Which mic and windscreen are the best for eliminating wind buffeting?

We've all seen the reporters who deliver a live stand-up in the midst of a Category 5 hurricane. If you're anything like us, you probably admired not only their tolerance for the elements, but the fact that they can be heard so clearly while getting pummeled by wind. Considering that it takes nothing more than a slight gust of wind to make our microphones go crazy with buffeting, we wanted to find out how they did it. Unfortunately, there were no hurricanes nearby. But we did know of a place where we just might be able to simulate one: A REAL, LIVE WIND TUNNEL.

We pitted the following mics against each other in a head-to-head test:

  • Audio-Technica AT835B with a foam windscreen
  • Sennheiser ME-67 inside a Røde Blimp
  • Audio-Technica ATR-3350 lavalier mic, underneath the test subject's shirt
  • Shure WL50T lavalier mic, underneath shirt
  • Shure WL50T lavalier mic, outside shirt
  • Shure SM58 with a foam windscreen

(Thanks so much, Dr. Jewel Barlow and the rest of the engineers, for letting us run this experiment!)

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