Storing Microphones in Rycote Blimp with Lyre Suspension

Question

I know it's not advisable to keep microphones in suspension systems that use rubber bands; the bands stretch and need to to replaced.

But what about storing microphones in the Rycote Kits with the newer Lyre suspension? It's plastic and seems very sturdy and less prone to damage.

I'm thinking of keeping my mics in the blimp, as I'll be using them at least 4 times a week this summer. It seems like taking the mics in and out of the kit each time would not only be tedious but unnecessary and would increase the risk of scratching the mics' bodies.

As a side note, I just got the Rycote AE Windscreen Kit to run Schoeps MS. It's a terrific kit, especially with the connbox. It's also smaller than I was expecting.

Answer 1

Hey. Great question, actually it's something i've been thinking about for a while as well. I'm beginning to think about removing the mic from the windscreen at the end of the day's shooting. My mic (Rode NTG3) came with a great tube to store the mic. The standard lyres that came with my windjammer have already become quite slack and I think that's due to keeping the mic in them all the time. I've just upgraded to the stronger (Grey) Lyres and they are much better. I think that removing the mic and storing it well will ultimately extend the life of both the mic and the windshield.

Answer 2

I practically never remove my MKH40 from the Rycote-zeppelin while not on location, and there mostly only to replace it with a 416, and so far, two years with this configuration, it hasn't slacked even a little.

With the 416 though, I'm not as sure. It's pretty heavy, so I don't really dare keeping it there indefinitely, I normally keeps it in its case when not using it for extended period of time. I might be wrong, but my impression is that it's much better to try and keep the Rycote Lyre-zeppelin upright when not using it and it contains a heavy mic like the 416, when I bought it I kept in under close observation for these kind of things, and it seemed keeping it on the side with the 416 in it gave it a slight warp, though it quickly returned to its original position again (it's memory-plastic), whereas when kept upright not much happened at all. It's much less mobile vertically than horizontally, mind you. But as I said, stuffed with a MKH40 or similarily light mic it hasn't warped even in the slightest :-)