Do you know who your mic's been with?

Let’s face it, many of us, on-air, have quite an intimate relationship with our microphones.

Some of us have very up-close and personal techniques for getting the best out of them. We chat them up all the time.

But in this world of COVID-19, microphone hygiene has become an issue.

Many announcers and voiceovers are concerned that mics equipped with foam windshields can harbour the coronavirus which means that some announcers are taking their windshields home with them. Location presenters have enough to deal with without worrying where their microphone windshield has been before.

Dell Yates from radioinfo’s preferred supplier, All Size Miracles, warns that stocks of unbranded, generic windshields and those made for specific mics are depleting fast in Australia and New Zealand.

She tells us, “Some networks have already placed orders for back-up windshields. The unbranded windshields will take three to four weeks to despatch, while branded ones may take longer. With the advent of COVID-19, the timeline changes day to day.”

Branded Windshield Care Advice: Do not wash or treat your branded windshield with any anti-bacterial product as this may damage the artwork. If concerned, quarantine it until we know more about the life of this virus.

There are two basic types of windshields prior to branding:

The main differences are colour and consistency – a choice of grey foam or black foam with different densities.
60ppi is darker – almost black and is used for plain foam finish and provides an appearance that most customers prefer.
90ppi is more of an “anthracite” with a less even appearance around the block of foam.

The more open the foam, the clearer the sound but the less diminishing of surrounding sound. So, the black, 60ppi, is usually used in studio and the grey 90ppi, when flocked, is used both in studio and outside.

Ms Yates suggests, “At these challenging times we advise customers if they are in urgent need of a windshield to ignore foam colour or shape – we can only offer what is available in stock.

“If you email your microphone make, model and the quantity you require (minimum 20) to [email protected] before 5pm each day, we will come back the next morning with availability,” says Ms Yates. Or call All Size Miracles on 02 9552 2226.