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Mic yer Bike

A Q&A on bicycle recording drawn from the AIRDAILY listserve, February 2001.

Rob Rosenthal asks:

So, the other day I took a shot at recording while biking to work. I used a portable DAT with a lavalier complete with a very small windscreen. As you might imagine, wind was a problem. How might one resolve this? Ride backwards? Space suit? Please don't say condom...

From Dan Grossman:

I have recorded the sound of bicycling, with decent results. The first question is, what are you trying to get? The sound of you breathing hard? The sound of the road? The sound of the bike itself? The lavalier might be good if you want to record yourself. But if you just want the bike sound, it would be located in the wrong place (assuming you use it for its intended purposed around your neck).

I used an omni Senheiser (I can't remember the model, but it is the condenser mic that can be used with a variety of capsules) with a heavy duty windscreen. I was once told that President Clinton used this same windscreen! I don't know if that is true, but I call it "the presidential" anyway. I got it from Full Compass (#A81WS) for $29 and I can't say enough good things about it. I have used it in some very windy conditions, such as on a motor boat. If your mic has a bass rolloff, you can also switch that on to reduce the wind noise.

When I recorded bike sound, I held the mic in my hand. It is a little tricky, but if you attach it to anything on the bike there will be a vibration problem. If it was worth the effort, you could use a piece of foam to damp the vibrations and strap the mic to the frame.

Rob Rosenthal replies:

Dan - Thanks for your thoughts. I am trying to record my speaking while biking. Of course, some bike sound and breathing would be nice but I'm not so worried about that. It's my narration that is of concern. The wind created by my biking as well as the wind that occurs naturally causes a great deal of rumble and wind sound from time to time while I'm speaking.

Any further thoughts?

Paul Ingles writes:

Completely off the top of my head. How about a motorcycle helmut with a full face mask and tape a lav mic in there? Might sound hollow and "helmuty," I don't know.

Gregg McVicar writes:

What a great project! It's sounding like you'll want to try some kind of small headworn mic like one of these:

http://www.fullcompass.com/catalog/fall2000/headwornmics.html

...or play around with that "helmet mic" idea -- binaural would be interesting because your voice would come from the center while the listener is surrounded with the same amazing 3D sound that you're hearing in the environment...birds, splashes, 18-wheelers roaring past. It would be a really freaky experience though for those listening to the radio while bicycling with headphones!

Since most bicycle helmets now have mesh-covered cooling vents (suitable for mic placement), so this might be pretty easy. There's also the windscreen headband option, but that might conflict with your helmet -- or maybe not.

http://www.sonicstudios.com/access.htm

One approach that might really do the trick would be to outfit your bike with a plexiglass wind faring to improve your speed while dramatically cutting both the wind and the wind chill. You could then mount just about any kind of mic inside it with good results -- like a good ol' 635A, a lav, a small stereo mic, maybe one of those little crash-proof dynamics made for snare drums (like the Sennheiser E604) or even a boundary mic (PZM).

Whatever you do Rob, we hope you'll document this techno-quest as thoroughly as your commutes and post the comparative results as an .mp3 file. If you can sell the resulting story to Lost & Found Sound, more power to you. Good luck and have fun!

Gregg McVicar again:

One more thought about this -- an omni mic will generate far less wind noise than a cardiod or hypercardiod (shotgun). This actually reminds me of a piece I did for KLON back at the '84 Summer Olympics in LA, following "the torch" through town amid a swarm of hundred, maybe thousands of bicyclists. I was one of the wheeled-ones as the torch passed through the Naples neighborhood in Long Beach at 2AM -- and I recorded a "standup" improvisational kind-of-on-the-scene report while riding. I think I just held the mic in one hand and rode with the other. It was a Sony 990F Stereo electret condenser into a TCD-5M as I recall -- and we were only gliding along at a runner's pace in the still night air, so wind wasn't a problem. Won a RTNA Golden Mic Award for that one. While we're on the subject, I would like to hear radio traffic reports from bicyclists with cellphone headsets rather than from disconnected clones up in helicopters. This could be a great local daily feature for community radio "drive time" programs. "Let's go live now to traffic SPOKESman Fred who's just now pedaling up the Sunol grade..." "Well Sheila, it's SUV hell out here right now (cough, cough)..."

Daniel Grossman writes:

I think the best way to do this would be to use a shotgun mic with a good windscreen or a zeppelin mounted on the bike with a shock mount or held by another bicyclist riding alongside you. You could mix in some sound from an omni to make it sound more realistic.

Gregg McVicar writes:

Just for laughs, try taping your lav inside of a styrofoam cup (for shelter), maybe with a little padding to cut vibration. Tape that to your bike somewhere and let us know what happens.

Janet Dagley Dagley writes:

I passed this question along to the folks in the home-recording community, and got back the following answers:

from Rob Vernon in Florida:

It would look goofy but why not just mount a flexible rod (fishing pole perhaps) on the bike and attach the mic to it? A condenser on the lower half section of a center breaking fishing pole might just work.

I said fishing pole because it needs to act as a shock absorber due to vibration. It seems to me that the mic would be better off mounted to the bike not the rider. Pedaling and motion are sure to make extra noise.

I believe you might find that a thin, strong, flexible "stand" for this bike mic might work out well. It can't be too rigid, or else the vibrations will travel straight through it, and into your recording. The solution for this is to add or subtract from the length of the "flex stand" until the right range of motion is found. The flexible mounting post shouldÝvibrate at a much lower rate of speed than the transfered motion from the bike itself, or else there is no dampening effect.

A plastic funnel wrapped in cloth would help to keep wind noise down. The only other option I have is a helmet.

From John Waddington in Rhode Island:

BIG ASS Wind Screen
Over dub the vocals later
Use a frequency sensitive Noise GATE
Use a Mic designed to cut thru the Air without creating turbulance
Call NASA
Ride Slower
Ride with the wind

A head set mic would be better. but I think an in ear mic would give the most clarity, least amount of noise.

from Mark Randle in the North Carolina:

Probably one of those mics that actually rests on the skin rather than picking up through the air would be best.

See: http://www.earmark.com/microphones.htm

from Sam in Washington, D.C.:

Why not a headphone mic with a small, plastic cover over the frontside of the mic?

and from Merlin Zener in Australia:

I remember when I was a kid I had a CB radio on my bike: powered by a small motorbike battery that I'd charge every few days or so... Anyhow I used a Yeasu noise cancelling mic - the kind the truckers used; some of those cabins can be quite noisy.

For a more modern approach, have a look at what the NASCAR boys are using these days.

Bose also make noise cancelling systems for jet fighters, just in case you have a defense budget to throw at the problem...

Hope some of that helps.

Deirdre Kennedy writes:

In response to how do you record a bicycle when you're on it? I did a story on San Francisco's Critical Mass bike ride for Living on Earth a couple of years ago.

I used an Audio Technica 835b shotgun mic. I think back then I was using a Sony D5, could have been my D8 DAT recorder though. The advantage with the D8 is that I have quarter inch inputs and so didn't have to worry about the mic cord pulling out (the D8 has mini inputs).

I tried recording different parts of the bicycle while I was moving and found that the derailer made the best "authentic bicycle sound." I also recorded the sound of the spokes going around, and the sound of the wheels hitting the roadway, going over grates, etc. I have to say the only way I could find out which sounded best was to just hang the mic by the cord and listen for the best sound. Good news is that I didn't get run over or fall off the bicicyle and it sounded good on air.

P.S. The mic costs around $200.00, and I finally bought my own, but that day I borrowed that one from a friend.

Steve Tokar writes:

Some years ago, Catherine Stifter gave me a cheap recipe for a very good windscreen: fake fur. The long-haired tacky-looking stuff from your local fabric store. Buy a square foot or whatever the minimum purchasable amount is, cut it up and sew it into a sock. Cuts wind distortion wonderfully. If nothing else, it will amuse your interviewees. I've used mine over a senstive condenser mic in about 25 mph wind with very good results. For recording on a bike, I'd use an RE 50 or other rugged condenser omni with good internal shock mounting. Happy cycling.

Dan Grossman writes:

I recently used a homemade windscreen that someone gave me like what you are describing, with really long fibers. It was a great icebreaker for interviews. People said it looked like a muppet.

Tom Lopez writes:

Whatcha need is a lav for you and one attached to behind you, low, around the seat, for the bike. Your body will stop most of the wind (for that mike). But, whatcha really need is microphone foam, it comes in thin sheets and you can take shears and cut out a chunk and wrap it around the mic and fasten with a rubber band at the base of the mike. You can use layers to stop the wind, that is, wrap around and around. True it may dull the sound a bit, depends on yer mike and how many layers of foam you use, but a little EQ can brighten it later.

Rob Rosenthal replies:

The reason I was prompted to ask this question is two-fold. One, I am considering producing a series of bike commuter diaries. I commute from home to WMPG by bike over 50% of the time - even in the winter here in Maine (often my water bottle is frozen by the time I reach the station four miles away!!). Biking offers me an opportunity to cogitate on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and I thought it might be a unique way to present such thoughts while - as Gregg suggested - offering commentary on the merits of biking, commuter behavior, and traffic safety.

The other reason is I'm doing research on a possible series of documentaries focused on the Portland/Casco Bay shore line. A friend - an historian with a radio back ground - and I are conducting an inventory of the natural and built environment along the shore and we are doing it by bike. We thought that recording our initial discoveries might prove useful for the final product but also for a demo tape we would produce for seeking funding. I tried a lavaliere and DAT player for the first time last week with mixed results. I'm looking forward to trying out the suggestions from this list - after I call NASA first, of course.

Rob Rosenthal again:

This is a follow-up to my query on the AIR listserve a few weeks back about recording on a bicycle. I finally conducted my first test today.

The set up:

1. I duct-taped a small wash cloth to my handle bars. This was to insulate the metal mic stand from the metal handle bars.

2. I duct-taped the pole from a table mic stand to the wash cloth.

3. Because the Audio-Technica AT822 stereo mic I was using did not fit the mic clip I had (can't seem to locate the right one) I wrapped the middle of the mic in tissue so that it would fit snugly in the mic clip.

4. I wound several elastics around the mic clip, tissue, and mic and hold the mic even tighter.

5. I placed the Sony MZ-R70 minidisc player in my left front pocket of my jacket and attached the stereo mic cable to the mic.

6. With head sets on (and no bike helmet - the helmet won't fit with the head sets), I hit the road for about five minutes outside my house.

The positive results:

1. Not a lot of wind noise.

2. A passing car sounded great (ironic since I have a strong distaste for cars).

3. My voice sounded good. The distance between my mouth and mic was adequate, though I think with a slight angle change I'll be even clearer.

4. Other nat sound such as changing gears and breaking were fairly clear - the former more than the latter.

The negative results:

1. WAY TOO MUCH RUMBLE. There was a constant, low-end rumble that dominated the recording. Clearly, I have to isolate the mic from the bike. This probably does not mean more wash cloths. :) But, rather, attaching the mic to me in some fashion yet to be determined.

2. I should "flip the mic over" in order for the left and right pick-up to reflect what I am hearing. When I listened back to the recording, the car passed on the wrong side of me.

3. Don't wear headsets except when testing. I realize this goes against the producer's Hippocratic oath but for safety reasons I think it is best not to wear them. First, I can't wear a helmet with the headsets. Second, wearing the headsets practically eliminates my ears' ability to pick up sound "three dimensionally." Two dimensional hearing is dangerous on a bike because I can't adequately tell where noises are coming from -- a very important consideration given the frequent *lack* of consideration provided by drivers.

4. Tell your wife what you are doing before hand so that when she pulls in the driveway from grocery shopping she doesn't ask in a voice loud enough for the neighbors to hear "What is that phallic looking thing on your bike?"

The next step:

Try to invent some means of attaching the mic to me. I envision the mic stand protruding from my chest somehow. I'll report back in the next few days.

All hail Marconi.

Rob

Jeff Towne writes:

You totally need an iso mount. You should be able to easily find a versatile one that will fit almost any (thin) microphone. We have one for our Sony that holds the mic suspended between elastic bands. Solves almost all vibration rumble problems. Just buy it, it will be hard to rig anything as good as this, and they are pretty cheap. Several manufacturers, such as Shure and Audio Technica have iso mounts for about $50.

Jeff Towne

Co-Producer, Echoes