How to record the wind?

[wildplum]

i have a project that just begs to have the sound of a gentle to moderate breeze open the song. the project can't afford one of those fancy sound effects libraries, so it is up to me to record the wind. i am all to familiar with what wind does to a mic (that low end rumble), so just how does one record the wind?

[Mats Olsson.]

In some CD-stores you can find inexpensive sound effect CD's (made for video amateurs, I suppose). I also expect there are some sample libraries available with wind & other sounds of the nature - ask anyone with a sampler, they might have just what you need. If you still want to give it a go, start with omni microphones. /Mats

[Mr Darling]

Here is another idea : There are site around that sell samples. I don't remember any from the top of my head - but I found this : http://www.samplenet.co.uk which actually give you free samples... HTH Danny

[vesper_dup1]

Go to the public library. They should have all types of sound effects recordings that you can check out. Vesper

[st00ts]

Well, Number one, the wind by itself rarely makes an audible sound. It is the wind being channeled through a narrow passage, or hitting various surfaces which creates the sound. So merely exposing amicrophone to a blast of air isn't going to produce any viable results.

[digitalboy]

give me your email and a description of what kind of wind your looking for and i'll email you a sample.

[Dak Lander]

If you hear the wind & like the sound, kick the dog into the garage with a muzzle, open the window, put up a good mic pointing out and record it. You'll have to cut out all the neighbors, lawnmowers & etc., but you can get some good stuff. As said above, it's the passage of air around or through obstructions that makes the noise. I never done that before...

[twotone]

I made a cool wind sound by using the noise of my wah pedal. Mine is a bit noisy so thru a high gain amp you get a sustained woosh, I then swivled the wah slowly thru its motion and recorded that, looped it and added phaser and delay. Voila! fake wind!! :p Try it sometime, it sounds quite realistic. Tom

[Botch.]

Like twotone, I create my own wind instead of sampling. I use my Nord Lead with a noise/filter combo run from the mod wheel, that way I can make the wind "increase in velocity" at the appropriate point(s) in the music.

[Doctor Frankensteinway]

Don't forget that the human mouth is a great synthesizer. I have done wind-tracks just by imitating wind as I hear it from movies. You do need a 'plosive filter or wind-sox on your microphone, but it does work.. What works best of course is to double (or multi) track the wind and blend the tracks into one with stereo reverb or delay. A good multi-tap delay works just fine. If you are still wishing for the real thing, then going remote is the only way. You should have a good portalbe DAT, or good portable stereo cassette deck at least. As they mentioned above, you want to actually be in the lee of the wind somewhere, and record the wind running around other objects. Wire is great (telephone wire) or thin metal is also good. Once on TV I saw a good documentary-snippet on Foley sound that was generated by dring around in a pick-up truck. The pick-up was filled with various props, like strung wire, rakes, shovels, plywood, etc. The microphones did not face into the wind, but were tucked behind the cab, and aime up at the ojects in the wind. As the driver would go faster, the wind effect was more pronounced. But if you can't get to a good windy location, or don't have a pickup, then mouth-noises work just great. Especially when blended. I always do that anyways, even with the best of sound-effect CDs or records. Seems to just add an extra personal touch. Oh yeah ~ your vari-pitch / vari-speed on your tape deck or DAW will help acheive various wind pitches. But lightly blowing, with a light whistle on your lips works really, really well. your mileage may vary