Metal vs Fabric pop filters?

KSEfan

Member
I know this is a drummers forum, but there is bound to be plenty of people on here who either record vocals or have worked with someone who records vocals, so I'll ask here.

So according to what I've read is that Metal pop filters eliminate explosives better, but sound less "natural" and can allow breaths through into the recording. I've read that Mesh filters sound more "natural", yet can allow explosives through or not dampen them enough. This is what I've read so far, so correct me if I'm wrong.

So which would be the best choice:
1) Metal screen
2) single Mesh screen
3) dual Mesh screen(I heard this dampens the voice too much)
4) placing a Mesh screen in front of a Metal screen (best of both worlds, sounds like it might work)

Any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks, -KSEfan
 
I have both (metal - by sE Electronics, and single - or is it double? mesh). Not much difference to my ears. I stopped using them and don't need them any more! There's a ridiculously easy trick...

Don't sing straight into the mic, put it up on-axis but have the singer sing "past" the mic, not into it. This will eliminate 100% of the plosive sounds as they simply won't hit the mic the usual way. Experiment with the distance but the levels you'll get will be more than enough, you'd need slightly more amplification.

This approach requires the singer to be disciplined enough to focus his/her singing onto a point other than the membrane of the microphone. Most singers have a "good" and "bad" sounding mouth side so experiment which side sounds better (if any).
 
I would treat these as the icing on the cake for getting your vocals to sound good. It doesn't matter what mesh you use if the vocalist lacks breathing techniques and mic technique you're going to be polishing a turd...

I recorded. a band the other week and the singer had some of the best voice control I've ever heard. He had natural compression on his voice, never blew all his air out on big notes and his screams were at talking volume yet, play it back and it sounded like a blood curdling money note full of emotion.
Didn't need too much compression or anything because he had such a great technique.
Wish I had more of them come through the door...
So many vocalists don't treat their voice like an instrument. they assume you either have it or you don't and that's true to some extent, you can't change your colour pallette, the sound of your voice but, you can hit all the right notes and it'll still record badly if you haven't invested the time into proper techniques.

Would you search the land for a bass drum mic that stopped the rattle of burying the beater?
No.
You'd just learn not to bury the beater.

Hope that helps a bit!
 
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Well, all else being equal, the metal screens are easier to clean, which can be a factor in flu season.
 
FYI -
You can make your own windscreens using an embroidery hoop from any craft store for about a $1. Stretch some stocking material, screen, etc over the inside hoop and you're good to go.
You can also thread the adjusting bolt through part of a mic clip and add some nuts to tighten it down - it will go on a mic stand just like the expensive ones. ;-)
 
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