What microphone pop filter is best for various needs?

Muito obrigado! Thank you!

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Thanks for the links.

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Pops can also be reduced at recording time by orientating the mike off axis with respect of the mouth, that is, you point it at the singer/speaker mouth, but not from directly in front of him/her. When pops are generated, the strongest part of them won’t hit the mike membrane directly, so they’ll be a lot less pronounced.
This trick can also be used to alter the voice sound to a certain degree.
For example, by putting the mike in a lower position, say near the speaker chin, then pointing it upwards to the mouth, it will also pick up the air coming out from the nose, contributing to a more nasal voice. The opposite can be achieved by keeping it higher than the nose, still pointing it to the mouth.
Careful use of compressors and limiters can make the voice dynamics more
interesting, and of course multiple mics can be placed these ways and around the environment then mixed to get the desired tone and natural room reverb to contribute some “presence”. Watch out for phasing problems though.

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the best pop filters are the ones that your singers and sound people already own , use , and profess to like
second best are the ones in the very bottom of kit and gear packaging , perhaps in the case under the ’ beater ’ guitar , of the other band in the lineup

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It’s kind of mindblowing that people would have pantyhose but not wire hangers. I remember seeing L’eggs displays all over the place decades ago, but haven’t noticed any for quite a while. Didn’t know people still wore pantyhose.

Wire hangers on the other hand find their way into my closet all the time because I hardly ever wear pressed shirts and paying $2 a pop at the cleaner is cheaper and much more convenient than owning and using an iron, board, and starch.

One thing I have learned from making lots of DIY lighting and sound accessories is that the mount is always the hardest part. That’s why I just bought a Steadman.

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Great advice @d_r and @stinkyfoot.

I feel it should also be emphasised that all the wind socks, mic control, and post production tricks will not do the job that a decent pop-screen will.

Wind noise, off axis polar patterns and noise reduction/filtering are all related but slightly different issues to the particular issue of human plosive wavefronts.

Please, I beg of you, every semi-professional youtuber/podaster use a pop-screen.
Next issue on the list to give my internet ears a break…distortion!

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I’m gonna vote for skipping radio-style over processed vocal mics - sure, you can hear DJs and talk show hosts clearly in a car at 70mph, but I’m getting sick of it.

(Also, pop screens keep spit out of your microphone. I prefer my mics with less spit. OTH, the cute little pop screen made just for the end of RE20s is 60 bucks. I’ve got a Steadman but it is awkward to use since it doesn’t tilt with the mic if you adjust it since it isn’t attached to the mic, and the clamp screw scars up my stands. )

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Seriously? Am I the first to post this?

Strictly handheld is the style I go
Never rock the mic with the pantyhose

Emphasis added.

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“Strictly handheld is the style I go
Never rock the mic with the pantyhose” – Adam Yauch.

Totally agree, I wasn’t dismissing the use of pop filters, they in fact solve the problem without the use of processing that could alter the audio. When using a hand dynamic mic however, the singer can’t use a pop filter, save for the foam mic cover, so they need to learn how to move the mic in order to de-/emphasize some effects. A trained singer can do the work of a compressor, limiter and reverb just by moving the mic differently, placing it in a way that it starts to pick up more ambient reflections wrt the voice etc. I had a book many many years ago about this stuff, studio tricks, miking etc, a true gem. Unfortunately I gave it to a friend who is a studio engineer, and never got it back.

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It truly is a beautiful thing to behold.

Just last night I had to bite my lip as someone was speaking in front of a portable PA while cupping a cardiod.

image

Me too.
It happens!
My audio reference section for many years was 3 books that between them covered pretty much everything important.

  1. Sound Reinforcement Handbook
  2. Master Handbook of Acoustics
  3. Mixing With Your Mind

Ugh. Presenters with microphones seem magnetically attracted to standing in front of the mains. And most of them should never be allowed anywhere near a handheld microphone. Far too many of them think that it is a magic wand with which they should gesture rather than something they should hold at a consistent distance in front of their mouth. Then they say “Can everybody hear me without this?” And the people in back who can’t hear didn’t hear him ask the question they would say “no” to.

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