Condenser mic creating ghost noise after wind - insight/advice?

[alexc]

Hello,

I have been using an M-Audio Solaris condenser mic for the past 6 years. It's worked perfectly until tonight. Right in the middle of tracking vocals, it began this behavior:

Now, if it encounters any sort of "wind" - e.g. breathy "ooh" singing, H-sounds, or even gentle blowing - it sends a ghost signal for 5-10 seconds after the sound stops. It's a low frequency (50-60k) rumbling with glitchy higher sounds. I checked everything else (cable, firewire interface, software) and I'm sure it's the mic. It only occurs with "wind" - normal talking, snapping, or even loud clapping don't trigger it.

EDIT: I added a sample WAV with this ghost/rumble/squeaky noise:
http://ghost.boyinstatic.com/homerecording/

I don't know anything about the internal mechanism of condenser mics. My feeling is that the wind is making something "wobble." So my questions:

1. Any insight into what is physically going on?

2. Is this normal wear-and-tear for condenser mics? It's 6 years old. I've handled the mic very well, never dropped or hit. And I've only recorded fairly quiet things - singing vocals, viola, acoustic guitar, etc. Are condenser micas really this fragile? It was $300-400 when I got it, so it's very disappointing.

3. Is it worth trying to bring to someone to take apart and repair?

Any help/insight would be appreciated.

Alex

 

[Shadow_7]

Any sample of said noise?

By wind, are we talking wind? Or just that which gets exhaled from a human lung? Could be a lot of things. Might be humidity related. Might be electricity / grounding related. Might be dust or something on/near the mic element. Might be gremlins...

You could troubleshoot it some. Does it sound the same with a different cable? With a different interface? With the mic element pointed down? With the mic element pointed up? If something other than wind makes a difference it could help ID what might be the source. Condenser mics are little more hearty than others. Some mics do let you replace the business parts for much less than a new mic. They are not infallable. It might just need a good cleaning. Not that I'd know how'd that be done. How has it been stored? How often was it used?

My STO-2's are about two years old (in my hands) and I bought them used and they're still chugging along fine. And they have been dropped (blew over in the wind, actual wind). Along with bouncing around in the trunk with cables attached. And other things that I probably shouldn't do, but I wanted to save a few seconds of setup time. But they get used on relatively windless instrumentation at a distance. And even when it fell, the wind foam took the brunt of that. Still going strong though.

 

[alexc]

Any sample of said noise?
By wind, are we talking wind? Or just that which gets exhaled from a human lung? Could be a lot of things. Might be humidity related. Might be electricity / grounding related. Might be dust or something on/near the mic element. Might be gremlins...

Thanks for the reply. I uploaded a sample WAV:
http://ghost.boyinstatic.com/homerecording/

When you mentioned humidity, I did a search on moisture problems, and found people with similar problems and suggestions on how to "dry" the mic near a lamp. I did move to a new city where it is a bit more humid.

Also, this problem occurred after many hours of constant vocal tracking, and very close-up too (although I do use a pop filter). So maybe it was just moisture build-up. But it's so strange that it seemed to suddenly "snap." One second it was fine, the next second, I get these phantom noises.

 

[senserum]

hey there, i've got the same problem in my condenser now, when switching from cardioid to omnidirectional. have you solved this problem? was it the moisture?