Reflection filter?

[LjHundred]

My home studio is, like many others recording on a budget, in my bedroom. The room is pretty small, so there's not any echo and stuff of that kind, so with that in mind, you would think that my room is perfect for vocal-recording. There's a couple problem, though.

When we first moved to our new house, a couple years ago(keep in mind, I didn't have buying studio-device in mind back then), I chose the one room with a fan right outside(for temperature-changes and stuff) and though it's not super-loud, my mic pics up some of the sound. Also, smart as I was, when I bought my studio-shit, I thought the best headphones to buy were the Beats by Dre Studios, which do have great sound, but it leaks a whole lot, and my mic will then pic up some of the sound from instrumentals Im recording on.

I guess I also should add that I usually record rap-vocals, even though I, every now and then, will have a singer record vocals in my studio. And I should also add that I am planning on moving all my studio equipment to another room in the house with less outside noise.

So my question is, should I buy a reflection filter/portable-booth filter? And also, would a reflection filter kill the sounds from the headphone-leakage(that part of the question will not be as important, but would be nice to know, though) I live with my parents, as I am only a teenager, so I guess they wouldn't be too happy with me putting foam panels all over the walls and stuff, especially when my studio will be moved to a guest-bedroom.

 

[GIK Acoustics]

An SE Reflexion filter will not help with either of the two problems at all. The only solution would be either recording in a separate room, or using some large gobos around the mic to reduce the fan noise (it won't help much with the headphone situation though - you can either buy some decent closed-back headphones or learn to monitor at a quieter level while recording (or both - the ATM-H50s are notorious for a great can on a budget, a lot of people use them for production and tracking)). For the gobos, I'm suggesting something like this - you can even get or build many to completely surround the vocalist if you wished: Screen Panel : GOBO : GIK Acoustics

 

[LjHundred]

thanks for the info. I was kinda afraid it wouldn't help, cuz I had the understanding that it was really just to help if the acoustics are bad(and my vocals are pretty much the way they supposed to be) but I thought it wouldn't hurt to at least check, ya know. About monitoring on a quieter level while recording, if you mean monitoring on a quieter headphone-level, it's not really an option, because I get so much energy from hearing loud-ass noises in my head, and on a lot of tracks, it really helps my precense. But I hope that the recordings will improve more when I move my studio and like I said, the headphone issue isn't a huge problem, but ya know. If there's a solution that seems reasonable, you should go with it, you know. Anyways, your answer saved me a whole lotta money, so thanks alot

 

[mixgeneral]

I used a reflection filter and it was giving some sort of comb filtering effect on vocals. Although its a great way to do demos really quickly and the setup could literally be mic and filter by your workstation. good lucj

 

[GIK Acoustics]

thanks for the info. I was kinda afraid it wouldn't help, cuz I had the understanding that it was really just to help if the acoustics are bad(and my vocals are pretty much the way they supposed to be) but I thought it wouldn't hurt to at least check, ya know. About monitoring on a quieter level while recording, if you mean monitoring on a quieter headphone-level, it's not really an option, because I get so much energy from hearing loud-ass noises in my head, and on a lot of tracks, it really helps my precense. But I hope that the recordings will improve more when I move my studio and like I said, the headphone issue isn't a huge problem, but ya know. If there's a solution that seems reasonable, you should go with it, you know. Anyways, your answer saved me a whole lotta money, so thanks alot

Another idea could be to monitor with earbuds with closed headphones on top for added isolation if you like to blast it while recording.

 

[homestudioguy]

I used a reflection filter and it was giving some sort of comb filtering effect on vocals. Although its a great way to do demos really quickly and the setup could literally be mic and filter by your workstation. good lucj

Comb Filtering with Reflexion Filter (RF) can be eliminated by moving/sliding your microphone closer to singer.
If you jam the mic too far back into the RF, you will get that effect.
Check the sE Electronics website for RF Instructions if you don't have them already.

The RF is a nice product but you need to remember that the Mic is pointing away from the RF towards singer so you need to be sure you have some sort of Acoustic Material Behind The Singer.

The guys at Sound On Sound Music http://www.soundonsound.com have, in numerous articles, suggested hanging duvets or comforters behind the vocalist if money is tight.

Something else to consider would be to use a "Dynamic Mic" as opposed to a "Condensor Mic."