"Even a light wind sounds like someone’s ripped your mic in half..."

Ten top simple field recording tips from Cities and Memory; includes:

You might think that’s only a gentle breeze, and it can’t possibly do anything to your recording, but IT WILL. Even a light wind sounds like someone’s ripped your mic in half, and will render your recording unusable. Use wind shields, use shelter, avoid wind at all costs.

The recording here is a classic example of it: riding our bicycles by the metal fence surrounding the Charlottetown Event Grounds on Saturday, I noticed the the gusty winds were making beautiful music through the slats. So I pulled out my phone and pressed “record,” trying to shield it from the wind. I failed. So you’ll have to take my word for it.

See also diy (do it yourself) from Quiet American.

Link provenance: William Denton to Radio Apogee to this exhortation to make field recordings of decent quality.