Pop filters

  • Thread starter Thread starter DarrenVocal
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I use just basic fabric filters purchased cheaply years ago from Maplins and they've always worked for me.

Also, since I believe that commercial posts should be transparent, be aware that John Willett's company sells that Haken filter he was suggesting with photos. I can't comment on how good it may be--I just think dealers should be upfront when they suggest something they sell.
 
Bobbsy said:
I use just basic fabric filters purchased cheaply years ago from Maplins and they've always worked for me.
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Yes, they do work, but can colour the sound.

I always remember people telling me, years ago, that the original Neumann pop filters coloured the sound less than the cheap ones.


Bobbsy said:
Also, since I believe that commercial posts should be transparent, be aware that John Willett's company sells that Haken filter he was suggesting with photos. I can't comment on how good it may be--I just think dealers should be upfront when they suggest something they sell.
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Yes - and it's all in my signature and profile. And why I posted the data sheet without giving any personal opinions.

And Sound On Sound will be reviewing the new version with the gooseneck shortly, I hope.
 
This is the one I use - $15. the gooseneck is silent when moved, and stays in place, as does the screw clamp. Yes, it's nylon. 'color the sound'? I doubt there is much of a change.
 
I've always been interested in trying these out....just never got around to ordering one.

Popless Voice Screens - Microphone Pop Filters

They come with two filters, and you can either remove, or just move the second filter further apart from the first...plus it has a ball & socket at the end, so you can easily adjust the whole thing with precision, instead of only by twisting the goose-neck.

I have a few of the basic mesh-type...some smaller diameter and and some of the bigger, 6" ones, which I prefer since they provide wider cover of the mic even if the vocalist moves a bit. I find the smaller ones too "confining".
Some of them have single mesh, and some have double mesh...and while there may be some coloration, I actually don't think it necessarily a bad thing, and you can use it to your advantage at times.

Those Hakan filters are interesting...but honestly, I find the whole "chunk of foam" approach somewhat of a turn-off, even if the specs claim they are flatter/more transparent. The piece foam just makes it look rather "homemade".
 
miroslav said:
Those Hakan filters are interesting...but honestly, I find the whole "chunk of foam" approach somewhat of a turn-off, even if the specs claim they are flatter/more transparent. The piece foam just makes it look rather "homemade".
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Putting looks before sound quality is the start of the road to hell :facepalm: ;) :D
 
Ok, this thread has been 2 pages of non-sense, and one page of pompous bullshit.





Good morning. :)
 
RAMI said:
Ok, this thread has been 2 pages of non-sense, and one page of pompous bullshit.





Good morning. :)
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I'm so cool I use a pop filter woven from the beard hair of dead hipsters... for a more folky sound... :eek::laughings:

I'm hoping they take off... we could use more dead hipsters.
 
Since, in my experience, many folky hipsters have red beards, does your pop filter colour the sound red?
 
Bobbsy said:
Since, in my experience, many folky hipsters have red beards, does your pop filter colour the sound red?
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It can. It also depends upon whether the hipster was dead when harvested or not. You get a darker red sound if they're dead when you snip the beard... you can definitely tell the difference between these pop filters and ones made from hipster beard hair where the hipster is still, alas, alive.....

I stay up all night, weaving.... ;)
 
John Willett said:
Putting looks before sound quality....
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Not at all. :)

Just sayin' that the foam makes it look rather homemade...but you can still ignore that it does. ;)
I'm sure it's works well, but the actual sound quality improvement would have to be quite obvious (not just mildly "different" than other pop filters, but really better) for the foam to become less unappealing. :D

You took down the frequency response chart you had earlier....I was curious which was the "other filter" measured against the Hakan on that chart? There was no specific mention.
Was it just your average fare $20 On-Stage kind of stuff...or also some of the better ones...Steadman, Popless, Pauly...etc....etc?

Oh...AFA hydrophobic....most nylon, silk, poly and metal mesh filters don't absorb moisture either.
Also...how does that work with the filter mounted directly to the mics???
I mean, won't that translate any sound vibrations that hit the filter/wire, also into the mic...not to mention singers bumping/touching the filter...?

What I want to see someone design is a "Poop Filter"....that way every vocal take would be pure gold. :laughings:
 
miroslav said:
You took down the frequency response chart you had earlier....I was curious which was the "other filter" measured against the Hakan on that chart? There was no specific mention.
Was it just your average fare $20 On-Stage kind of stuff...or also some of the better ones...Steadman, Popless, Pauly...etc....etc?

Oh...AFA hydrophobic....most nylon, silk, poly and metal mesh filters don't absorb moisture either.
Also...how does that work with the filter mounted directly to the mics???
I mean, won't that translate any sound vibrations that hit the filter/wire, also into the mic...not to mention singers bumping/touching the filter...?
Click to expand...

I didn't take down the chart - not sure what happened - here it is again:-

p110curvecleaned.webp

The graph is the results of measurements by the manufacturer, not me, so I don't know what specific pop filter was used for comparison. It would have been a standard nylon one I am sure.

The filter is *not* mounted direct to the mic. The Universal version goes on a separate mic. stand, the Goosneck one clamps to the stand and the Gefell and Brauner versions clip to the outside of the elastic suspension and not directly to the mic.

And, yes, if is was clipped directly to the mic., handling noise would be transmitted to the mic. - but it's *not* clipped directly to the mic.

It's not an expensive pop filter - UK price is £40 +VAT (May 2013).
 
I'd like to know how they performed their tests. I was trying to think of a way to test my cheap pop filters for colouration but couldn't come up with an acceptable way to do it.

Two mics on a simultaneous source would introduce the differences between even a matched pair of mics.

The same mic used twice, once with pop filter and once without would limit the test to being pre recorded material via a speaker and I know from past testing that small things like changes in the temperature inside the voice coil can cause subtle differences in speaker performance.

Either way, the subtle levels of difference that a pop filter MIGHT cause would be very difficult to create a totally transparent experiment.
 
RAMI said:
I can't believe we're talking about pop frickin' filters for 4 pages.
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Think of it as a drum stick thread for vocalists.... :D

It would take more than a pop filter to make me sound good... so differences in colouration largely pass me by.
 
RAMI said:
I can't believe we're talking about pop frickin' filters for 4 pages.
Click to expand...

OK...so then let's expand the subject. :D

What about those wrap-around reflection filters, with the perforated metal backs and foam fronts.....anyone using them, and do they really have a noticable, beneficial effect for you?
Which brand/model...pros/cons.....
 
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