Why is pop filter important while recording?
Youtubers, bloggers and animators; voice-over artists who record audiobooks, dialogue and ADR; whatever it’s that you’re recording, you’ll find the best pop filter to be a very effective tool to have in your studio. Adding one in your recording chain not only improves the quality of your recordings but also helps to protect your microphones from damage too.
There’re various filters on the market, with different levels of sonic and build quality. The things that are related to the studio, you’re far better off spending a bit extra on a quality product, so that you’re not left disappointed. Many professional engineers will tell you that a pop filter that doesn’t hold its position, or a grasp that keeps breaking and needs replacing, is a surefire way to cause frustration in the studio. The best pop filter is one that you can set up quickly and painlessly, so that once it’s in place you can just forget about it, and get on with recording that perfect vocal take.
What Is a Pop Filter?
A pop filter is also known as a pop screen or pop shield as it’s a piece of material that you attach to your microphone stand, positioning the shield in between the microphone and the sound source. They are incorrectly referred to as a microphone windscreen- and like device that’s primarily used by location sound recordists, for reducing noise from the wind when recording outside. You’ll recognise windshields from their use by TV- either the traditional foam type, the metal blimp style or the fabric variety is often known as a dead cat.
What Can a Pop Filter Do For Your Recording?
A pop filter is one of the simplest and easiest ways you can improve the quality of your vocals. They help to reduce the effect of plosives- explosive consonants, such as ‘P’ and ‘B’ sounds. Words that start with this letter produce a burst of air, which your microphone’s diaphragm will pick up and cause your input level to spike. The result is popping sounds in your recordings or even an overloaded signal with resulting distortion.
The pop screen counters this effect and if the words are spoken and these bursts of air move towards the microphone, the air fragments become dispersed and broken up by the fabric, preventing these bursts of air from having an impact on the microphone’s diaphragm. To improve effectiveness, many pops filters are designed with two layers of fabric placed a small distance from one another. This also provides a second layer of protection- anything that contravention the first layer is caught by the second. It’s important that you need to leave a few inches of space between the pop shield and your microphone, as there needs to be a mass of air in between to be fully effective.
What To Look For In a Pop Filter
One important complaint of studio engineers is that the arm itself on a pop filter can tend to sag over time, and the filter refuses to stay in place anymore. Not only is that a very frustrating problem, but it’s also using up valuable studio time. Spending an extra on the best pop filter with a strong and flexible arm is highly recommended so that once you’ve set it up to your liking, you can trust that it’ll stay exactly where you want it to be. It also helps if the vice is strong, and a squeezable clamp is preferable to a screw-based fixing, as those take more time to set up, will often leave marks on your mic stands, can be complicated, and will often weaken over time.
As you can see, a good quality pop filter should be at the top of everyone’s studio kit. Not only will you see, or hear, improvements to the quality of your recordings, but you’ll help to immensely increase the long life of your microphones. Like all this, it’s worth spending that bit extra on a quality pop shield; one that’s built to last is suitable for multiple occasions and performs exactly as you need it to.
In conclusion, look for a quality product that suits your needs and won’t need replacing. This will allow you to set it up and forget about it so that you can know with making quality recordings.
