"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article 27779659.973.1320240164827.JavaMail.geo-discussion-
forums@yqce21, scribeth thus
On Wednesday, September 28, 2011 1:30:26 PM UTC+1, Terry Pinnell wrote:


BUT, for making narratives for family DVDs I prefer a softer, more
intimate sound, and to achieve that I have to hold the mic. That then
produces a few distortions, which I gather are called pops or 'plosives.
So...I'm now looking for a slightly more expensive USB mic, one that is
*designed* to be held, and hopefully minimsing those 'pops'. Hence the
shortlist.


The plosives can be eliminated by speaking across the mic rather than into
it.
Maybe invest in a mic stand and holder so that you don't have to pick it
up and
hold it yourself. A boom stand is only a tenner from places like CPC or
Studiospares.

You need a Windgag by the sound of it;!...

You'll more often than not see them on the microphones interviewers use
outside..

http://www.canford.co.uk/Browse/4637


That is exactly what you don't need ! Windshields like the Rycote range (and
similar) are designed to reduce wind noise on outdoor recordings. You will
never see them used on studio microphones. That is because they tend to
colour the sound by affecting certain frequencies.

For studio use you need a pop shield. This allows you to speak (or sing)
relatively close to the microphone without breath pops affecting it. You can
get one from Canford http://www.canford.co.uk/Browse/21170 or there are many
cheaper varieties, e.g. Amazon, as mentioned in my earlier post. If you
don't have a very expensive microphone, there's little point getting a
Sennheiser or Beyer pop shield. Look on Ebay for cheaper options.

The microphone should be about 10-15 cm behind the pop shield. You should
then speak fairly close to it to get a good tight sound.

You should use a microphone stand, not hold the mic. The stand should
preferably be on the floor, rather than the table and have some sort of
shock-mount to help isolate the microphone from external vibrations. To
reduce room echo, you should set up facing a drape or a curtain.

All this will improve your quality a lot without going into any great
expense.

Vic.