Topic: Those fuzzy balls for the mics...

[guitard]

Damn... I hate asking stupid questions... but here goes:

How important are those fuzzy balls that go on the end of the mics?  I can never keep them on, so I've pretty much just gave up on trying to keep them on the mics.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

I think they are pretty important.  Inside a bar, they protect your mics from smoke, etc.  Outside, they eliminate wind-noise. 

If you run without them inside, you won't run into any issues with sound, in fact you may notice better high end.  However, if you run without them outside, you'll get wind noise.  WN sounds like a rumble.  If you've ever blown into a microphone and heard the "wooooof" come out of the speakers, then you know what wind noise sounds like.

Terry

[Church-Audio]

Damn... I hate asking stupid questions... but here goes:

How important are those fuzzy balls that go on the end of the mics?  I can never keep them on, so I've pretty much just gave up on trying to keep them on the mics.

If you need to keep the wind out of the mic they are very important. Some people even use them inside to keep out air conditioning breeze.. So they are important but if you can get away with not using them I always recommend it because they do change the sound of the mics. The tend to attenuate the higher frequencies. Really expensive ones don't do it to bad. But they all do it to some degree or another.

Chris Church

The best company for windscreens is Windtech. They make windscreens for pretty much everyone.
http://www.windtech.ws/ there is not a mic made that they don't have a windscreen for.

[Patrick]

I'm assuming you're referring to windscreens and not dead-rat covers?

They're pretty important, they keep smoke, dust, and other particles out of your mic capsules.  Not to mention they block wind and can combat some pesky air conditioning units.  

What kind of mics do you use?  If they're too big, or not staying on, get some smaller ones, or some replacement screens if the originals have worn out or gotten stretched.

EDIT:  Got beat to it by two other people, oh well

[MarkF]

The best company for windscreens is Windtech. They make windscreens for pretty much everyone.
http://www.windtech.ws/ there is not a mic made that they don't have a windscreen for.

What series fits your cardoid mic?

[Jammin72]

I'm assuming you're referring to windscreens and not dead-rat covers?

They're pretty important, they keep smoke, dust, and other particles out of your mic capsules.  Not to mention they block wind and can combat some pesky air conditioning units. 

What kind of mics do you use?  If they're too big, or not staying on, get some smaller ones, or some replacement screens if the originals have worn out or gotten stretched.

EDIT:  Got beat to it by two other people, oh well

This is especially true for condenser mics.  When powered up they actually attract dust/smoke particles.  If you're running in bars and such you can over time accumulate a film over the membrane which will reduce the performance of your microphones.

[Church-Audio]

The best company for windscreens is Windtech. They make windscreens for pretty much everyone.
http://www.windtech.ws/ there is not a mic made that they don't have a windscreen for.

What series fits your cardoid mic?

1500 series fit my cardioids

[dointhatrag]

well I used a rycote wind jammer for GOTV 2006, rained the entire time, kept my $4000.00+  stereo mic bone dry, I hate umbrella's.

can you tell its pouring rain on this recording, can you tell there is a wind jammer?

http://www.archive.org/download/RhythmDevils2006-08-19.schoeps/RhythmDevils2006-08-19schoepsd102.flac