plops and a very expressive singer

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 2:27 pm

Hi all

I'm having this problem for a longer time:

occasionally I record this guy with his semi-accoustic band, mostly covers
He sings pretty good and is currently getting professional singing lessons for choirs and operas
As you can imagine he really uses a lot of air

Recording / live mixing this guy is therefore a real problem.
What I've tried is pointing the mic from his chin upward a couple of centimeters (2-3 inches) away, using sm58, md431, md421, m99
Nothing seems to work, there are plops everywhere
Of course he should learn how to work the mic properly
But is there something in the meantime I can try to reduce the plops?

Cheers

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:03 pm

And have you tried a foam windsock? I have to use that with the 421 on a lot of folks because the 421 seems to be more prone to "pops" than many other mics. When I use the M99 on me (are you liking the M99, G?) for voiceovers in the studio, I use a device I made from a kitchen tool called a "splatter screen". This is basically a metal mesh screen that I mount on a gooseneck, like those commercial ones you pay $50.00 for. It cost me a $1 at the "dollar store" and is very effective in the studio. But it's also very ugly for the stage. Overall, I find the German dynamic mics are more sensitive to pop noises than the Shures...
As for the SM58 (and you can try this on the others, too), have you tried coming at it from the side a bit? On some singers, positioning it so that it's pointing more straight-up and singing "over the top" of it will help this, too.
And if these don't work, you can try knocking the wind out of him right before he starts to sing... Thumbs Up

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:18 am

Never thought of using a mesh kitchen strainer. Good one. Only thing to worry about is resonance. I'm going to try it in the studio.

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 10:28 am

Two tips:

Go OVER his head, and look down at his nose, from roughly a 45 degree angle. The air blasts shoot striaght out, and not into the mic's diaphragm, but you still get the sound you need.

You can also try some nice socks from the Walking Shoe Company - get the nice thick black wool ones (the ones that wick-away moisture.) I used these in a pinch outdoors once, on some choir mics that were getting killed with wind. These things stoped the wind, but not the sound. Choir was beautiful, wind was almost non-existant.

If the socks don't work out, your feet will still feel great. Twisted Evil

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:28 pm

sheet wrote:

Never thought of using a mesh kitchen strainer. Good one. Only thing to worry about is resonance. I'm going to try it in the studio.

Actually, Sheet, these are designed to fit over a frying pan...they're about
10" across, with a wire loop handle, which I hoseclamp to a gooseneck. I usually stretch some pantyhose across the strainer section. I haven't had any resonance issues that I can detect. I got the idea from a posting on RO that involved Remy.

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