RE: [Harp-L] Tom Ball avoids windscreens like the plague

[Tom Ball <havaball@xxxxxxx>]

Yes this is true in my case -- but I'd like to make clear that the 
above quote is in reference to performance, not recording.

To my ear, cheap foam windscreens tend to over-attenuate both highs 
AND lows, and reduce volume to boot -- hence general degradation of 
sound.  After all, the object of a windscreen is sound obstruction. 
Unless the gig is outdoors in the middle of Hurricane Egbert, I do 
indeed avoid them like the plague.

In studio, it can often be a different matter -- not due to wind, but 
due to vocal pops, grunts, etc. Some mics pick up these sounds more 
clearly than others and therefore necessitate a screen -- but then, 
those screens are usually an altogether different design (i.e. not 
actually in contact with the mic) than the cheap foam types.

cheers and best,
Tom