I was just listening to a recording of a performance I did a few weeks back, and couldn't help but notice the ridiculously explosive P's and B's. I'd obviously like to avoid this. I can't recall ever seeing it, but do people use pop filters in a live/concert/performance setting? What is the reasoning behind using one or not using one?
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It could be that the sound person didn't do a stellar job if it was very prominent. Or it could be that you put extra force on those syllables. Try to record yourself, using a dynamic mic and experiment with putting less emphasis on the problematic P's and B's.– Meaningful UsernameCommented Jun 23, 2014 at 19:39
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3 Answers
I can't recall ever seeing it, but do people use pop filters in a live/concert/performance setting?
I see where you are coming from. We see all these vocalists almost eating the mic and screaming and doing things that should flood the sound with loud plosives, but they don't. And they are not using pop filters... Or are they?
In fact, they are using pop filters. Most of the well known vocal mics used for live performances have a built-in pop filter, you just can't see it because it is inside the grille.
For an example, let's see the SM58. It's no coincidence that it is one of the most (if not the most) used mic for live vocals. It has a lot of built-in stuff that helps with live vocals like shock-mount, bass rolloff, and pop filter.
SM58 Features
Frequency response tailored for vocals, with brightened midrange and bass rolloff
Uniform cardioid pickup pattern isolates the main sound source and minimizes background noise
Pneumatic shock-mount system cuts down handling noise
Effective, built-in spherical wind and pop filter
Supplied with break-resistant stand adapter which rotates 180 degrees
Legendary Shure quality, ruggedness and reliability
Cardioid (unidirectional) dynamic
Frequency response: 50 to 15,000 Hz
Replacement cartridge: R59
Let's see another popular mic for live vocals: AKG D5
AKG D5 Features
Patented laminated Varimotion™ diaphragm for crisp sound that cuts through every mix
High feedback suppression with supercardiod polar pattern for trouble-free use with on stage monitoring
Dual shock mount of microphone capsule eliminates any kind of handling noise
Integrated pop filter for elimination of pops and wind noise
Spring-steel wire-mesh grille and rugged die-cast housing withstand every live performance
Rode implements internal pop-filters in their mics for live vocals too.
If your mic of choice doesn't have a pop filter you can get a windscreen, but be very careful, windscreens are generally designed to protect from strong winds, so they are much more thicker than your average pop filter, which means it might have a bigger impact in the tone of the voice. If you go this route, make sure you get a windscreen that is thin and/or doesn't impact the voice tone negatively.
The mic's grille can be designed to reduce plosives, like in the Audio-Technica ATM410 and other Audio-Technica models. I have no experience for this kind of anti-plosive approach, so I don't know how effective it is.
What is the reasoning behind using one or not using one?
The most effective way of dealing with plosives, by far, is the pop filter. The reasoning behind using one is having issues with high amplitude plosives. As we saw, popular professional vocal mics tend to have a built-in pop filter hidden inside the mic. If you have one of these mics, you are dealing with plosives without knowing it.
Some people find that some pop filters have a negative impact in the tone of the voice, so they might consider removing the pop filters but only if both the sound engineer and the vocalist know what they are doing. The vocalist needs flawless technique to make this work, both at singing (vocalist handling the plosives with his/her singing) and mic managing (distance from the mic and angle).
I personally think that the impact the pop filters found in live mics have in the tone of the voice is too small, small enough to be unnoticeable to most, and small enough to be drowned in the sea of other sounds of the live scenario.
In short, in my opinion, always use a mic with built-in pop filter unless you know what you are doing.
Compression works too
You can also use single band or multi band compression in the low frequencies to reduce plosives. This is less effective than the pop filters, and much more expensive and complex to implement.
This is normally done in combination with a pop filter, not as a substitute.
I was just listening to a recording of a performance I did a few weeks back, and couldn't help but notice the ridiculously explosive P's and B's.
Do you remember what mic you used? Maybe it didn't have a built-in pop filter. Maybe it did have pop filter but the plosives were amplified by other means (acoustics, equalization, speakers' frequency response).
Working in your singing technique will have a huge impact too.
answered Jun 24, 2014 at 21:10
In most live situations you would be using a dynamic microphone. The dynamic microphone equivalent of a pop filter is the the windscreen: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RK183WS?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CPWZ29-ZkL8CFa9r7AodES4Apg
Most dynamic mics are built to take lots of abuse, so more nuanced considerations like pop filters are usually not taken into account. As far as I know most bands just deal with the P's and B's. It seems like a normal part of live sound to me.
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3"Most dynamic mics are built to take lots of abuse, so more nuanced considerations like pop filters are usually not taken into account." I don't think that's correct. Most vocal mics designed for live performance have a built-in pop shield, even the cheap ones. You just can't see the filter because it is inside the mic, inside the grille. Commented Jun 24, 2014 at 21:34
Only the more expensive studio condensers and some live performance mics have good built in pop filters. Some vocalists don't have a big problems with plosives, but others like myself do. The built in pop filter on the SM58 is hardly sufficient - you can cut a piece of carbon fiber (about the size of a silver dollar), unscrew the mic grill - and push it up inside on the inside of the grill. Here is a video link:
