Recording Vocals: Using a Pop Filter

Tips how to record vocals with a pop filter

I wrote about using a pencil as a pop filter by taping it (or use a rubber band) across the center of your microphone so that it’s in the middle of the mic’s diaphragm, but then I realized that actually using a pop filter was only partially covered in that post. So here’s how to use a pop filter when recording vocals. The basic use is pretty straight forward, but there are some nuanced placement options that help deflect some of the air as well as make the singer more comfortable (most singers get self conscious when singing into a mic, but even more so if there’s a pop filter).

First: if you’re using a typical large diaphragm condenser microphone to record the vocal, I’m an advocate of mounting the mic upside down. I found this picture online and this is CLOSE to what I’d recommend, but not exactly. What’s missing here is that the mic is straight up and down, whereas I tend to like to angle it a little bit. Moreover, you want to angle the pop filter in a different direction so that nothing is actually getting hit “straight on”. You also want to do this to give your singer the most “space” possible so they don’t feel cramped or like they can’t move at all. If all you have is a smaller boom mic stand, then sometimes it’s more difficult to mount the mic this way.

So what’s wrong with that photo is the pop filter is slightly angled, but the mic is not, so imagine the microphone isn’t straight up and down, but titled back about 10-15 degrees. The angle doesn’t have to be extreme, but just enough so that the direction of the air that would be hitting the microphone is not at 90 degrees. If anything his the mic diaphragm perpendicular, then that’s when it’s most likely to get a pop or bump from the air.

I mentioned this in the earlier post about recording vocals, but there are times when an extreme angle can help. The mic in this picture is a side address, but you can “pretend” it’s a front address (where the singer is singing towards the “top” of the microphone more like it’s a handheld). This means the air is going parallel to the diaphragm (not hitting directly), so it cuts down on pops. Be careful about your polar patters and you’ll lose some low end, but always worth experimenting with if you’re having a hard time.

Then angle the pop filter on the opposite axis (mic forward / backward; pop filter left to right). That gives you another angle to slightly deflect any direct air that would cause the plosives (heavy B’s, P’s, etc.).

The distance of your pop filter sort of depends on the vocal style. It has to be closer if it’s a close vocal (duh, I know). If they’re wailing and you have a dead room to record it, then give it some more space and back the vocalist away a little more.

Mainly, just never forget the point: you are using a pop filter to get rid of pops… and that’s caused by air hitting the diaphragm hard. So if you use angles of both the mic and the pop filter to help deflect the air, then you’ll get fewer pops overall in your recording.