| StoreTags: microphone, boom, diy
Author: skab on September 17 2007 Viewed 2930 times. 17 people liked this blog. You can rate it below if you haven't already.
People who enjoyed reading this: sAMsKi, daswesen, Tenine, bodo, Otterfan, Zanf, jdg, jogn, mlbot, energygiant, Moriarty, mechp, bla, DrexonField, adcBicycle, astroid, Analog
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After faffing around with field recordings for a few years and putting up with wind and handling/cable noise I decided to look into the possibility of getting a professional boom with a shock mount I looked at several companies that produce that kind of thing and I thought they were all massively overpriced. So I did a bit of googling and came up with this extremely helpful website about building your own boom mic.
link
I've just completed mine so here's some info on how I did it.
Ok folks, for this project you will need the following.
1.Telescopic carbon fiber fishing net handle (available in many sizes, mine extends to a whopping 6 meters that's right ladies, 6 meters). Cost $30
2.Shock mount I got the Audio-Technica AT8415. Cost $40
3.One roll of gaffer tape. Cost $4
4.Two rolls of racing bicycle handlebar grip tape. Cost $8
5.XLR to TRS cable really the type is up to you I use XLR to TRS because I'm using an M-Audio Microtrack to record to. Cost $30
6.One half inch BSF bolt with the head sawed off. One half inch to 3/8th inch mating nut. These two items go together to connect the net handle to the shock mount The bolt thread sits in the end of the handle and the mating nut goes on top and adapts the size to fit into the mount. It's a male to male adapter. I'm not going to make any jokes about that bit. I could, but I won't. Cost $4.
7.Velcro cable ties. You have to get Velcro so you can adjust the cable as you extend the boom. Cost $3
8.Some furry material of the fake fur variety. Try to get an off cut from your local craft shop. Cost $3
9.A strong can of lager I went for the Sapporo Limited Autumn Brew, but any variety of cheap punchy lager will do the trick. Cost $2.
Total cost not including the microphone: $124. Mmmm, cheapish. And a lot cheaper than the prices I saw for pro models, which were also just made of carbon fiber like mine.
So here's what you do. Take your net handle and wipe it clean of any dust or grease. You need to put on some grips and this will help the tape to stick better. Put one grip near the bottom of the handle and one near the top. Make sure that the tape stops before the telescoping section starts. Wind the tape around at about a 40 degree angle. Finish off each end with gaffer tape. I also opted to cover the whole rod in gaffer tape to give it a better grip and cover up the obvious fish-based logo on it.
Next step is to make the wind guard. Measure out a cylinder of the material and wrap it around your chosen shock mount. It should be a good bit wider that the mount and give yourself about 2cm as an overlap. Cut it, turn it inside out and stitch a seam along the bottom, remembering to leave a gap for the screw that connects to the boom to go into. Then cut a circle, again 2cm bigger than the diameter of the cylinder and sew this onto the end. Put your mic in the shock mount, pull over the wind guard and check that everything fits, and that the wind guard isn't touching the microphone.
Finally the cable. Loop it at the end that connects to the mic this will help to reduce cable noise. Wrap the cable down the length on the boom handle and tie it in a few places with the Velcro ties. Screw in the bolt and mating nut, and screw on the shock mount with the wind guard. Badda bing, badda boom. A lot less cash than a pro model. | |
Comments
09/17/07
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jdg
did zanf send u one of his wigs for the windscreen?
09/17/07
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skab
actually - i found one in the bottom of that sports bag of his i nicked. it can't have been his "date wig" tho surely?
09/17/07
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mechp
If it is his date wig, it'll give your field recordings that extras bounce, volume and radiance they need to face the challenges of the everyday world.
09/17/07
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skab
ha! maybe it has mystical powers?
09/18/07
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energygiant
fucking awesome dood....and nice watch
09/18/07
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skab
thanks energygiant. i love my "gold" casio.
10/16/07
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tunalicker
great DIY project. lol wig.
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