I'm considering buying a Rycote S Series blimp for an MKH416. Rycote website recommends a certain size blimp.

My concern though is if I put a smaller microphone into a large blimp will it affect the sound.

Does anyone use a blimp larger than specified for their microphone and find any issues?


The different sizes are really an intersection of ensuring the minimum amount of clearance around the mic to provide optimum wind protection, and ensuring that you have maximum flexibility in terms of distance for mic placement. The smaller windscreens simply let you place those shorter microphones (which are typically not supercardiod) closer to your sound source. You won't have as much close-miking flexibility with a larger windscreen than the microphone calls for. Obviously, this can effect your ambient (meaning environmental, not electrical) signal-to-noise ratio.

Windscreens do have some effect on the frequency spectrum of your recordings, but using a larger than necessary windscreen shouldn't cause anything beyond that effect. Just the previously mentioned placement issue.


I put smaller mics in my 416 Rycote all the time. I wouldn't worry about it, you're only talking about a few inches of difference. Get the 416 kit and you'll be fine.


So are you thinking of not buying the one Rycote recommend? If so, I think you should trust Rycote and go for one the right size. The S-series kits are quite specific because of the way they hold the mic.

Larger blimps are heavier which is reason enough to go with one the right size.

  • Thanks @Mark for your reply, I was considering a few possiblities that in the future I may have call to use a larger or smaller microphone than the 416 which then may require different blimps. The one thing I didn't think of was that larger would therefore be heavier.
    – ofa
    Oct 17 '12 at 22:14

I noticed that a very big windscreens affect at high frequencies, I ussualy made my mic blimps, and i already conducted a large ammount os tests. this was the main effect that blimps or windsreens can cause . But like Chuck Russom said, you will be fine with this kit.


You shouldn't need to worry, I use a Sennheiser MKH 40 in a Rycote Kit 4 zeppelin I originally bought for a 416 all the time. what you should mind though is to reposition the baseplate slightly, you'll need to make the smaller mic go as centered in the dome of the front as you can as to avoid unnecessary risk of reflections and ability to close-mic better.

The beauty of it is that the repositioned baseplate still will be working every bit as fine for the 416! You just need to find new positioning for the lyres :-)

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