Does the Baby Bottle Pop Filter Work?

M

Mokah

New member
I just bought the Blue Baby Bottle mic and it came with its own pop filter and shockmount. Does anybody have enough experience with these accessories to know whether they do the job?

I'm mostly concerned with the pop filter. Although it was supposedly made specifically for the Baby Bottle, it sits right up on the mic's grill, which makes me feel like it's kind of defeating the purpose.

Obviously a new pop filter (or shockmount) won't break the bank, but if I don't need to buy one I won't.

Thanks for the input.
 
When i'm engineering i try to keep the pop filter about a fist away from the mic grill. I never used the filter that came with the blue bottle but i hope you can adjust it so it's sits further away. Otherwise yes its kinda useless right up on it. There isnt enough room for the air to dispurse before it hits the mic.
 
Thanks for the replies. I kind of figured I'd need to get another one when I did some test recording and was getting what seemed to be some very noticeable plosives. You've confirmed it for me.

I wanted to be able to rule out faulty mic positioning even though it seemed fairly obvious what the problem was.

It makes me wonder why the hell Blue would design the damn screen that way in the first place!
 
73* said:
With proper mic positioning a pop filter is not needed.
Click to expand...

Really? I'm definitely no expert, but that seems to fly in the face of what I've learned. I mean, assuming that we're talking about recording vocals.

How else do you avoid exaggerated plosives and spit drenched mics? I suppose you could position the mic fairly far away from the vocalist, but then that could eff up the signal to noise ratio since you'd have to boost the mic level, right? Not to mention the fact that lots of vocalists like to get close to the mic, so it could mess their heads up, too.
 
Mokah said:
Really? I'm definitely no expert, but that seems to fly in the face of what I've learned. I mean, assuming that we're talking about recording vocals.

How else do you avoid exaggerated plosives and spit drenched mics? I suppose you could position the mic fairly far away from the vocalist, but then that could eff up the signal to noise ratio since you'd have to boost the mic level, right? Not to mention the fact that lots of vocalists like to get close to the mic, so it could mess their heads up, too.
Click to expand...

You've learned wrong. Yes there are times when getting really close to the mic can be used to boost the low end of the signal (proximity effect) and this can be a good thing. Even then just because you're fairly close to the mic does not mean that you're going to get exaggerated plosives, but again this boils down to mic position and mic selection. Also as the engineer it's your job to make sure that the artist doesn't do something stupid that's going to ruin the recording (swallowing and salivating all over the mic being one such example). And WTF does signal to noise ratio have to do with this (unless you're trying to reduce bleed from other instruments or this is a live event), but we're talking about recording vocals right? In a proper room that has a low noise floor, right? Not in some untreated room with a bunch of noise makers (computer's, AC, other people), right?

Pick up Lou Burroghs Microphones; Design and Implementation, it's out of print but can still be got and is a great read. You'll see that you've probably been recording way too close to the mic.
 
73* said:
With proper mic positioning a pop filter is not needed.
Click to expand...
this is true, i've been recording for years with no pop filter. why people think they need to be in kissing distance of the mic is beyond me.
LevLove
 
73* said:
Even then just because you're fairly close to the mic does not mean that you're going to get exaggerated plosives, but again this boils down to mic position and mic selection.
Click to expand...

I agree. If the vocalist is speaking or singing softly for example, plosives probably won't be a big issue. Or if their angle to the mic is a lot closer to 90 degrees than to 0 degrees. Or if they're just pretty damn far away from the mic. Or some combo of all three. Either way, in many of those cases you're going to have to record at a higher level, i.e. boost the input gain, to compensate for those variables (depending on the mic pickup pattern and sensitivity), right? This brings me to my second point.

73* said:
And WTF does signal to noise ratio have to do with this...In a proper room that has a low noise floor, right? Not in some untreated room with a bunch of noise makers (computer's, AC, other people), right?
Click to expand...

What about noise coming from the preamp? If you have to boost the input gain on the preamp by a whole lot, you risk bringing in extra noise from it since you're running it so hot. Also, I shouldn't even have to mention the fact that many people reading this probably won't have the pristine recording conditions to which you refer, so they could be pumping up the volume of good old environmental noise, too. Not a good look, or so I'm told.

73* said:
You'll see that you've probably been recording way too close to the mic.
Click to expand...

Well, you tell me. My understanding is that 4 in. to 1 ft. is a good rule of thumb to use when recording, and where you fall in there will depend on the strength of the vocalist and the material. The funny thing is, simply by using a pop filter you can encourage vocalists to have better mic habits since they automatically stop people from eating the mic.

So, maybe I have learned wrong. If so, I'd appreciate it if you or someone else could tell me where the errors are point by point. Knowledge is my friend, and I welcome it with open arms. :hello:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top