Lets Talk Mic Placement!

I've often wondered about the feasibilty of using one of those weird 'Throat mics' that the Special forces chaps always have in the action films! Surely if it's getting the sound straight from your throat, it won't pick up any wind? right?...
 
AndyManCam said:
I've often wondered about the feasibilty of using one of those weird 'Throat mics' that the Special forces chaps always have in the action films! Surely if it's getting the sound straight from your throat, it won't pick up any wind? right?...
Click to expand...
Right, they don't pick up any noise BUT, at $100 a pop, I don't think is worth it. You can manage to get good audio for less than $10. Messing with home-made stuff is required but way cheaper.
 
MrCods said:
Works at any speed
Click to expand...

I think it depends on your helmet, and also the design of the mic coupled with the direction it's facing.

Most cheap mics will be a cardioid pick up pattern. So it will pick up most sound right in front of the diaphragm in the capsule and reject noise to the rear and sides.

So if your mic is pointing slightly more out towards the shell of the helmet than your mouth, it will pick up the resonance/drumming that the wind buffeting the helmet makes. Also, the closer the mic is to the shell, the more wind noise it will pick up.

Some mics will be omnidirectional or 'figure-8' mics which means they'll pretty much pick up song from all directions. Great for ambience. Rubbish for avoiding wind noise!!

The characteristics of the helmet are also incredibly important and just as varied. Some whistle, some roar. Depends how well designed they are. Not forgetting as well that the thickness and material of cheek pads is different from one lid to the next. And a dense/thick cheek pad will filter out a bit more low frequency sound than a thin/light pad, which will only take off a little treble.

My overall point is, it doesn't work at any speed, for every body. If you've found the perfect setup that's great! Sadly the rest of us are playing catch up with the equipment we've got! And I can't afford a new ANYTHING right now!!

My helmet is noisy at pretty much every speed. The cheek pad is too thin, and the helmet too loud to really get any better. But I bought it before I started trying to record my voice while I ride!! The next one will be very different!!

Incidentally, for anybody in Germany, my local helmet shop 'Louis' actually has a fake bike sat in front of a MASSIVE fan so you can actually see just how the lid will perform before you buy it!!
 
another one for inside the cheek pad. took me a while to get it sorted, but it's good up to 80-90 klicks. after that, voice is audible but not clear enough to use.
 
AndyManCam said:
I think it depends on your helmet, and also the design of the mic coupled with the direction it's facing.

Most cheap mics will be a cardioid pick up pattern. So it will pick up most sound right in front of the diaphragm in the capsule and reject noise to the rear and sides.

So if your mic is pointing slightly more out towards the shell of the helmet than your mouth, it will pick up the resonance/drumming that the wind buffeting the helmet makes. Also, the closer the mic is to the shell, the more wind noise it will pick up.

Some mics will be omnidirectional or 'figure-8' mics which means they'll pretty much pick up song from all directions. Great for ambience. Rubbish for avoiding wind noise!!

The characteristics of the helmet are also incredibly important and just as varied. Some whistle, some roar. Depends how well designed they are. Not forgetting as well that the thickness and material of cheek pads is different from one lid to the next. And a dense/thick cheek pad will filter out a bit more low frequency sound than a thin/light pad, which will only take off a little treble.

My overall point is, it doesn't work at any speed, for every body. If you've found the perfect setup that's great! Sadly the rest of us are playing catch up with the equipment we've got! And I can't afford a new ANYTHING right now!!

My helmet is noisy at pretty much every speed. The cheek pad is too thin, and the helmet too loud to really get any better. But I bought it before I started trying to record my voice while I ride!! The next one will be very different!!

Incidentally, for anybody in Germany, my local helmet shop 'Louis' actually has a fake bike sat in front of a MASSIVE fan so you can actually see just how the lid will perform before you buy it!!
Click to expand...
You put too much thought into this lol
 
I know!! It's what I think about when I'm lying in bed at night!

Who would have thought that motovlogging would keep me from sleeping!!
 
I use an Icon Variant. My mic? The cheap PS4 headset mic that comes with the console. I cut off the earpiece, cut a sponge with scissors, and used a twist tie to wrap that around the mic. (Deadcat). I then safety pinned the mic on the chin curtain between my face and the helmet. (Not actually touching plastic)

You can still here me quite clearly at 80+mph.
 
Right in front of my mouth. With a homemade dead cat from fake fur. purrfect at 100km/h plus with visor wide open
 
Hey man, this setup works pretty damn good for me. if i go 70+ and i'm not talking i'll get a little background noise from the auto volume adjustment on the camera. and that's not direct wind, it's picking it up from underneath my helmet.

i wrapped the cord around the mount a few times to keep accidental stress off the camera. it's jammed in there pretty tight, but i'd rather be safe than sorry. tucked the cable behind the plastic insert on the cheek pad. rolled the access up in the ear cup and pulled the mic out....

7XhWq9Sl.jpg



Here! 1. is a chin curtain 2. is the mic with the foam thingy that came with it. 3. is a breath guard so i don't get wind coming in when my visor is open. 4. (not pictured) is a big ol beard that blocks a lot of wind noise.
fYvKyUNl.jpg


I think this is a good setup for my needs starting out and i kept expense to around $100 ish. While i'm proud of my success, i attribute all of the success on my beard.
 
In the cheek pad? Why didn't I think of that? That solves all kinds of problems like; trying to figure out how to suspend your mic in front of your mouth, getting the mic close to your mouth without the wind effecting it. In the cheek pad just makes scene, Thanx!
 
the cheek pad won't hold it up. get a little strip of gorilla tape to hold it in place. you can hide all the wiring in there, which is nice.

C&C said:
That secret beard wind jammer technology
Click to expand...
things the government doesn't want you to know about. blacklisted beard busters.
 
Project Development said:
In the cheek pad? Why didn't I think of that? That solves all kinds of problems like; trying to figure out how to suspend your mic in front of your mouth, getting the mic close to your mouth without the wind effecting it. In the cheek pad just makes scene, Thanx!
Click to expand...
Let us know how it goes.
 
Project Development said:
It didn't turn out too well. The mic picks up too much sound (wind noise around the helmet) I tried different mic gain settings and that didn't help either (using a Roam1).
Click to expand...

Have you used a foam cover / fur deadcat on the microphone?

I have mine behind the cheekpad and don't get that much wind noise.

wwbn2Efv.jpg
 
T'Biker said:
Have you used a foam cover / fur deadcat on the microphone?

I have mine behind the cheekpad and don't get that much wind noise.
Click to expand...
Yes, we are using padding, and the wind noise we get is not from wind noise blowing across/around the mic but from the helmet itself. The helmet we are using (AFX FX-19) is made up of; 1in Cheek Padding/1/2" Dense Foam/Hard Shell. We put the foam covered mic between the cheek pad and dense foam and it worked like an amplifier, picking up everything (including the wind noise around the helmet).
 
As I have been recording audio with my phone I use the headphones that came with it and so I push the mic between my cheek and cheek pad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Posters Past 30 days

Winners Video

Website Supported by Ipswich SEO

Latest posts

Back
Top