From selecting the right microphone to choosing outboard gear such as preamps, EQs, and compressors, there are many factors that can help you achieve the best possible sound in your studio. But there are several frequently overlooked accessories that can also have a major impact on your sound. In this article, we’ll examine some of these unsung but useful studio tools and discuss how to achieve better finished tracks.
Pop Filters
One of the simplest recording gadgets is the humble pop filter, whether a foam filter, a suspended stretched fabric, or a metal screen, positioned between the vocalist and your microphone to block plosives – those percussive P and B sounds that cause annoying low frequency bumps. While the first pop filters were little more than nylon pantyhose stretched over a coat-hanger wire, even the least expensive commercially available pop screens out there today do a significantly better job at blocking plosives without attenuating the high frequencies on your vocals. At Sweetwater, we’re big fans of the perforated metal variety, since they have less sonic impact on your signal and you can wash them. Whichever type of pop filter you choose, sticking one between your singer and your mic is a surefire way to remedy problems as you record.
Pop Filters at a Glance:
- An inexpensive way to upgrade the sound of your vocals
- Reduces or eliminates offensive plosive P and B pops
- Washable metal pop filters have minimal negative sonic impact
Portable Vocal Booths
Portable vocal booths are shields made from acoustic absorption material that sit behind your microphone and prevent sound moving past the mic from reflecting off of the surfaces of the room and reaching your microphone later than the direct sound. One of the things Sweetwater engineers really love about portable vocal booths is that they provide many of the benefits of traditional room treatment, without the commitment and mess of sticking foam up on your walls. Just attach one to your mic stand, and listen to the clarity your mic can provide when room reflections are dramatically reduced. In a perfect world, we’d all have professionally designed studios with perfect acoustic treatment, but for anyone who ever needs to turn a living room into a tracking room or a bedroom into a vocal booth, a portable vocal booth is an excellent accessory to own.
Portable Vocal Booths at a Glance:
- Acoustic absorption you can use without expensive room treatments
- Reduces reflections and noise to clean up your sound
- Delivers better isolated sound in any space where you record
Shop for portable vocal booths
Studio Mic Stands
You might not think that your microphone stand has a serious impact on the sound of your microphone, but you might be surprised. For starters, any experienced engineer can tell you that mic positioning is a critical element for getting the best possible sound from your microphone. It is imperative to have a mic stand that’s both extremely stable and easy to adjust. Unlike live mic stands which are engineered to be light weight and easy to move, studio mic stands tend to be heavier and have longer reach. In addition to providing extra stability, added mass makes mic stands less likely to be affected by floor-transmitted vibrations. On a side note, one great addition to any studio mic stand is a set of Auralex’s Aural-Xpanders, which includes tools to decouple your mic stands and acoustically isolate your microphones.
Studio Mic Stands at a Glance:
- Stable secure stands let you achieve ideal mic positioning
- Added mass that naturally reduces vibration and noise
- Get better performance from your mic stand with Auralex Aural-Xpanders
High-quality Microphone Cables
Sometimes even seasoned audio professionals don’t have enough quality mic cables on hand and have to reach for a budget cable, compromising the quality of their very expensive gear by using inferior interconnects. While there’s a lot of misleading information out there about cable quality, one area where investing in quality certainly pays off is your mic cables. That’s because mic-level signals are extremely low voltage — only a fraction of the voltage of line-level signals — which makes them more susceptible to outside interference, such as radio waves and electromagnetic fields. High-quality microphone cables offer benefits such as multiple layers of shielding, impurity-free copper, gold contacts, and quad conductors that help to reject noise and interference. What’s more, quality microphone cables simply outlast bargain-bin cables. Bottom line: don’t sell your system short with budget mic cabling.
High-quality Microphone Cables at a Glance:
- Shielding protects against radio and electromagnetic interference
- Impurity-free copper and gold contacts ensure maximum connectivity
- Advanced designs such as quad wiring naturally eliminate noise
Shop for mic cables in the Sweetwater Cable Finder
Cloudlifter Mic Activators
Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter Mic Activators are phantom-powered in-line preamps that boost signals near the source, providing you with stronger, cleaner, and fuller sound before your preamp. Many of us at Sweetwater absolutely swear by these ingenious devices that come in a number of configurations, ranging from one to four channels. Regardless of what type of microphone you boost with a Cloudlifter Mic Activator, the extra 25dB (or 12 and 24db on the Cloudlifter CL-Z) at the source minimizes the problems associated with mic-level signals, allowing you to run longer cables with less noise and signal degradation. Cloudlifters are even more impressive when you use them on low-output dynamic microphones such as the Shure SM7b, the Electro Voice RE-20, or virtually any passive ribbon mic. For even better results, check out the Cloudlifter CL-Z, with variable input impedance that allows you to tailor the character of your microphone.
Cloudlifter Mic Activators at a Glance:
- Phantom-powered in-line preamps that boost mics at the source
- A 25dB boost that drives long cable runs and reduces noise
- Perfect for adding punch to low-output dynamic microphones
Shop for Cloudlifter mic activators
Of course, there are many other ways to upgrade your rig, and your Sweetwater Sales Engineer would be happy to suggest preamps, dynamics processors, EQs, and other outboard gear. So, if you have any questions about microphones or mic-related equipment, give us a call at (800) 222-4700.