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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: NOLAfishwater on May 31, 2012, 11:14:09 AM
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Look just like the Rycote softies but half the cost http://www.amazon.com/Micover-Diffusion-Windscreen-Shotgun-Microphones/dp/B004M3Q18Q/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1338476958&sr=8-34
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So - someone else is copying Rycote. ::)
But - don't forget - Rycote are priced the way they are because they fully understand the science behind the design and design from scratch. They are not copying or reverse-engineering someone else's product.
The hairy fabric Rycote use is very special, specially designed, and with great regard to the fabric, fibres and construction (I do no more about it, but am not going to talk more about details told to me in confidence).
'Nuff to say that the Rycote fabric is designed to maximise wind reduction with minimum effect to the sound quality and frequency response.
Personally, I would not use anything else.
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Nice! Glad to see rycote getting some competition and knock the monopoly of overpriced products down.
So - someone else is copying Rycote. ::)
But - don't forget - Rycote are priced the way they are because they fully understand the science behind the design and design from scratch. They are not copying or reverse-engineering someone else's product.
The hairy fabric Rycote use is very special, specially designed, and with great regard to the fabric, fibres and construction (I do no more about it, but am not going to talk more about details told to me in confidence).
'Nuff to say that the Rycote fabric is designed to maximise wind reduction with minimum effect to the sound quality and frequency response.
Personally, I would not use anything else.
FUD
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Stealing intellectual property is not good but competition is. Rycote is great but their products are far from inexpensive here in the USA, a lower pricing adjustment would likely increase sales here.
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Nice! Glad to see rycote getting some competition and knock the monopoly of overpriced products down.
Why are Rycote overpriced?
They are a company who put in considerable research and development and make a high quality product that does the job properly.
That's not overpricing.
In fact I find many Rycote products extremely inexpensive - an elastic suspension for a Neumann microphone can be £200 or £300 - the Rycote USM is technically better and sells for only £60 - that's one-quarter of the Neumann price.
Someone who copies a product without all the technical knowledge, makes it cheaply and sells it at a low cost is not proper competition.
Proper competition is someone who designs their own products from scratch and then sells them to compete with someone else.
Nobody made a Softie until Rycote invented it, and then copies started to appear.
The ring and O-ring suspension was a Rycote invention, and then people copied it.
Luckily Rycote patented the Lyre suspension, or that would be copied as well.
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Nice! Glad to see rycote getting some competition and knock the monopoly of overpriced products down.
Why are Rycote overpriced?
They are a company who put in considerable research and development and make a high quality product that does the job properly.
That's not overpricing.
In fact I find many Rycote products extremely inexpensive - an elastic suspension for a Neumann microphone can be £200 or £300 - the Rycote USM is technically better and sells for only £60 - that's one-quarter of the Neumann price.
Someone who copies a product without all the technical knowledge, makes it cheaply and sells it at a low cost is not proper competition.
Proper competition is someone who designs their own products from scratch and then sells them to compete with someone else.
Nobody made a Softie until Rycote invented it, and then copies started to appear.
The ring and O-ring suspension was a Rycote invention, and then people copied it.
Luckily Rycote patented the Lyre suspension, or that would be copied as well.
::)
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Nice! Glad to see rycote getting some competition and knock the monopoly of overpriced products down.
Why are Rycote overpriced?
They are a company who put in considerable research and development and make a high quality product that does the job properly.
That's not overpricing.
In fact I find many Rycote products extremely inexpensive - an elastic suspension for a Neumann microphone can be £200 or £300 - the Rycote USM is technically better and sells for only £60 - that's one-quarter of the Neumann price.
Someone who copies a product without all the technical knowledge, makes it cheaply and sells it at a low cost is not proper competition.
Proper competition is someone who designs their own products from scratch and then sells them to compete with someone else.
Nobody made a Softie until Rycote invented it, and then copies started to appear.
The ring and O-ring suspension was a Rycote invention, and then people copied it.
Luckily Rycote patented the Lyre suspension, or that would be copied as well.
We should start a thread on this topic (brand neutral) regarding how we make our spending choices. I often scratch my head when someone buys $thousands mics, then cuts corners on the other bits. Cheapo mounts is the one that makes me wonder the most often. On the other hand, the custom fabricators here do a great job, good products, good prices. eg I get Dead Muppets from Tim rather than buy Rycotes because it's a good product, I'm supporting a taper, and they're über cool! For me, that one's a community choice not financial. I also have a set of Rycote mid size wind screens. They're 200x better than Windtech, but I mostly got them because they are red and look like clown noses ;D
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::)
I'm with John 100% on this one. If an inventor can't be rewarded for their hard work and innovation, innovation will die. Who will the Chinese copy then?
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I also have a set of Rycote mid size wind screens. They're 200x better than Windtech, but I mostly got them because they are red and look like clown noses ;D
I could get my red clown nose from cheap domestics, but I prefer to spend double and get it from well-crafted micros.
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::)
I'm with John 100% on this one. If an inventor can't be rewarded for their hard work and innovation, innovation will die. Who will the Chinese copy then?
::) :sick:
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You get what you pay for. I'm with you John. I have NO problem paying the extra knowing that it's a reputable company that supports their product with cutting edge technology and research. I put too much money into my gear to try and cut corners in the end.
Now that being said, thanks Louie for the link. It is good to know what all is out there and available. That way each person can choose what they want buy and use. A lot of use do this as a hobby, so it's not like we are giving an infearieor product to a paying customer.
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You get what you pay for.
Tell that to anyone that's been scammed on EBay and never received what they've paid for. It's a stupid saying and markedly untrue.
That being said, I own a number of the MiCover "Softies" and they work just as well as the Rycote version for significantly less $$$.
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I agree with John and BigPerm as well - It's one thing being scammed but a completely different argument when dealing with cheap knock offs.
Compare a cheap Rolex copy versus the original - no comparison.
The support you are going to get from the originator will surpass the copies - as does typically the workmanship and performance.
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The irony of this is that "Micover" complains about other people cloning them! Sounds like Behringer, Mackie etc, not to mention all the Chinese mics we've got now.
But competition is good, at all levels of gear. You choose the gear based on the value of your time/job/hobby. There would be a lot less recordings out there if we all needed "name brand" gear!
Richard
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That being said, I own a number of the MiCover "Softies" and they work just as well as the Rycote version for significantly less $$$.
I doubt they will work as well - you will probably find a lower quality of construction (ie: shorter life) and a high frequency roll-off if they don't fully understand the science.
OK - on a quick listen they may sound OK, but I would be interested in a real proper comparison.
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I'd be interested in a comp of either of these versus "big ass shure" windscreens, A81WS I think it is... in our neck of the woods those are by far the most popular. I'm sure we lose some high end, but don't know how much. If I thought Rycote sounded noticably better, I'd buy them, I honestly don't know....
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From the comments I've seen they seem to be well regarded and in pictures look decent enough (I know - pictures can be deceptive). A demo video I found suggests that they do a good job of blocking wind but there's no way really to tell from the video whether they do it at the expense of killing too much HF.
If I could get hold of them I'd gladly buy a couple to try them against my Rycote Softies and Schoeps W20/W20S but it seems that they're not available in the UK. The purchase pages on the Micover website appear to be blocked from UK IPs and neither Amazon US nor the two other US based shops I tried would ship them to the UK. A pity really as, if they work as well as the Rycotes and don't trash the sound, they're a lot cheaper than the equivalent Rycote. Much as I love my Rycote and Schoeps fluffies, I only need to use them maybe half a dozen times a year and they tie up quite a lot of money for so little use. The price differential between those and the Micover Puffins certainly adds up when one needs more then just one or two and even if the Puffins are a bit less 'heavy duty', for the kind of work load I have for them they still might be worthwhile. If they hold up in terms of their construction, materials and function then they could be a bargain - in those countries where they're available. If not, then I could always stick some eyes on them and use them as luxury cat toys!
If someone that side of the pond fancied snagging a couple and sending them over here (I'm quite happy to pay for them and the shipping) I'd give them a go and see how they compare.