I’m determined to record thunderstorms this year in nice wide mid side stereo, without the restrictions of having to move the gear inside at the last minute to avoid the microphones getting soaked. In the past I had found it better to place the microphones either inside my workshop or conservatory with the doors open which seriously colours the sound and restricts stereo width.
The first thunderstorm of the year passed through a couple of days ago, but by the time I organised the gear and eventually managed to find the correct umbrella to fit the clamp holder, the storm had passed and another opportunity missed. I did manage to catch the tail-end of the storm – no thunder – just rain at that point, so thought I had better continue and at least do a couple of test recordings with the gear.
First recording with no umbrella, just the Rode NT1A and Rode NT2A (figure 8 pattern) microphones mounted in tandem inside the large windscreen. If you take a look at one of the earlier posts (Large Microphone Windshield – An Alternative Approach Part 1) you will see that it has a plastic lid top and paint sprayed dual cotton cover (part waterproofed), although I wouldn’t be happy exposing these expensive microphones to this rather limited form of protection in a heavy storm. The top is in close proximity to the microphones, so the heavy ’plops’ of rain (only light rain in this recording) would tend to drown out the ambient sounds - not really a suitable setup as you can hear.
The following arrangement seems ok, but only a real storm will test it out - my only concern is about noise generated by the wind knocking the umbrella about. The tripod is capable of taking the force as it can be lowered and the legs spread out nearly horizontal to that shown in the photo below.
The presence of the umbrella, apart from providing good water protection to the microphones, imparts a pleasant sound to the rain, rather than the audio ‘plops’ heard previously. The test audio of the umbrella arrangement follows, with rain drops on the umbrella and a tuneful blackbird, producing a rather nice ambience.
Rather than getting caught out again and missing these sometimes fast moving thunderstorms, I’ve decided to employ another secret weapon – my SkyScan P5 Lightning Detector - this will give me plenty of warning whether or not a storm is heading in my direction.
Now I have this protection in place, I will not have to move the rig inside under cover if the rains whilst recording overhead and nearby thunderstorms. as I did during the recording made earlier in 28 May 2008 which is including in the following post called Field Recording – Thunderstorms
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