have a few packages of these handy and in your mic box.. If someone knows a good source please let me know as I want to buy some as well.

Chris

[flipp]

Chris, those are silica gel packs. I seem to recall someone offering some about 6-9 months ago but don't hold me to when it was. Do a search here and you might be able to find who it was. Hope you have better luck with ts's search than I do.

<edit a quick search found a few useful links in this thread http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,72854.0.html  /edit>

[auto-de-fe]

thanks for all the replies! it is good to know that i didn't just screw up and it was the elements.

[dean]

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

Yes, once - static and popping, I believe due to humidity, using my old MBHO KA200/603A mics.

Ditto - last summer's 10KLF, MMW set, my mbho 603a + KA100LK's.  Pops all over the place as it got very humid as nightfall descended.  I've not experienced the problem since, so chalk it up to the humidity. 

Big +T to O-Canis for cleaning up the pops to get the recording circulating.  There's a yucky job for ya!  Contact him on how to do the cleanup, if you don't know how yourself.  But your recording can be salvaged.

[kirk97132]

There are no ways that I know of in the field but when storing your mics you could use the crystal packages you get with some electronics. I forget what they are called... But they remove moisture from inside a box.. Its a good idea to have a few packages of these handy and in your mic box.. If someone knows a good source please let me know as I want to buy some as well.

Chris

Er, um,  ah, well once upon a time way back in another life, when I used to have "powders" that needed to be kept dry in sweltering Jersey shore humidity we used these blue crystals that changed color as they absorbed water.  You can dry them out in the oven making them virtually a once in a lifetime purchase with no need to buy more.  A quick Google for: blue crystal silica gel ...returned a bunch of results.  Happy shopping, Kirk

[tapeheadtoo]

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

Some years ago, I recorded a bunch of Yes shows during a summer tour with my old Sonics>D7.  All the shows turned out great *except* for the two recorded in Gulf coast locations -- New Orleans and Pensacola.  It was humid as all hell down there... probably 95% humidity, in mid-August.  The recordings suffered from extremely numerous pops that rendered them all but unlistenable.  Two weeks later (after my gear dried out I suppose) things were back to normal.  I want to cry every time I think about those ruined recordings. 

[auto-de-fe]

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

Yes, once - static and popping, I believe due to humidity, using my old MBHO KA200/603A mics.

Ditto - last summer's 10KLF, MMW set, my mbho 603a + KA100LK's.  Pops all over the place as it got very humid as nightfall descended.  I've not experienced the problem since, so chalk it up to the humidity. 

Big +T to O-Canis for cleaning up the pops to get the recording circulating.  There's a yucky job for ya!  Contact him on how to do the cleanup, if you don't know how yourself.  But your recording can be salvaged.

i wish i would have known that before i torrented the shows. i will go ahead and contact him to see if i can fix the recording; thanks for the heads up!

[Church-Audio]

has anyone else recorded in humid conditions and has it had an affect on their recording?

Some years ago, I recorded a bunch of Yes shows during a summer tour with my old Sonics>D7.  All the shows turned out great *except* for the two recorded in Gulf coast locations -- New Orleans and Pensacola.  It was humid as all hell down there... probably 95% humidity, in mid-August.  The recordings suffered from extremely numerous pops that rendered them all but unlistenable.  Two weeks later (after my gear dried out I suppose) things were back to normal.  I want to cry every time I think about those ruined recordings. 

Well now you have DPA mics so that will not be an issue. The DPA mics are simply some of the best lav mics available for handling hi humidity with out failing.. your new preamp is also designed to handle very high humidity as well 

[BobW]

Ask your pharmacist if they'll save the desiccant tubes from bulk bottles for you.
They can be reused if heated to dry them out, and likely contain silica gel.

If you want to buy them:
http://www.uline.com/Group_21.asp?pricode=WE449


Could foam windscreens help?
Also, consider a water-resistant contact preservative, like DeoxIt Shield in extreme conditions.

When the dew starts to form, deadrats are invaluable.
Here's a DIY page for them:
http://www.joelandkaren.com/mic-zeppelin/

[F.O.Bean]

never humidity for me, but moedown 2001 condensation from so much rain and my gear getting just a little wet shut me down the next day. luckily anotehr taper near me heard me grumblinmg and gave me a spare d-8 he had to use for the day took 1.5 days in the sunlight to fully dry and recover to work on that sunday. got rained on friday night and the ONLY time Ive torn down because of weather, so you know it had to be BAD!