What microphone can I use in the rain?

What microphone can I use in the rain? We get that question quite often because our products are seldom used inside a building. In fact, many are left outdoors for months at a time.

The best option, of course, is to place some sort of hood or deflector to keep the rain away from the microphone, but this is not always possible.

For. A offers a handheld omnidirectional microphone that they market as being waterproof, for radio and television. Deity markets some of its shotgun microphones as being water resistant and able to survive in the rain.  

Most water resistant or waterproof microphones tend to be lapel, or lavalier mics.  These mics are often worn by actors next to their skin, or in their hair, so these mics are exposed to sweat on a daily basis. Because of this, many lapel mics are water resistant. The Countryman B3 lapel mic is a leader in this area, and our go-to microphone for outdoor applications. Countryman often demonstrates the ability of this microphone to operate while submerged in a soft drink.

A trick often used by broadcasters is to put a non-lubricated condom over the microphone.  The condom, however, is likely to affect the audio captured by the mic.

Even if the microphone element is water resistant the cable connection in many cases is not. Be careful to use waterproof or weather resistant cables to connect to a microphone that will be exposed to the weather. Neutrik offers a line of “True Outdoor Protection” (TOP) connectors which are ideal for such situations.

Obviously it is better to avoid using a microphone in the rain if you can, but if you can’t, there are some microphones available that are water resistant. It is even possible to get a totally waterproof microphone if you can use a lapel mic. Once you have selected your microphone, don’t forget to use water resistant cables.

‍