Audio issues are the ones that drive many a moto vlogger berserk, including me obviously.
So I shall explain what happened, why, and the various solutions arrived at along the way.
The GoPro Hero 10 is an amazing action camera in my humble opinion.
I acknowledge that remark is very subjective to some. But the footage is really nice, the stabilization subliminal, and it’s very easy to use too. I have enjoyed using it very much indeed, so another shall be ordered very soon…
Suffice to say that my experience with this camera has been very positive. The level of control one has over the settings is deceptively good, once the first impressions of over simplicity have passed.
So you buy the camera, the mount for your crash helmet, an external microphone, and boom your ready to rock? Not quite. As any honest vlogger will attest to, the audio is by far the most fickle issue to fully resolve. (Well, it has been for me!).
Trials and Tribulations
Wind roar | crackling | popping
kit I use
I have a Shoei Neotec 2 Modular helmet. I like the functionality of flip front/modular helmets, and I have been using them since 2015 (various brands not just Shoei). But the Neotec 2 is my favourite by far.
My GoPro camera is mounted on the front chinbar, just in front of the red release button. So it’s exactly a central point of view, or POV. I like that angle very much indeed.
There is also a Cardo Packtalk Bold attached to the shell, and its boom microphone in use by default. So the GoPro install had to work with that setup. It does now, after some careful consideration.
Audio Issues
Every ride, every time, I was beset with raucous wind roar. In the early stages, I tried a “Purple Panda” lavalier style microphone. Mmm. I’ll be kind and say simply it didn’t work out as expected (as per the so-called positive ‘reviews’) when I purchased it.
Literally, as soon the bike moved it was just awful. Total waste of my time and money. Perhaps mine was a faulty one who knows.
Then I decided to “cheap-out” as an experiment, and bought the very cheapest lavalier mic I could find on the world’s biggest bookstore. Fitted it, and to be fair, it out performed the Purple Panda: but not by an appreciable margin. The audio was unusable with this too.
This was driving me a little crazy to say the least…
Hama voip microphone
Hama 57152 Microphone
So a rethink was needed. I watched a YouTuber describe his similar predicament, and how this cheap VOIP microphone had solved his problems. So £6.99 later, I fitted it to the helmet, and with lots of trepidation I went out to test it.
At 80mph on the GS, and with a nasty crosswind (a perma-fixture in the Fens), the audio was clear enough to hear my voice, but still carried way too much crackling and popping to be useable. Worse, it was actually horrendous.
Not easily dissuaded I added a “dead-cat” wind muff, and went out again. Better results for sure, but the horrid interference was still omnipresent.
I’d been out for about three rides testing this particular microphone: as it was the closest to being good thus far, and/or being useable. So I persevered by adding another dead-cat to the mic.
Now it had two dead-cat wind muffs – one on the top, another below it – not on top of eachother..
Whilst the second wind muff was helpful, there was still way more to do. The crackles and pops were still there, faintly more muted, but there all the same. Still a long way from being anything close to useable.
Another anomaly of note, is the GS. Being an adventure bike, it is as aerodynamic as a tower block! But then again the same could said of myself too…
Anyway, I digress. By this stage I have covered way more miles than I’d have liked, but by way of return , at least the riding was great fun regardless of the audio.
Another brainwave (I have my moments)! I bought a large foam windjammer for a camera top external microphone. The idea being that If I used this alongside the other products I’d have effectively added two full layers over the top of the standard microphone.
As in the double dead-cats covering the microphone foam, then this layer over the top of the dead-cats.
not there yet
So the cross wind was averaging about 15mph, and yet again when on the smaller roads the audio was much improved – kind of obvious I know – but the crackling and popping was still trashing the audio all the same.
When I reviewed the footage further, I was looking for where the noise was worst, the speed and whether or not my voice would/could be heard without external windblast.
There’s no other explanation now, other than the where the patch lead from the GoPro joins the microphone? It has been on my radar for a while, as a kind of last resort. So here we are at said resort.
I used an indoor fan to (badly) replicate the effect of the motorcycle windblast, and used the patch lead from my helmet to connect a spare lavalier I had to hand.
Wind noise was present of course, but nothing drastic to be fair. I wiggled the patch lead where it plugs into the GoPro Media Mod, and there was nothing at all in the way of interference. So I then twisted the socket on the patch lead that the microphone connected to, and straight away the sound was wholly mangled.
Yet another ‘test ride’ is needed to see what I had… It’s all been very ‘testing’ (sic) and I am still perplexed.
Drift microphone
I thought to myself “I wonder if a motorcycle specific microphone would be a better option?”.
I did some research, and the lavalier microphone from Drift was duly ordered. I was actually quietly hoping that this might be the cure for said issues.
Again, I used the web to source and purchase said item. Easy enough to source thankfully, and just a couple of pounds (£) more than the Purple Panda.
My results were mixed. I attached the microphone to the breath guard in the Shoei Neotec 2, and pointed the mic to sit below the guard, thus being out of any direct wind.
All the videos I have watched over the years that were created with Drift cameras, the audio was/is always amazing. Not something I’ve noticed with the GoPro.
My supposition was simply that this microphone did work of course, but not in this application, and certainly not for me specifically. Meaning, that I think that when paired to a Drift camera, it would be faultless and have superb audio.
The microphone was nice quality of course, and I am making sure I state that I have no negativity towards this Drift microphone. It might well work for you.
Plus it is fitted with a 3.5mm jack plug. Thus eliminating the need for further connections and/or cables. Cable length is 50cm, so it’s a manageable length to hide the excess cable within your crash helmet.
I sent it back reluctantly, as I have spent a small fortune on cables, microphones and such like. Hence.
spare bluetooth Boom mic results
I had a spare boom microphone at home, from an earlier (pre Cardo) helmet bluetooth system. I mulled it over for a while, and thought to myself simply “why not give it a go!”
I bought an ‘Interphone Replacement Boom Microphone’, from Sportsbikeshop. It cost about £13 or thereabouts. It seems, with real regret, that it has been discontinued. I have searched, and searched, to no avail.
I was very sceptical about the results. After everything I have been through etc… My scepticism was without merit.
It actually worked!
Only minor niggle is the slight interference experienced with the visor open. The audio is still there – unlike all the others I have tried – but I’d still not use it in a YouTube video.
Solution? Yes, you guessed it, keep the visor closed when talking to the camera!
When the visor is just a crack open – on the Shoei Neotec 2 this is the first position from fully closed, not a detent – the audio is unaffected. Even when the chin vent is open, there’s no interference at all.
I have been testing it out in anger, and that’s how I’ve achieved the position I am in today. Just testing out all the different road types, with the visor open and closed. Vents open or shut. My screen position. Anything in fact that might find me out. Even at speeds over 100mph (private road of course), the audio is remarkable.
I did test it with a dead-cat wind muff, but it wasn’t needed, as it made zero difference to the audio. But it did irritate me plenty when up against my skin.
Also the dead cat fouled the opening of the helmet. Not by much, but enough to be noticeable. Imagine being caught in a rain shower? Then it will be a soggy dead cat against your face the first time you raise the chinbar… yuk.
So that’s me sorted.
Conclusion
Some of the advice ‘out there’ in cyberspace isn’t always the best. That’s been my experience of it all. I also think that most are genuinely trying to be helpful, and they probably are to some, but didn’t help me obviously.
Some though are just click baiters that offer nothing at all; after the obligatory advertising naturally… Kerching.
It is worth remembering too, that once you have your audio sorted and your ready to create your video, there is more learning to do in taming your audio in ‘post’ (post production).
You could always get yourself some music of your choice, and simply do away with the audio? Many do, it just depends on what you want to do.
Do lots of research into the editing software you wish to use, and decide what your budget is. Because all of the 4k capable software is either premium priced package, or a subscription based payment model.
No one will give away their secrets and successes, and why should they? The question is rhetorical of course. Spend some time researching all the options for yourself, your expectations, your budget, and how you wish to use your video etc.
So I wish you well with your research, and I hope you get better results than I did at first, and quicker than I did too. If you think I can help, feel free to contact me.
