How do you record wind? Not wind instruments, but The Wind.

Or rather, the wind going through trees, or something, such that it makes sound.

You have to insulate the mic? But that means insulating the mic from sound? So how do you get the sound without the wind destroying the recording?

 

microphone of choice, 100 ft telescoping boom (for that whispering in the pine needles effect), 150 ft xlr cable ,
dead cat, upper body strength...

oh and one of these...

 

Helpful Hint Number 1



Stand Back And Hit Record
​

 

Wind by itself has no sound but defines itself in regard to it's relationships with objects. Wind protection on the microphone will help eliminate the wind creating sound when it comes in contact with the mic capsule. You need to record the sound of the wind as it curses through trees, grasses, as it comes around the corner of a building and as it rustles leaves as it moves silently along.

 

you can get very convincing wind effect from synths (diva/bazille?)

 

Just google Foley techniques for whatever sound you want to create. Foley artists usually have obscure ways of making the sounds you hear in movies, animation, and games.

 

Just juggling some ideas...

On the serious side what Herr Durr said is the right way to approach it... without choking on it. Sorry, couldn't help it. Tascam recorders are great field recorders. Some Zoom recorders like Zoom H4 or H4n Pro aren't bad, either, and they're cheaper, especially the older H4 model. The windscreen on the mic will actually make sure you get the sound of the wind, not the sound of the wind blowing into the mic.

You could always use a laptop with a good audio card with XLR inputs, like RME multiface, instead of spending money on a dedicated recorder.

Cheers! Quite useful and a bit funny thread!

 

Last edited: Feb 2, 2017

Wish I had some of the audio I recorded for a documentary to preview, I setup my Se2200II to Omni-Directional and went into a Zoom H4 recording at about -20db at highest peaks and aimed it at a tree which had a few bugs and birds flying around it.

As Superliquid said it really has to do with the reactions caused by wind. My trick was to find a nice blend of dynamics, so for example, the birds would wizz past the mic causing an increase in volume and the set polarity would somewhat pan the sounds, the lowest sounds would be the rustle of the leaves.

If it's too windy, get a dead cat for your mic, the X-Y add-on the H4 still sounds very nice with it on, obviously harsh wind will just sound nasty though. Also get comfortable, as you cannot move while recording, even heavy breathing will destroy your experiment.

Also avoid recording to hot as any denoising on such a recording is kind of pointless. Lol at that BBC library with all that noisy ambience recorded in the jungle hehe..

covaloid's example is awesome too if you want that actual ' wind ' sound

Hope this helps.

 

hehe. But how? "Wind protection"? Foam? waterproofing? everything demands protecting the mic, but that inhibits the mic's ability to record........so I thought there might be some "classic" advice. [apart from farting into the mic ;)]

But I want to (try) to capture the sound of this place, and previously results have been poor. I want to make a memory, kinda thing.

Yeah, but like I said above, i want the real sound. I should have said. Appreciate the reply though. ;)

That's what I want, but what is a "windscreen"? Foam? Or a box........I have to make this myself, I don't have a store to sort it, or anything. :D

My cat looks uneasy, but definitely alive. Will a dead squirrel work? :D



I've got a Rode NT1-A XLR. Do I destroy a foam cushion and wrap it in that? OR......a box with a cutaway, in a box with a cutaway.....? Or just go "Fuck it! Why bother?"

 

It is only possible to record the wind if it is loud enough

 

For winds we use a 'Windjammer' - placed over a basket. When the wind is really strong, like 8 bft or more, a so called 'High wind cover' is placed under the Windjammer. Deadcats are an all-in-one solution. They will take away some high frequencies, but it's doable.
However, none of them will fit your NT1-A with it's 5 cm diameter, all these solutions are made for mics of around 2 cm diameter.

For the best result, you need a minimum of two mics. A single -mono- mic, isn't able of recording the spacious sound you hear with 2 ears.
So I would rent 2 mics with baskets, windjammers and a sturdy tripod. I don't know where you live, see if there's a rental house near by. It'll cost you around 60 bucks for a day.

 

It seems like you want the sound of wind.

The easiest way of doig something is 2 not do it at all.

So just wynaut get stuff off http://freesound.org/ ? NB: Check the license.

 

That's what I was thinking. I appreciate the advice but it's all way out of my league. ;)

I shall give it a go tomorrow.......so I appreciate all the advice. It should help. thanks all

I know, I probs have much of it, but they don't have a good recording of my place - certainly not dated tomorrow. ;)

 

If you have patience, lil luck, access to a tall (ish) old (ish) building? Simply take ur recording stuff up this building on a windy day, and you can use old wobbly windows as a resonator when the wind blows; just make sure u can angle them & they're big enugh to vibrate. Bear in mind that windows can break, tho, so don't start above 10th floor in hurricane! Good spot is a corner, between two "towers", if memory serves. Anyway, the building shields ur lovely expensive mic. And gives access to electricty / engineers / heat / light / coffee. Probably. Assuming Donald Trump wasn't in charge of the construction. The window thing, anyway, gives amazing fx that put stupid THX demo to shame, w/ big speakers. Will prolly blow ur cones, tho =( which is not a euphamism!)

 

"How to record wind?"

Fart one time in your partners face and guaranteed you'll never hear the end of it.

 

@G String .. You could borrow some hair off of those sheep that are milling about your place and fashion your own wind protection for your mic.

 

or just shave your cat....tell him it's for a good cause...

 

yep, if you can't afford a deadcat (which may not be the best solution, but i've never heard realy pricy & high-tech ones)
a portable recorder with a good mike, and find some place where you can place it to record without the wind blowing in.
it's hard to explain like that, but for example, hunters have these kind of cabins (in the wood ) where it's silent enough inside, but you can still hear really well what's going on outside.
i've made a very good quality recording of a storm ( with thunder, rain, wind, + the overall ambiance ) a long time ago with a old sony ecm 929LT - that i still have -plugged in my portable minidisc.
it was taken from inside a room under roof, right next to the window.
sometimes, with some basic gear and resourcefulness, you can still manage to do a good job
otherwise, now there plenty of foley and sound effects libraries

 

In Soviet Russia:



First practical use finally found for Teh Donald! Alert the media! Call the cops! Wake up the President! Oh wait... =(