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I'm carrying out field recordings for a college project of ambiaances; so far my NT4 has been fine for the city ambiences due to the due to the healthy signal/noise ratio. But, I plan on going out and recording more remote countryside ambiences.

I've been given the OK to bring out my colleges B&K 4006s to do the quiet recording with - I plan on running them through a Sound Devices 442 into a Marantz PMD-661.

I've been warned that they're highly sensitive to air moisture and humidity. Does anyone have any experience of nominal temperatures/atmospheric conditions with these mics? I'm in Ireland, so as long as the rain stays away (!) it's very temperate.

Will having them in the blimps help protect them from any minor fluctuations in moisture etc?

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I have used B&Ks a lot and there are no real problems. I have used them in a wide variety of environments both indoors and outdoors, humid and dry, without any problems.

If you are worried about moisture just keep the mics in a sealed container with silica gel bags when you are not using them.

If moisture is affecting the miss you will be able to hear it go slightly muffled but the Rycotes will help prevent this.

You can hear the effect at concerts when the singer has been spraying their mics with saliva.

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  • Brilliant, that's good to hear! I think the person who warned me was just being extra cautious - and that made me cautious as I don't want to drive 5 hours into the wilderness and end up with tracks full of crackle and hum! I might test securely taping some packets of silica into the inner part of the blimps to be extra sure while I'm out, as long as they don't make noise!
    – Brendan Rehill
    Mar 27 '12 at 21:20
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There's a great article in the recent "Nagra News" about a field recording trip to Antartica. The field recordist used a pair of 4006 (DPA not B&K though) in Rycotes. Got to imagine if they will hold up there, they will work for you. They are certainly beautiful sounding mics, having recorded with them before (in a more controlled environment though).

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  • Very helpful, thanks! It actually was the B&Ks he used, which is heartening - though Antarctic air moisture is almost non-existent due to low temperatures. I've been told even the moisture from a vocalists breath can sometimes cause issues with the B&Ks!
    – Brendan Rehill
    Mar 27 '12 at 20:17
  • Opps...you're right B&K.
    – Justin P
    Mar 28 '12 at 0:25

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