We are currently designing / prototyping windshield blimps. If all goes to plan, we expect to release these in March or April 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
The difference in the mounts is primarily between the isolation hoops being made to support different microphones.
The RAD-1 is made to work with small condenser mics. This could be anything similar to a Schoeps CMC1/MK4, DPA 4018C, Sennheiser MKH8050 or CMC6/MK41. You can tell the RAD-1 hoops apart from the RAD-2 because the tops of the RAD-1 hoops are flat. The RAD-1 comes fitted with a boom adaptor and 360-degree XLR holder.
The RAD-2 is made for mics with longer interference tubes or when front loading with a slide-on windscreen (like a Nimbus) might risk the mic sagging. This is the mount to use with a DPA 4017, Sennheiser MKH416, Sanken CS-3, Schoeps CMIT 5 ... all the way up to a Senheiser MKH60. If you look closely at the tops of the RAD-2 hoops, you will see a 3mm tall spine and the hoops are slightly thicker. The RAD-2 comes fitted with a boom adaptor and 360-degree XLR holder.
The RAD-3 has the same braced hoops as the RAD-2 and will fit all of the same mics. But instead of a boom adaptor it comes fitted with a pistol-grip handle, an embedded XLR holder and a 3/8 thread on the handle bottom. It can be used handheld or on booms & stands.
Some mics can be used in any of the mounts depending on the wind protection you are putting on the front. Mics like the Sennheiser MKH50, Schoeps MiniCMIT and Sanken CS-M1 fall into that category. For interior use with just a foam, you can can go with a RAD-1 for better isolation. If you're adding a Nimbus or other windshield to the front or need a stiffer mount for your style of booming, go with a RAD-2 or RAD-3.
NOTE: These mounts are not designed for extra long shotgun mics like the Sennheiser MKH8070, Shure VP89L or Audio-Technica BP4071.
The RAD mounts have mic clips that are soft coated and will fit mics that are 19-25mm in diameter, including squared body mics like the Sennheiser MKH50 and MKH8060.
The mic clips are semi-flexible and can be stretched open, then clamped as tight as needed using the rubber strap included with the mounts.
All mounts are modular, so the isolation hoops can be swapped out and mixed-n-matched to fit your preference for softness. All the mic clips will line up even if you mix-n-match RAD-1 and RAD-2 hoops on the same mount.
We are in the process of making other specialty mic clips. These will include MZL, Lemo and non-coated square style clips. Availability to be announced later this year.
All of the mounts comes with 2 pairs of hoops in the box -- the black hoops are a standard stiffness and the blue hoops are a softer stiffness.
The blue hoops will offer better isolation and dampening. The black hoops will offer tighter control.
You can also mix-n-match the hoops by using black on the front and blue on the back. This will support the front weight of the mic while offering more dampening over using 2 black hoops front & back.
So which one is better? It depends on the mic and booming situation. The black hoops provide isolation equal to or better than comparable high quality shock mounts. The blue hoops can provide another 5-10dB of handling noise isolation on top of that when used with many of the smaller or more sensitive mics.
NOTE: We're happy to chat and share graphs of performance for many of the mics we've tested if you get in touch.
The 360 XLR holder should have a little looseness or play in it out of the box. While it is loose, simply grab the mount and use a little force to spin the XLR holder around. It will make a clicking sound as it spins.
Once in the right position for you, screw the mount down on a boom pole or stand and the XLR holder will lock into place and not move. To adjust it again, unscrew from the boom pole or stand until the XLR holder has some play and then turn it ... then lock it back down on the boom / stand when it's in the right position.
The XLR holder is removable from the boom adaptor. If you hold the mount upside down and look underneath it, you can see a small plastic piece that has a notch in it at the opening of the XLR holder. Using a small flat screwdriver (or your fingernail if they are strong) push that piece away from the center. Then while holding it out pull the XLR holder away from the bottom of the mount.
The RAD low profile XLR cables do not have extra specialized RF filtering or low-cut filters.
The cables are made with 275mm long Mogami cables and have Neutrik connectors.
The holes in the end caps are there to provide rear acoustic and air pressure transparency.
End caps without holes can create audio reflections that add colour to certain frequencies. In addition, end caps without holes alter the polar patterns on mics.
We have designed the holes to provide just the right amount of surface area to relieve these issues while also not allowing extra windborne noise to pass through.
We can customise any of our current products to fit most mics.
Different products require different quantities to be made for us to be able to offer them at a reasonable price.
However, we have tried to design our products to allow the most flexibility possible.
We have designed the RAD shock mounts in a way that allows us to adjust the design of the mic clips to fit different mics without having to change the entire mount. Our Nimbus windshields can be made to fit different diameter mics with different lengths (even for something like the Audio-Technica BP28L).
If you need a custom product, the best thing to do is ask and we can give you a quick answer if it's possible and quote a price and minimum quantity.