Zeppelin

A special type of microphone shock mount and wind screen assembly. It essentially consists of a sort of skeleton/shock mount surrounding a microphone over which some type of foam or muff type material is placed. The purpose is largely the same as a conventional wind screen only these can do an even better job of isolating the mic from the elements while also providing a more natural sound. Typically these are used with shotgun microphones, partly because these mics then to be extremely sensitive to mechanical (handling) noise as well as wind. Furthermore, shotguns are often used in applications where one is already trying to capture a signal that’s difficult to get so any extra noise is a real problem. The name comes from the old dirigible as the appearance (and in some respects construction) is similar. They are also referred to as blimps for similar reasons.