what can i use to reduce sibilents?

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cyber-fm.com

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I broadcast (sambc) at 128 kb/s so our sound quality is comparatively top end. My problem is hard s's I cant seem to tone them down, the pop filter I made helps but its not perfect. Is there a relatively cheap piece of equipment I can run in line or is there a way to fix this in the pc? Any help would be appreciated
 
Pop filters are generally used to reduce plosives more than sibilance, but its worth checking you are using it in the best way possible - make sure you leave a good 6 inches or more between the pop filter and the mic diaphragm, or it won't be so effective.

There is the 'pencil trick'. I'm not sure how effective or true this is, but some people swear by taping a pencil so it is in front of the mic grill. Supposedly acts as some kind of 'acoustic de-esser', but I'm always skeptical and this may be a load of BS :D

If none of these work and you can't reduce the sibilance by using a different mic or changing the way you talk (sounds strange, but its often the way!), your last resort should be a de-esser. You can get hardware de-essers, or plugins for the computer. There are several types of de-esser, but the most common one is a kind of frequency-specific compressor.

Check out Spitfish...
http://www.digitalfishphones.com/main.php?item=2&subItem=5
 
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Actually, I've tried the pencil trick and it does somewhat work but not as well as plain old mic technique.

The "key" with the pencil trick (if there is a key :p) is to make sure the pencil is in front of the capsules diaphragm so the "s" and plosives get split around the pencil before hitting it. It does ...ok...

Ya might just try different techniques or angles when speaking. Maybe as simple as a different mic. Like an SM7.

I dunno....but good luck.

Kel
 
mattr said:
Pop filters are generally used to reduce plosives more than sibilance, but its worth checking you are using it in the best way possible - make sure you leave a good 6 inches or more between the pop filter and the mic diaphragm, or it won't be so effective.

There is the 'pencil trick'. I'm not sure how effective or true this is, but some people swear by taping a pencil so it is in front of the mic grill. Supposedly acts as some kind of 'acoustic de-esser', but I'm always skeptical and this may be a load of BD :D
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These may work when I'm at the station or home but a lot of times I'm on location and need to use a headset the changing the way I talk helps but after a little while on air (or a few drinks) I'm right back to square one. Does spitfish work with sambc, its a pretty cranky program
 
mattr said:
There is the 'pencil trick'. I'm not sure how effective or true this is, but some people swear by taping a pencil so it is in front of the mic grill. Supposedly acts as some kind of 'acoustic de-esser', but I'm always skeptical and this may be a load of BD :D
Click to expand...

This is actually used for P and B plosives, not de-essing. So it's not a load of bulldick :p
 
hahahaha well you never know these days. Maybe bullshit's bene replaced by bulldick. I'm not gonna get any stock in it, but give it a few years and it might pick up ;)
 
COOLCAT said:
i don't know either.
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well i just did some shopping yesterday and picked up a decent one, the guy at the store was doing his best to sell me a usb headset the range was the same it looked bigger and bulkier but that was the only difference i could see between them besides the price. Any experience with usb mics? Are they worth the extra cash?
 
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