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There's nothing sexy about pop filters, but that doesn't mean they don't contribute to the sound of your recordings. If you can effectively eliminate popped Ps, Bs, Ts, Ks, and TCHs from your voice-over and sung vocal recordings, you save yourself many headaches in post.
Gone are the days of foam "clown noses" replaced by several better mousetraps, most of which are variations of the panty-hose-on-a-hanger variety. Enter the Avantone Pro-Shield from upstart Avant Electronics (www.avantelectronics.com) with their decidedly different spin on the pop filter approach.
The Pro-Shield uses a metal mesh to break up the wind of errant plosives instead of the nylon employed by most pop filters. The oversized, arch-shaped face is slightly curved to mirror the curvature of most large diaphragm studio condenser mics. Instead of sitting out in front of the mic, the Pro-Shield almost hugs the microphone shape resembling the pop filters of yesteryear. It's like it was custom-made for your mic.
The Pro-Shield is all metal and positioning it is a snap. There's a mic stand or boom C-clamp and flexible 8mm gooseneck that's not flimsy at all; it holds its position nicely. An added perk to the all metal design is you can easily clean the filter with soap and water or an anti-bacterial cloth and know you're doing singers and voice-overs a favor by sterilizing between sessions.
But how does it sound? Well, it doesn't sound like anything at all. I initially wondered about the metal mesh and whether it would adversely color the sound. It doesn't. To my ears the Pro-Shield is completely transparent. More importantly, the Pro-Shield does the job extremely well. I gave it a workout on male and female voices including pushing its limits with a well-known plosives test: "Peter Piper picked a peck ..." (you know the rest). The Pro-Shield performed admirably and diminished even the most demanding pops. And unlike its cloth counterparts, I perceived no loss in high-frequency information. The metal mesh attacks those pesky low-frequency plosives only.
I am suitably impressed that such a simple design could make such a dramatic difference in plosives removal. It sure beats resorting to EQ, frequency-dependent compression, and tedious editing in post-production. The Pro-Shield saves times and sounds better anyway.
If you're looking for an ideal way to record voice, you'd be wise to invest in the Avantone Pro-Shield and make sure it is between the mic and the talent for every vocal session. With its list price of $30, the Pro-Shield is a must-have if you record voice for a living.
Avantone Pro-Shield Studio Pop Filter, $30
Avant Electronics, www.avantelectronics.com
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Jeffrey P. Fisher is a Sony Vegas Certified Trainer and he co-hosts the Sony Acid, Sony Sound Forge, and Sony Vegas forums on Digital Media Net (www.dmnforums.com). For more information visit his Web site at www.jeffreypfisher.com or contact him at jpf@jeffreypfisher.com.
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