What Does a Pop Filter Do? How to Install and Use a Pop Filter

A pop filter, also known as a pop screen or pop shield, is a piece of equipment that reduces popping sounds that occur when you record vocals. Pop filters can improve sound quality during singing, podcasting, and voiceover work. Pop filters are typically made with porous materials wrapped around a circular frame.

Pop filters improve recordings by reducing or eliminating plosive sounds made from harsher consonants like P, B, T, D, K, and G. A speaker creates plosive sounds with an explosion of air from their mouth that bounces against their microphone capsule. The air pressure from plosive sounds results in an unpleasant noise that peaks above other vocal sounds. Pop filters can also reduce the effect of sibilance, a hissing sound made from air passing through teeth during consonants like S and Z.

There are three primary types of pop filters to choose from.

1. 1. Nylon mesh pop filters: The most common type of pop filter is made from woven nylon stretched around a circular frame. Nylon mesh pop filters are inexpensive and effective. This type of pop filter may reduce certain high frequencies during recording sessions.
2. 2. Metal mesh pop filters: Another popular choice is metal mesh pop filters. This type of pop filter is made with a metal screen. Although more expensive than nylon mesh pop filters, metal pop filters allow a wider range of frequencies to pass through while still reducing or eliminating plosive sounds.
3. 3. Foam windscreens: Foam windscreens cover microphones directly. Foam windscreens are useful for outdoor boom microphones and lavalier mics that attach to a speaker’s clothing. However, nylon mesh and metal mesh pop filters are more effective at reducing plosive sounds than foam windscreens, which are often too close to the mic to work properly.

Follow this guide for how to install and use a pop filter in your home studio.

1. 1. Purchase or build your pop filter. Research what type of pop filter will work best for your home recording setup. Identify what kind of microphone you use and the strengths of that mic type. For example, dynamic microphones are better at naturally cutting out plosive sounds than condenser microphones. For a DIY version of a pop filter, bend a wire coat hanger into a circular frame and cut a pair of pantyhose to fit over the frame snugly.
2. 2. Attach your pop filter. Most pop filters include a mounting clamp that attaches to your microphone stand. Adjust your mic stand and tighten it to the correct position. Attach your pop filter firmly onto the arm of your stand near the microphone.
3. 3. Adjust your pop filter. Typically, an adjustable gooseneck connects your pop filter to your mounting clamp. Adjust the gooseneck until the filter rests a few inches in front of your microphone. As a general rule, maintain two to six inches of space between the microphone and pop filter.
4. 4. Use your pop filter. Sing or speak while keeping the pop filter directly between your mouth and the microphone. Depending on the sound you want to capture, place your mouth three to ten inches away from the pop filter. You will record more low frequencies the closer you are to the microphone, a phenomenon known as the proximity effect.

Get the MasterClass Annual Membership for exclusive access to video lessons taught by the world’s best, including LeVar Burton, Samuel L. Jackson, Nancy Cartwright, Issa Rae, Steve Martin, and more.