Strategies for Dealing with Plosives

The easiest thing is to get a Reflexion filter and put it in between the singer and the microphone.


But if that seems like too much money you can try getting the singer to turn their head a bit instead of making the mic go splat.


best,
mike

I remember making a pop-screen from a coat-hanger and a pair of my wife's pantyhose (ones that were new of course). I've noticed that with today's sub-bass producing sound systems, some deep thump still comes through even when I use a pop-screen.

Reflexion filter is more about controlling room sound from getting into the mic. It is not going to stop a bad plosive hitting a diaphragm if you happened to be up close.

Pantyhose on a coathanger does not cut it either. A proper pop filter usually has two layers of better quality material further apart. Just buy one period.

There are some newer fancy ones now that use interesting steel that has been made in a way that displaces the air sideways and away from the diaphragm.

Any very low subsonic things can be either removed with a decent shock mount which you should have anyway, the HP filter on the mic itself or some eq later on. Nothing beats a decent pop filter for getting rid of plosives.

Singing off axis is not a good strategy either. Vocalists find it hard for a start, they tend to want to sing on axis which sounds better usually and is the more correct thing to do. Also if you are off axis you only have to move slightly and the plosive might harm you again. The sound off axis is not as good as the on axis sound.

But should any plosives get through, if you have a pop filter they will much quieter and much easier to handle editing wise. I like to open the vocal track in a separate editor such as Adobe Audition and highlight just the offending plosive area and apply a steep HP filter on that and most of the pop sound will go away. You can trim it dowm a litle in gain too. But remember the plosive also forms part of the transient at the start of the sound so it is also important to have there.

Plosives are not fun to deal with in post. I think you are on the right track. There is no one technique to deal with all of them. Some of them cannot just be trimmed. That is where gates and limiters and eq all start to play their subtle parts and where technique becomes art. If one thing does not seem to be working, try another... and log everything you do. Seriously, a good log will save you much hair. edit - With sonar automation, you do not need to EQ or limit the entire track. You can isolate just the portions that need work.

How I deal with them:

1. An outboard compressor just to condition my mic signal as it goes to disc. I don't use much, just enough to keep my loudest point from not going over -6dB. 2:1 ratio, maybe -8 to -10 on my threshold.

2. High pass roll-off: I just about always use this if it comes on a mic. Then again, if a voice is thin or maybe a female, I may not touch this. But for most males, I just about always use the HF roll-off.

3. Work the mic: When you know something is going to be a bit more forcefully sung, back off the mic a bit. If something will have a B, P, C/K, S or T sound, sing a little above the mic...as in sing over it top if you have to get on your tippy toes for that part...or bend slightly to duck under the line of fire if need be. Try not to ever turn your head or turn away from the line of fire on a mic. Shift your body or your torso so that it moves. As soon as you turn away, you lose impact and get a totally different sound. When you just move your torso, your sound is still being shot at the mic...you're just not singing dead on for that one word.

4. A real pop filter: Yeah the panty hose thing may work in a pinch, but it's not really the same. A good pop filter...for as cheap as they are, can do wonders.
 
5. Slip editing: You can always soften the blow of a plosive by good, old fashioned slip editing if you need to and just add a fade in on that part. Split the clip at the phrase where you hear the plosive, then add a fade by dragging the fade left to right until it softens up. :) Good luck!

-Danny
Edited for spelling

>>>>The sound off axis is not as good as the on axis sound.<<<< Quoted upabove in a post. I don't think it sounds any different. Just don't want your jaw in the recording, jawing the mic. And yes, they make metal pop filters now, I guess they work I have one, so I guess it works.

Obviously, it's best to avoid plosives when recording - but if some got into your recording, then there is a simple way to get rid of them. Use a high pass filter on the Plosive. Play around with the low cut frequency and see the results.

I do agree that you can certainly control plosives with off axis singing etc and I don't disagree with Mike on this one. What I was saying is that the pop filter in a good way is a safety net and if a singer can control their plosives with careful head placement who am I to tell them otherwise. And the sound slightly off axis is not that different either so it is very workable. But should they not quite contain it then I like having the pop filter there to stop it and it usually does.

If you record say 4 vocalists at once and you don't have that many pop filters then it can become an issue.

It is interesting reading how others deal with it. I find that using a fairly steep HP filter in an editor is very effective. I think it is important indentifying the exact area that needs to be treated with the HP filter and putting the sound back to normal as quickly as you can. The plosive is pretty short lived in most situations.

Pop filter + don't sing directly into the mic. Position the mic a little higher (or lower) or else sing slightly off to one side.