Audio production2 min read
Plosive
Also known as: pop
In short
A plosive is the burst of air on p and b sounds that hits a microphone as a low thump. A pop filter and speaking slightly off-axis prevent most of them. They are hard to fix cleanly after the fact, so they are a capture problem first.
Why it matters
Plosives are a capture problem, which is why they matter at the microphone rather than in the edit. The low-frequency thump on a hard p sits under the word and is hard to remove without thinning the voice. Prevented, it costs nothing; fixed after the fact, it costs quality.
In practice
Use a pop filter and speak slightly off-axis, past the microphone rather than straight into it. If one slips through, a gentle high-pass on that moment helps, but the real fix is at capture.
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