VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[ballenberg]

Just became new owner of a 416--with apologies to Philip

What are everyone's thoughts on pop filters for this mic ?

Do you use the Sennheiser foam "sock" that's sold with the mic, or a stand-alone popscreen, or perhaps, nothing at all?

I tested mine bare naked (the mic, thankfully, not me) and it was plosive-pop free ,as is. A test with the foam sock, sounded mighty similar to my ears, but Sennheiser tech support said officially it does suppress some high-end since it's designed to cut outdoor wind noises.

Your thoughts would be welcomed.

[Philip Banks]

My benchmark for "best practise" is to see what the BBC sound people do. On every occasion I have seen and/or worked with a BBC sound person who has saw fit to dangle a 416 it has been naked.

When I asked one 30+ year sound veteran about what he called Gags and popper stoppers he shrugged his shoulders and replied.

"To be honest they're about 10% physically effective and 90% psychologically effective." Nuff said!

[SkinnyJohnny]

I had one, but sold it to Bob Souer. There's a thread about this and basically the general thoughts are that the foam DOES reduce the high end. Finding the "sweet spot" is the key. Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6577&start=30

Bruce writes...
The secret to making a 416 work, from my experience, is not to get close to it, but to have it find the sweet spot of your voice. Imagine this grapefruit sized space in front of your mouth. This is where your voice is strongest, richest. Make sure the 416 is pointing at that space, not necessarily at your mouth. 6" to 8" distance works great for me, it's about 30º to one side so I can read off the monitor, and it points down at about 30º from above. I never use a pop filter because I'm reading "off" mic, but it's picking up my voice loud and clear.

Also, you might try a popper stopper. I have the small 3.5 inch dual setup and it works GREAT with my AK 47.
Good Luck!
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[bobsouer]

Bill,

I guess without knowing it I was following the BBC practice. I've been working mine without pop filter or wind sock. As noted in the thread linked by John, I have the mic on a stand so that it's pointing down at me from above, at roughly a 30 degree angle. I almost never have a problem with pops.

And I continue to be very happy John sold me this mic!
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[BenWils]

I'll add that you may want to only aim the mic down at you. Placing it lower and aiming it up at you (if you are sitter and not a stander) may cause phasing issues. I have noticed this as well another VO who uses the 416.

(Philip Banks joke forthcoming about positioning of a person and a 416....something like if I were to use a 416....I would have to have it aiming up at me.....from a trash can!!)

I use the windsock and yes a pop screen these days.....my pre-amp is pretty bright and clear though. But I add a bit of high end with plug-ins when bouncing down or sending out signal via ISDN..routed through my Digi 002. I also roll off low end at about 30hz. It is my safety net for popping since I don't use headphones while voicing. You can position your pop filter and use that as your "sweet spot" guide. The example Bruce wrote about in regard to mic positioning, is basically capturing resonance off your chest, which works nicely. If you are going for a less full sounding read on a certain script....you can aim the mic up (decrease the downward angle) more at your mouth.

Hope that helps.
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Ben


"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

[Lance Blair]

The foam does effectively cut down the high end a bit. I've often used foam on my brighter mics to taste and it works. I prefer the 416 at any distance with the sock on.
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[Eddie Eagle]

Mine has no clothes on it. Seems a bit stiff.

[Deirdre]

Eddie.

a-hem.
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[COURVO]

I've tried mine with and without, and find little difference. But what Johnny wrote is sooooo true.... playing around with that "sweet spot" is the most important thing.
And, like Ben, I also use it pointing down from above. That virtually insures no plosives.


CourVO
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[ballenberg]

Thanks all, for your suggestions. Much appreciated---

[jessespringer]

I use mine with the foam and usually no pop filter. I almost never have plosives, and I think it's a solid setup.

[Ed Gambill]

[CarynClark]

I use mine with the foam AND an pop filter.
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[BenWils]

My monitoring set-up includes a 10" subwoofer. You would be surprised at the low frequency junk that comes through especially when you use a great pre-amp. If you are not using a pop screen and or a windscreen and not monitoring on something that can give you an accurate picture of what your entire mic chain is truely sounding like....plossives and all....engineers and others may be doing the cleaning up of your audio for you and not telling you about it.

I know a VO that uses smaller speakers to monitor and I have heard plosive issues with the audio and they had no clue it was there because it was below what their speakers could put out. When it got to me it was making my subwoofer dance.

The best strategy as always is good mic technique.
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Ben


"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

[Eddie Eagle]