A friend and colleague on the A/V team at church and I were talking this evening after the 11pm Candlelight service at church about some of the issues many on the VAA have been discussing, and he gave a few key pointers for everyone to consider. He's a Sound Engineer who works for the local CBS station along with WTOP Radio.
Tonight's debate found Steve and I discussing AVA's microphones and pop screens, to which he mentioned there are 3 key factors one must consider.
The first consideration is the kind of microphone you are using and its sensitivity. The more sensitive the mic, the less you need to project your voice to get the desired effect and recording level.
Second is environment. What's around which could reflect noise, or even add unwanted sounds the mic (particularly omnidirectional) could pick up on you weren't expecting?
Third is the positioning of the microphone. Steve pointed out that if one goes into a studio, they'll notice the microphone is always positioned to be above the individual's mouth, not level with it. He mentioned that people have a tendency of wanting the mic to be level with their mouth, which causes the mic to pick up on everything, including that unwanted pop on the "P". Simply by placing the mic higher so that it's level with the bridge of your nose or such, will eliminate the problem in 98% of cases since unlike your voice, the pop only travels a very small range above your mouth. The typical exception being if you're one who has a huge wallet and bought an extremely sensitive microphone.
You can buy or make a pop screen if you like, but Steve said that unless you have an extremely sensitive mic (usually ones that must be specially ordered in the multi-thousand dollar range as seen in high end recording studios), it's not a necessity.
If you have anything you'd like me to run by Steve for his input on issues you may have, ask away. He's at my beck and call 24/7 for the next year after loosing a bet during the service. XD
