While listening to your favorite songs or podcasts, you will notice the excellent audio recording quality used in them. You can try to record sound with similar quality yourself, but this can be quite difficult to do without special equipment and technology. Fortunately, one important piece of such equipment, namely the pop filter, can be easily created from available materials. With this new filter, you can get rid of those annoying "P" and "B" popping sounds while recording.
Steps
Filter made of tights and wire
- If you have difficulty bending the wire, or it slips out of your hands, then you should use a pair of pliers. If you have a vise, you can clamp one part in it and start bending the other until you get the desired shape.
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Pull the tights over the resulting circle. Pull them as tight as possible to create a flat, springy surface, like a drum. Gather the loose part of the tights around the hook of the hanger. Secure it there using duct tape or an elastic band so that the stretched surface area is held tightly.
Place the filter directly in front of the microphone. The distance from the microphone should be 2.5-5 cm. The filter should not touch the microphone. It should be positioned directly between your mouth and the microphone while recording. There is no “correct” way to install; all you have to do is place the new filter in front of the microphone. Here are some ideas on this topic!
Speak or sing into the microphone through the filter. Now you are ready to record. Turn on your recording equipment and stand or sit with the filter between you and the microphone. Your mouth should be 5 cm away from the filter. Break a leg!
Hoop filter
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Buy an embroidery hoop.
Stretch the nylon fabric in the hoop. A hoop is a simple hoop made of metal and/or plastic into which a piece of fabric is secured for sewing or embroidery purposes. You can use any size hoop, but it is better to choose the same diameter as most pop filters, which is 15 cm.
- Hoops usually have a simple latch on one side. They secure the fabric in the inner side of the hoop due to those parts that extend beyond it. Place the inner hoop into the outer hoop and push the latch to secure the fabric in a taut position. Read our article on hoops for more guidance.
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As an alternative, you can use the material from which screens for windows and doors are made. This may seem counterintuitive, but in practice Stiffer materials tend to provide better pop filtration. If you have a metal or plastic mosquito net that is used on windows and doors, then you can safely use it. Simply hoop it like regular embroidery fabric.
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Place the hoop in front of the microphone. Now all that remains to be done is to place the resulting pop filter in the work area. As with the above method, you can attach it to a free mic stand using tape, glue, or a clamp. You can also attach this filter to a stick or bent wire hanger and place it in front of the microphone.
- As usual, sing or speak through the filter into the microphone. Using this method, you can get a filter that is only one layer thick, but that's how it should be. It should work just as well.
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Shape the wire hanger into a circle. To do this, pull its lower part down, like a string on a bow. You will get a square-shaped outline.
Bend all the straight parts of the outline to create a more rounded shape, but it doesn't have to be perfect.
When recording sound, while reading books or recording podcasts, when editing videos, when you need to add the presenter's voice, many people face a serious problem. When you read the sounds “p”, “b” and even just exhale unsuccessfully, you can hear “wind” on the recording. If you study the hardware, you will find out that you need a so-called pop filter. By the way, even among the super-cheap products from Chinese stores, this one costs from $6, and it’s far from a fact that it will work decently. What remains to be done, you will have to design a pop filter yourself, especially since this will require an embroidery hoop, old tights or stockings, and a couple of nails or self-tapping screws.
What is a pop filter?
The main idea of this device is to break the wave of air that comes from the lips of the reader, presenter or announcer. However, not all so simple. Experts warn that it is better when this equipment:
1. It has 2 layers of material (which is not always the case in studio pop filters, let alone budget ones).
2. Equipped with a convenient fastening.
A number of devices are equipped with a bending “stand”, thanks to which you can direct it in the desired direction or install it at an angle. But there are also pop filters for microphones on sale, the purchase of which is not at all recommended. They fit onto the microphone itself, and given the difference in their diameters, the device can “walk” and even slide off at the most inconvenient moment.
How to make a pop filter with your own hands: methods
There are essentially several options - it all depends on what you have at hand. The basis (framework) can be:
- wire, cable (if you bend it into a square or make a round frame);
— metal hanger (clothes hanger);
- plastic hoops.
The third option is the simplest, most convenient and affordable.
You will also need a base - stockings or tights. Masters who have tried more than one option claim that the most modest 20-40 den is quite enough. But even if you make a pop filter for a microphone from thick tights (100 den or more), nothing bad will happen and the quality of the sound recording will not suffer.
Other materials and equipment: making a pop filter with your own hands
Prepare the remaining materials. You will need:
- ruler;
- scissors;
- electrical tape;
— 2 screws or nails;
— elastic band (for household needs);
- hoop.
If you will be making a pop filter in another way, for example by covering a frame with wire, use a thread and a needle to finish the edges.
Work order
Everything is very simple. Attach a frame or hoop to the nylon stocking. Cut off the top and bottom to form a blank. Do not retreat too much: for hoops 0.5-1 cm is enough, for other frames - 1-2 cm. Otherwise, you will have to literally “push” the dangling parts of the product into them. Fasten the piece of stocking, having first stretched it well (since we need a membrane, and not just sluggish material). If you are working with a frame, hem the top and bottom.
Next, work on the fastening. There are these options:
1. If you want to fix the product on a surface, such as a table or wall, take the flexible (snake-bending) part of the lamp and connect it with electrical tape to a large office clip.
If you plan to attach the setup to the microphone itself, do the following:
2. burn holes in the plastic hoop and insert screws/nails into them;
3. wrap 1 layer of electrical tape overlapping onto screws or nails;
4. Place the screws so that they fit around the microphone;
5. From the back, secure them in the desired position with a regular household rubber band.
Also, such a design, if the microphone is small, can be placed on a table, or, by placing books or a box, place it higher - so that the circle with the stocking that filters the sounds “p”, “b” is right between you and the microphone - on one common straight line.
Experiment, try your designs and check the results on a sound recording. The quality will be comparable to expensive designs, and the cost will be minimal (hoop, screws, old stocking).
To ensure high-quality sound during an artist’s performance or recording without unnecessary noise and clicking, simple but very effective devices are used - pop filters.
They eliminate the so-called pop effects, when air flow hits the microphone membrane during a song or conversation.
This usually occurs when pronouncing hissing, voiced vowels, whistling sounds, or while breathing. This is especially true for female voices. Pop effects can be compared to the beat of a drum, which can ruin even the best performance.
Not only concert organizers can buy a pop filter for a microphone. It is used by radio announcers and vocalists when recording songs.
Using a filter allows you to eliminate unnecessary high and low frequencies, making the recording softer and easier for further editing. Often a pop filter is used in conjunction with wind protection, which is indispensable during street performances.
A pop filter is a mesh device made of metal, nylon or other material with a flexible fastening. 
Standard studio pop filter consists of several layers of translucent material that is stretched over a frame. From available means, ordinary nylon tights are often used to obtain the mesh.
The pop filter not only eliminates excess noise, but also mechanically protects the microphone from dust, saliva, and lipstick.
The choice of this device should be taken seriously, because the purity of sound and the amount of work of sound engineers to clean up the sound will directly depend on its quality. And without good filters, even the most expensive microphone, modern computer programs and equipment can be useless, and the time spent by specialists working with the resulting recordings is enormous.
In this regard, the use of a pop filter is mandatory where they work with sound constantly and at a professional level.
The choice of this device should be based on its operating conditions and the type of recordings to be made.
Various models are available in stores:
- Round.
- Oval.
- Rectangular.
What to do if you don’t have money for a pop filter Inexpensive models start from 1000 rubles, professional ones cost several times more, but the result of their use will not go unnoticed, especially if there is a studio recording to be done.
If it is not possible to purchase a device in a store or you do not see the need for it, you can make homemade pop filter with your own hands from improvised means.
VIDEO INSTRUCTION
The easiest option is to use regular nylon tights.
For this you will need:
- wooden embroidery hoops,
- glue,
- insulating tape,
- dye,
- copper cable.
The procedure for making a pop filter:
- separate the hoop into two parts,
- paint them, for example, black to match the color of the microphone, let dry, then apply another coat of paint,
- pull women's tights onto the hoop up to the toe and tie them in a knot so that the mesh is smooth without wrinkles,
- glue the hoop in a circle,
- use scissors to cut off the part of the tights that was tightened,
- perform a similar procedure on the other side.
You should get a ring covered with nylon on both sides. All that remains is to insert the ring into the hoop and make a mount to secure the filter to the microphone leg.
Although such a homemade device does not look as attractive as a pop filter from a store, it can nevertheless cope with its functions quite successfully.
Another option is to use an iron tin can with a radius of about 8 cm. You will need thick wire, thin wire and a nylon stocking.
Algorithm of actions:
- it is necessary to cut off the rim of the lid from the can and pass a wire along its contour, providing a length for the leg,
- Pull a nylon stocking on top and secure it with wire in one or two places,
- Use the wire tails to make a loop for the microphone holder rod.
The cost of such homemade devices is from 300 to 700 rubles, while professional filters from well-known manufacturers in the store will cost many times more.
However, you should understand that home-made options are more suitable for amateur use, and you should not count on good results, for example, in a studio.
If you need a full-fledged recording or have a serious performance ahead, you cannot do without purchasing a professional pop filter. For a very reasonable price you can purchase a quality product in the store.
Details Published 03/28/2012 21:23 Views: 17399Pop filter in the process of voice recording, this is certainly a necessary thing. This becomes clear after the first take sent to the Trash. Using the pop filter helps get rid of microphone blowing and recording of unwanted plosive sounds. But it’s frankly a pity to spend about 1000 rubles on purchasing such an important trifle. What should I do?
Can make your own pop filter.
To begin with, a small lyrical digression.
Previously, I worked as a sound engineer at local radio and television. Absurd, of course, but for some reason the money there was spent with unprecedented success more on stationery and other nonsense that had nothing to do with sound recording, than on the professional needs of the people responsible for the production and quality of the broadcast.
Since then, I have been lucky enough to make with my own hands more than one such primitive and wonderful device as a pop filter. Therefore, when I was recently faced with the next task of building it for a home studio, I got out of this situation quite simply, without even entering this very situation.
I bought an embroidery hoop and a piece of regular interfacing adhesive fabric.
I pulled the cloth in two layers, carefully placing it between the hoops that made up the hoop.
Using my entire arsenal of patience to the limit, I had to try a lot to get it without creases or deformation.
Then all this wonderful splendor was firmly fixed with a longitudinal rotating tie located on the outer rim of the hoop.
I trimmed off the excess fabric sticking out along the edge of the rim with scissors without regret.
That's all the wisdom. Very economical and practical.
Mine is ready to go!
The front side of this product looks much nicer than the back, but this is not so important, because in the home studio no one except me sees this. Everyone hears only the voice recording, and it is now free of manufacturing defects.
By the way, instead of adhesive fabric, you can use women’s nylon tights with the lowest density as wind protection ( den). This is up to you, as you wish.
Did you like the material? Leave a comment!
Features of filters for studio microphones
- wind protection;
- studio pop filters.
Wind protection consists of sets of six foam pads of different diameters for condenser and dynamic microphones.
A pop filter is a structure made of metal or nylon mesh that is attached to a microphone. You can buy a pop filter (POP filter) in our store in any shape: round, 3-, 4- and 6-gonal. Some devices have double mesh elements, which enhances the quality of recording noise protection.
A convenient kit for recording includes a pop filter and an anti-vibration holder.
How much does a pop filter cost?
You can pay up to 1000 rubles for wind protection. To buy a pop filter, you can spend from 800 to 7000 rubles.
You can pay for the goods in any convenient way, as well as order delivery throughout Moscow and the Russian Federation.
Working in a recording studio or outdoors is unimaginable without a microphone sound filter - the so-called pop filter - or a windscreen. These devices protect the recording from extraneous noise that occurs when singing, reading text, gusts of wind, and vibration. Choosing a quality pop filter is just as important as choosing a microphone.
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