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MKH 50, Shockmount and Windscreen


Caio

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Hello everyone.

 

I am buying a MKH 50 soon and I would like to know what is the best shockmount/windscreen solution I can get for what I am using it for. I am going to use it indoors and outdoors for drama. Here in my city, wind reaches 5km/h and 10km/h in heavy rain. Year peak is usually 20km/h.

 

Options around $300 or less

1 - New Rode Blimp with Pistol Grip, Rycote Lyre and Connbox - $299

It can be adjusted to a lot of sizes.

2 - Rycote Super Shield Kit with pistol grip (No Connbox) - $360

3 - Rycote INV7HG MKIII + 25mm BBG Windshield - $214

4 - Cinela OSIX 3 - $300

 

What do you guys think? Thanks

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Hi Nytkim

 

  Your all round best option for interior and exterior is probably a small Rycote blimp with furr.  Stay away from your listed option 3:  I have the Rycote BBG and it is pretty useless. Way too heavy on any suspension, especially if you furr it up.  Personally, I resorted to your option 4. Cinela is amazing.  I added the Leonard with fur to the combo and I'm very happy with it.  Only thing is that I don't trust this setup for outside. Wind can still slice through the Leonard with fur and I wouldn't try this setup in the rain you've mentioned.   Whatever your choice, know that the MKH 50 is very susceptible to bass, handling noise.  A good suspension is absolutely necessary.  Don't bother with a rubber ringed pistol grip.  The mic needs to be in a floating suspension rig.

 

  Good luck and have fun!

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You should also consider the K-Tek Nautilus shock-mounts, which are very good:

 

http://ktekbooms.com/products/audio/microphone-shock-mounts/

 

A good suggestion would be to rent some of these from a cooperative local pro audio dealer, then decide which works best for your particular needs. I found that the Rycotes and Connbox combination worked very well with the MKH50, but there's several good choices out there.

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Louw Verwoerd, on 02 Jan 2015 - 01:16 AM, said:

Hi Nytkim

 

  Your all round best option for interior and exterior is probably a small Rycote blimp with furr.  Stay away from your listed option 3:  I have the Rycote BBG and it is pretty useless. Way too heavy on any suspension, especially if you furr it up.  Personally, I resorted to your option 4. Cinela is amazing.  I added the Leonard with fur to the combo and I'm very happy with it.  Only thing is that I don't trust this setup for outside. Wind can still slice through the Leonard with fur and I wouldn't try this setup in the rain you've mentioned.   Whatever your choice, know that the MKH 50 is very susceptible to bass, handling noise.  A good suspension is absolutely necessary.  Don't bother with a rubber ringed pistol grip.  The mic needs to be in a floating suspension rig.

 

  Good luck and have fun!

If the internal high pass filter in the 50 is engaged then almost all the useless bass response handling noise is gone. There's really nothing down that low that's required for dialog.

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Find a used Rycote system 2. It'll cover all your exterior needs. Invision mount for indoors.

Your budget is a bit unrealistic. Proper mounts and wind protection are critical tools for recording. Buying an awesome mic and not being able to use it properly is bad planning. Getting "cheap" gear is a bad idea, as it will be replaced.

I have found no issues with my Rycote gear, ever, so I can't recommend paying huge sums for Cinela gear. Even if it is awesome.

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Consider dropping the con-box in favour of the 500mm. cotton covered xlr cable that Rycote supply. Much better than the box and cheaper.

 

 

So the Rycote Super Shield would be better than the new Rode Blimp even without the connbox?

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Find a used Rycote system 2. It'll cover all your exterior needs. Invision mount for indoors.

Your budget is a bit unrealistic. Proper mounts and wind protection are critical tools for recording. Buying an awesome mic and not being able to use it properly is bad planning. Getting "cheap" gear is a bad idea, as it will be replaced.

I have found no issues with my Rycote gear, ever, so I can't recommend paying huge sums for Cinela gear. Even if it is awesome.

 

You don't think the Rycote Super Shield is enough?

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You don't think the Rycote Super Shield is enough?

I suspect that not many here know the SuperShield yet, as it is fairly new. I would like to +1 Robert's suggestion. The Rycote WS2 with fur is very solid and most likely all you'll ever need. It's extendable, too, if you need to fit a longer mic.

If the regular fur isn't enough, you can add the windsock. I once recorded a car driving doing 60 mph with the mic mounted on the roof. No problems with wind

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I suspect that not many here know the SuperShield yet, as it is fairly new. I would like to +1 Robert's suggestion. The Rycote WS2 with fur is very solid and most likely all you'll ever need. It's extendable, too, if you need to fit a longer mic.

If the regular fur isn't enough, you can add the windsock. I once recorded a car driving doing 60 mph with the mic mounted on the roof. No problems with wind

 

I didn't know it was extendable. I didn't like the idea of paying 600 on a windscreen I would only use for 1 mic. Maybe I will be getting a Sanken cs3e, mkh 60 or some other shotgun in the future, so if I am going to spend a lot on a windshield, I want a flexible solution. I thought only the bigger WS kits were extendable, like the WS 4.

 

Thanks! I think it will be the WS 2

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I didn't know it was extendable. I didn't like the idea of paying 600 on a windscreen I would only use for 1 mic. Maybe I will be getting a Sanken cs3e, mkh 60 or some other shotgun in the future, so if I am going to spend a lot on a windshield, I want a flexible solution. I thought only the bigger WS kits were extendable, like the WS 4.

Thanks! I think it will be the WS 2

You should probably double check that, though. Rycote doesn't advertise the extendability of the WS2, but it's the same diameter as the WS4 and the fittings are the same, so it should fit. Chris Woolf who is a designer for Rycote is a regular here, you could pm him. Or of course, ask Rycote.
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You should probably double check that, though. Rycote doesn't advertise the extendability of the WS2, but it's the same diameter as the WS4 and the fittings are the same, so it should fit.

...

It's part of the Rycote Modular Series, which has several sizes of main bodies (as well as end caps, of course) that all fit together and interchange. Being adaptable to any size mic is exactly how they advertise that series.

Perhaps go to rycote.com and look up the modular series windshields.

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It's part of the Rycote Modular Series, which has several sizes of main bodies (as well as end caps, of course) that all fit together and interchange. Being adaptable to any size mic is exactly how they advertise that series.

Perhaps go to rycote.com and look up the modular series windshields.

I did that, btw., just to be sure before I posted. While Rycote does list an extension as an accessory for the WS4, they don't do so for the WS2. But it is shown as part of the modular series.

But anyway, thanks for confirming, now the OP can go ahead with peace of mind

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I've been trying to find the best option myself over the past year or so, so I'll share my firsthand experiences. I've tried the super shield. I feel the basket is still too long for the 50 on the shortest model. I also didn't like the suspension clips, in my humble opinion they just don't fit quite right on the 50. I've also used the Cinela Leonard and Rycote BBG variants and didn't find them sufficient for the wind I deal with at the beach or out in the desert. I finally followed Sharman's advice and bit the bullet on a Rycote WS2 and it has been the best option so far, though I'll throw the Rycote softie on when the wind is light and I know I'll be transitioning indoor and outdoor and want to keep the weight down. Now I'm looking to get a high wind felt cover as I still haven't eliminated all of the wind, a particularly windy ridge line out in Malibu pushed the WS2 to its limits with the standard furry windscreen.

Another little tip which Cinela packs in with their wind screen, you can tape over the low cut and pad switches to keep some of the wind from entering the rear of the mic body.

Good luck, hope this helps.

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I just used the BBG with a furry Windjammer on my 50 (Low cut ON) in an INV-7 HG MKiii shock mount and I had zero issues with wind and handling noise. Very clean. I'm extremely happy with this set-up.

Ditto. But make sure you cover up the low cut and the pad switches with some gaff tape as recommended by Chris.

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