stealth taping -- rain

[mfrench]

Humidity and moisture kill electronics. Maybe not immediately, but over time.
I'm still dealing with corroding circuit traces in my old sennheisers, some 30 years later now. Literally inches of circuit board gone now, originally spurred by moisture.
You might think that you pulled some gem i the rain, but iis it worth hundreds of dollars?

I know that concerts slip past every night, and I still get a good nights sleep knowing that they didn;t get documented.
Night three of a five night run in one city isn't all that much to get worked up over, as they'll be some similar set list in the next towns three night stint, and so on.
What matters?
Premiere playings of original compositions that might not ever get played again.
For those, I might consider dragging my gear to a nice enclosed venue if it were raining outside. But I'd park at the back door, and run my gear inside, ardly letting a raindrop settle before I wiped it dry.
But then again, I live in socali, where it hardly ever rains, and when it does, we see concerts inside.

[page]

My thoughts are that since you'd be stealth that's a bit problemmatic if it starts to rain.

Depends entirely on your setup approach. It might even be easier to stealth in the rain if you chose your approach and setup carefully enough, just requires some serious creativity. There is a picture floating around somewhere of a schoeps stealth taper in the rain, rather ingenious really. It doesn't answer the humidity question, but thats more of a value judgement for individual users.

[Depechemode1993]

Humidity and moisture kill electronics. Maybe not immediately, but over time.
I'm still dealing with corroding circuit traces in my old sennheisers, some 30 years later now. Literally inches of circuit board gone now, originally spurred by moisture.
You might think that you pulled some gem i the rain, but iis it worth hundreds of dollars?

I know that concerts slip past every night, and I still get a good nights sleep knowing that they didn;t get documented.
Night three of a five night run in one city isn't all that much to get worked up over, as they'll be some similar set list in the next towns three night stint, and so on.
What matters?
Premiere playings of original compositions that might not ever get played again.
For those, I might consider dragging my gear to a nice enclosed venue if it were raining outside. But I'd park at the back door, and run my gear inside, ardly letting a raindrop settle before I wiped it dry.
But then again, I live in socali, where it hardly ever rains, and when it does, we see concerts inside.

thats why

1a) always check the weather before you go to an outside show
2a) if there is a great chance of rain bring an umbrella and a fanny back for your gear.
3a) if there is a great chance of rain bring mics that are not your primaries (if you have this option). When I had my DPA's I would not risk them and would use my ECM-717.

[firmdragon]

Humidity and moisture kill electronics. Maybe not immediately, but over time.
I'm still dealing with corroding circuit traces in my old sennheisers, some 30 years later now. Literally inches of circuit board gone now, originally spurred by moisture.
You might think that you pulled some gem i the rain, but iis it worth hundreds of dollars?

I know that concerts slip past every night, and I still get a good nights sleep knowing that they didn;t get documented.
Night three of a five night run in one city isn't all that much to get worked up over, as they'll be some similar set list in the next towns three night stint, and so on.
What matters?
Premiere playings of original compositions that might not ever get played again.
For those, I might consider dragging my gear to a nice enclosed venue if it were raining outside. But I'd park at the back door, and run my gear inside, ardly letting a raindrop settle before I wiped it dry.
But then again, I live in socali, where it hardly ever rains, and when it does, we see concerts inside.

thats why

1a) always check the weather before you go to an outside show
2a) if there is a great chance of rain bring an umbrella and a fanny back for your gear.
3a) if there is a great chance of rain bring mics that are not your primaries (if you have this option). When I had my DPA's I would not risk them and would use my ECM-717.

i've taped with dpas and sonics in the pouring rain.  i worried more about getting sick the next day.

[stevetoney]

i've taped with dpas and sonics in the pouring rain.  i worried more about getting sick the next day.

That might be true, but I suspect you're talking about 4060's which are advertised to be waterproof, where most of the other DPA line is not. 

While someone might have no problems subjecting their expensive gear to rain and moisture,

a) I'd never do so, and
b) I'd never buy gear from someone if I knew that they'd done so (unless of course it's gear that's designed for it.)

Basically, tells me that the gear hasn't been well cared for.  As mfrench said earlier, humidity and moisture kill electronics over time...not immediately.  I'm sure there are exceptions, but that's just the way I see it.

[spybo]

Some of us only have the stealth option for recording....it is not acceptable ( in most cases ) here in Oz to setup mic stands etc.....so in answer to your question
....I would obviously make sure the recorder and any preamp/batt box are well insulated from the rain.....a gortex coat or similar...Then make sure the mics run up behind your back (inside the coat) and into a hat--velcro them to the underside of the brim....if the hat is waterproof then all should be sweet unless you are in a severe downpour....
works for me and yes a pa recording is sometimes the only memory we get of the great nights!

[Depechemode1993]

i've taped with dpas and sonics in the pouring rain.  i worried more about getting sick the next day.

HAHAHAHA!

[DisturbedPyro]

I have a few outdoor stealth shows coming up.  In the event of rain, I'm researching how to handle things.  Here are some old posts I found on the topic.  The condom method seems like it would muffle the sound way too much.   

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,108390.0.html
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,89155.15.html
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,46149.15.html
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,40783.0/all.html
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,81254.15.html

Any tips/advice about taping in the rain would be very much appreciated. 

i personally use finger cots (the little condoms for your fingers if you get a cut or whatever). they fit completely over the mics and i secure them at the bottom with a rubber band. if youre worried about distortion, theres no need really. i cant tell a difference in the sound of my recordings when i use the cots from when i dont. i always make sure to pull the cot somewhat tight over the mics to make as much of a direct line of sound to the mic as possible. i think youll be pleased with the results, i dont think youd be able to tell a difference with having the cots on

[Scooter123]

OK, I took you guy's advice and really messed up.  You told me that you used a condom and I figured that this meant a used condom.  Now I have a real mess in my hat and all over my Schoeps mk4s.  Goof Off just doesn't cut it and neither does Oxy-Clean.  I even tried a Sham-Wow.

Heck, Olympic divers use it, but it didn't touch this mess.   

[nathan_g]

I haven't had the opportunity (misfortune?) to record in the rain but I have planned for the event. I picked up a few disposable ponchos (at an auto parts place I think) that look like they'd work well. They're clear, very thin, unlike traditional nylon/vinyl ponchos and don't seem like they would be overly noisy or restricting. Cost a dollar each. I wouldn't trust one of these things in a real downpour but light rain shouldn't be too much trouble.

[travelinbeat]

To tie-off condoms, I used some small bungee / elastic cord from a local hardware store.  It's the same sort of thing used in most shockmounts and a fresh piece of that stuff will absolutely tie a 110% waterproof knot. 

The only other piece of advice I have that hasn't already been mentioned (suprisingly), is to make sure that the lowest point of all connections is not where the cable meets the input.  In other words, make sure that is any water gets onto your cables / interconnects, it will have to go up-hill in order to drip into your machine. 

I found stealthing in the rain to be worrisome, but a fun challenge.  Never had any problems.  I know people will disagree, but I don't really worry about the mics getting wet.  I know I cover them way more than necissary, and as far as moisture goes, I think all stealthers can attest to the fairly regular diet of sweat that most stealth rigs get

[stevetoney]

What I find funny about this thread and others like it is that, I'd be willing to bet that alot of the same people that are recommending not to worry about the mics getting wet would post in the yard sale that their gear has been babied and kept in a smoke free environment. 

If you're so confident that allowing mics (other than 4060s) is OK, would you be willing to say so in your YS listing when you're trying to sell your gear?  I doubt it.

Really I don't care what anyone does with their gear, but it does bother me a little that these posts give noobs what I believe to be the wrong impression that it's OK to let your mics get soaked.

[stevetoney]

...and continuing on my soap box, what people need to consider is that rain water picks up and carries pollution and other airborne contaminants.  When the rain water (or any other water for that matter) is allowed to dry, it leaves behind these contaminants...on the inside of your mics.

Salt...chlorides...etc. 

Left uncleaned, over time these contaminants corrode metallic components.  If there's a chance that it takes days or weeks for the inner parts to dry out, a galvanic cell can form which can REALLY corrode the inner pieces of your stuff quickly.

Just check the chrome parts on a 10 year old car to see what concentrating contaminants can do over time.

[edtyre]

I don't tape in the rain, stealth or open. Just not a comfortable situation for me.
The gear stays at home or is covered real good and i have no problem sitting on the sidelines
enjoying the show. Part of having a good time means not having to worry about the gear all show.

[Todd R]

What I find funny about this thread and others like it is that, I'd be willing to bet that alot of the same people that are recommending not to worry about the mics getting wet would post in the yard sale that their gear has been babied and kept in a smoke free environment. 

If you're so confident that allowing mics (other than 4060s) is OK, would you be willing to say so in your YS listing when you're trying to sell your gear?  I doubt it.

Really I don't care what anyone does with their gear, but it does bother me a little that these posts give noobs what I believe to be the wrong impression that it's OK to let your mics get soaked.

Funny, I just assume that all gear on this board has been treated this way.  No need for a disclaimer IME, this is field gear not studio gear.  So it's been in the field, which for probably most of us means rock concerts, inside in smoky venues (even non-smoking venues have people who will smoke), inside in venues where they use fog machines (which are basically particulate machines if you ask me), outside potentially in rainy conditions, outside in major humidity in many areas of the country, outside in a dust bowl.  Babied to me means you try your best to protect your equipment despite the difficult conditions we tape in.

I don't have a problem with people who don't want to take their gear out in potentially rainy conditions, but it's a little silly to think we need disclaimers on gear sales -- again I think from the context of this board we can assume it is field gear.  Why only disclaimers for rain, how about disclaimers for using mics outside in humidity (there goes sales from all of the south, and PA probably based on my recent taping excursion in Philly), or sales from places that don't have anti-smoking laws, etc, etc?  Or perhaps a disclaimer that the gear was used in places where alcohol was sold/consumed, since we all know the dangers of drunks and our gear.

For my part, I tape outdoors in Colorado, which means that pretty much always you have a chance of rain (and with proper planning, your mics certainly don't get soaked even if it does rain).  If you don't want to tape in the rain, you won't be taping outdoors in Colorado.  But I'd still take a brief passing shower with my mics protected and under an umbrella than taping all the time where the humidity is 90+.  And I've been taping in Kansas at Wakarusa where it was a serious dust bowl -- all those micro-particulates cannot be good for a mic's diaphragm.

Anyway, food for thought, but I'd say most of the places most of us tape in aren't the best for the equipment.