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Live Microphones

S

secondchoice

Star Participant
When did it become “good radio” to consistently “pop” the microphone. I realize the audio processing equipment has come light years in the last couple of decades and the recovery time from a “popped” mic is a fraction of a second compared maybe a second or two depending on how the engineer set up the old Volumax The Optimods I worked with even had some issues with overdriven mics.
One would think a simple and cheap windscreen would take care of this. I had my own personal windscreen because I am a germaphobe. But I never missed a shift due to sickness. I have noticed English Nick on 97.1, random 929 hosts, and the other night Clark Howard lately really popping the mic. Is this something new that somebody has researched and makes better ratings?
 
Every station I have worked at except one used the classic Electro-Voice broadcast mic. Those are remarkably good at avoiding mic pops (and avoiding transmitting squeaky mic boom noises). That being said, I’ve always been disappointed at how flat they sounded.

One station had Shure mics, which were phenomenal, but were very sensitive to popping and boom noise. You had to have a windscreen!

If I were to guess, they switched the type of mics they used and didn’t bother to use a windscreen because the old mics didn’t really need ‘em. Still, for a $5 buy at Guitar Center, you’d have thought somebody would’ve put 2 and 2 together.

Unless their goal is to sound more like an entry-level podcaster, I can’t imagine it’s anything more than complacency on engineering and/or programming’s part.
 
Did you know that in the early days of radio (20's and 30's), when a singer hit a high note ,it would often pop a tube in the transmitter. That was before limiters were invented.
Those EV635 mics have been around a long time.
I remember a newsie bringing one in and the head was about to fall off. (The mic was beyond repair.) I asked him what happened. Did he try to use it as a hammer?
No, it just happened he said. (Which I didn't believe.)
Now, if he had said he used it to beat off some thug in downtown Atlanta, I would have believed that.
 
seattlesarchiebunker said:
Every station I have worked at except one used the classic Electro-Voice broadcast mic. Those are remarkably good at avoiding mic pops (and avoiding transmitting squeaky mic boom noises). That being said, I’ve always been disappointed at how flat they sounded.

One station had Shure mics, which were phenomenal, but were very sensitive to popping and boom noise. You had to have a windscreen!

If I were to guess, they switched the type of mics they used and didn’t bother to use a windscreen because the old mics didn’t really need ‘em. Still, for a $5 buy at Guitar Center, you’d have thought somebody would’ve put 2 and 2 together.

Unless their goal is to sound more like an entry-level podcaster, I can’t imagine it’s anything more than complacency on engineering and/or programming’s part.
Click to expand...

Simple explanation...bad mic technique.

In the "golden years" you were required to learn such mundane matters like correctly addressing a mic. There is a well know Atlanta morning person who constantly plays with his mic while on air. Up...down...side to side...it is a common neurosis which I have seen often over the years.

BTW...A mic muff for a EV is $50 per screen. Same for the Shure SM-7. They are not cheap!
 
kf4rca said:
Did you know that in the early days of radio (20's and 30's), when a singer hit a high note ,it would often pop a tube in the transmitter. That was before limiters were invented.
Those EV635 mics have been around a long time.
I remember a newsie bringing one in and the head was about to fall off. (The mic was beyond repair.) I asked him what happened. Did he try to use it as a hammer?
No, it just happened he said. (Which I didn't believe.)
Now, if he had said he used it to beat off some thug in downtown Atlanta, I would have believed that.
Click to expand...

You may remember that EV did a print ad showing the mic being used as a hammer...and surviving! They are indeed wonderful to use as a defense weapon...

One engineer who posts on this list occasionally uses Optimod 8100s to fend off bad guys. What is your favorite piece of defensive equipment?
 
TheBigA said:
Or it could be overly compressed audio that over-emphasizes certain lower frequencies. Or it could be the combination of the two.
Click to expand...

Aggressive audio processing could certainly exacerbate the issue but does not cause it.
"P" popping is a plosives issue. When you say a word beginning with "P" your mouth creates air pressure which hits the microphone element with much higher pressure. The letter sounds made by "T" and "B" also create this higher than normal pressure.
The simple solution is correctly distancing the mouth from the microphone.
One reason this rule is so often violated is some mics have what is referred to as "proximity effect." This is where where your voice sounds more deep and powerful as you speak closer to the mic element. Proper distancing, and proper mic processing, can achieve almost the same effect without the popping.
 
Last edited:
wavo said:
Simple explanation...bad mic technique.

In the "golden years" you were required to learn such mundane matters like correctly addressing a mic. There is a well know Atlanta morning person who constantly plays with his mic while on air. Up...down...side to side...it is a common neurosis which I have seen often over the years.

BTW...A mic muff for a EV is $50 per screen. Same for the Shure SM-7. They are not cheap!
Click to expand...

I do not know the cost of a 30 or 60 second drive time commercial in Market #8 on a top tier station, but one would think a commercial or two would cover the cost. If a couple of PPM wearers in a money demo tune out $50 or $100 will seem cheap.
 
secondchoice said:
I do not know the cost of a 30 or 60 second drive time commercial in Market #8 on a top tier station, but one would think a commercial or two would cover the cost. If a couple of PPM wearers in a money demo tune out $50 or $100 will seem cheap.
Click to expand...

Everything used in a broadcast facility is expensive. The only thing cheap is the Russian toilet paper...

You would be surprised at how many mic muffs a station will go through at $50 a pop. What do folks do with these things when they aren't being used as mic condoms?
 
wavo said:
Everything used in a broadcast facility is expensive. The only thing cheap is the Russian toilet paper...
Click to expand...

Don't knock that paper. It has been tested at the international space station by using it to polish the capsule exterior in zero gravity!

You would be surprised at how many mic muffs a station will go through at $50 a pop. What do folks do with these things when they aren't being used as mic condoms?
Click to expand...

I've known lots of jocks that brought their own mike muffs. They were afraid of what might be living in the them from prior users. So the daily placement and removal would wear them down very quickly. Of course, one jock, an irreproachable morning "star" would spray Lysol on the muff... meaning that the mike inside had to be replaced about every year!
 
DavidEduardo said:
Of course, one jock, an irreproachable morning "star" would spray Lysol on the muff... meaning that the mike inside had to be replaced about every year!
Click to expand...

The cleaning service at a station I worked at did that once, and it was all the morning jock talked about the next day, because it was right under his nose.
 
DavidEduardo said:




I've known lots of jocks that brought their own mike muffs. They were afraid of what might be living in the them from prior users. So the daily placement and removal would wear them down very quickly. Of course, one jock, an irreproachable morning "star" would spray Lysol on the muff... meaning that the mike inside had to be replaced about every year!
Click to expand...

I'll guess you have seen the insides of a RE-20 after a few years service. How they still work is a mystery.

David and Big A are old enough to remember when smoking was allowed in the studio...and almost everyone in radio smoked. The mic capsules would be absolutely gross. And the mic muff, if they even had one, was the original.
 
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