SE Reflexion Filter

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ido1957

ido1957

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Any of you guys/gals have one of these? I'm thinking of picking one up for vocal recording.
Wondering...
Is it effective in reducing the ambient noise from a room
How far away can you position the microphone from the sheild and still be effective
Can it hold a condensor without tipping over (Tripod mic stand).
I'm actually thinking of mounting two shock mounted condensors in front of it so I may need to use a separate stand and a dual mic holder.
Any experiences good or bad would be appreciated...I may buy this after work today...
 
I played with one for a while and here is what I found:

a. Ineffective - doesn't really reduce ambient noise. For example it would not effectively block the noise of a CPU fan. Marginally effective at reducing reflections. Marginally to completely ineffective on reducing the boxiness, boominess of a small room. It is entirely possible that this device will make your recordings sound worse depending on the microphone and position.

b. The shield is a sort of half circle. The mic needs to sit in the center of the half circle. It does little to nothing at all if the mic is placed outside of the boundaries of the circle. There is a sliding adjustable mount in the center of the circle that is about 6 inches long. That's the total range you have front to back.

c. You can take the mic right out of the equation. The apparatus itself is EXTREMELY heavy and cumbersome with lots of protruding rods, brackets and adjustment knobs. A flimsier tripod stand that is not weighted down could easily fall right over if bumped. If it did fall it could easily break surrounding gear, severly injure a small child, or kill a pet.

d. You can't mount anything in front of it - the mic has to be 'inside' it. There is not enough clearance to mount two LDC mics. You might be able to squeeze in two SDC pencils, but I don't know what that would accomplish

My recommendation - I would not buy this after work today. I would check it out in store, but only if you have the opportunity to record with and without it and have someone else A/B the tracks. Then I would go and think about it some more. Then I would look into stuff like homebrew isolation made from panels, stuff like Ethan's PVB, etc....... In my experience even suspended moving quilts do a much better job.

With all that said - I would take anything anyone in an internet forum says with a grain of salt, look for other opinions and research available options.

Hope this helps.
 
Decided to forgo the purchase and DIY something bigger and cheaper....Plus I need something behind me from what I've read....
 
I ended up going with the Vox Guard by Primacoustic. It's a much cheaper built unit and doesn't have all that heavy hardware with it. I have mounted mine permanently to an older round base mic stand and use my boom stand to position my Blue Spark condenser in the right spot. It definitely has a sweet spot. It was only $75 at guitar center on sale. I couldn't pass it up as my estimates on parts and time to make something custom made work ended up being about the same or more.

It seems, to me, to be about as effective as the SE one that is soooo much more expensive! I think it also helps to have some sound absorption behind your singer as well, I back up against my heavy velvet drapes in my music room's window and it effectively blocks the CPU fan noise and deadens the sound down to an almost dry (but not so much that it sounds to dead)

It's an option. hope it helps too!
 
I have one (one of the originals, not one of the newer, cheaper model) and have to say it's very effective at what it's designed for.

Unfortunately, it's not designed to reduce ambient noise in a room. It's purpose is to reduce the hollow, boxy character you can get recording in an untreated room. It's designed to be a quick acoustic treatment, not sound proofing if that makes any sense.

I use mine mainly when I have to record spoken word things in a room which is really not very suitable. For that, it works very well. Used in accordance with the instructions, recordings are almost as dead as when done in a proper voice booth--but you have to be very careful about the set up to get best results.

As for the other questions, they've mainly been answered. You need a very heavy duty mic stand to use it safely and you have to adjust it carefully to get a good balance.

But...what it claims to do, it does well.
 
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Bobbsy said:
It's purpose is to reduce the hollow, boxy character you can get recording in an untreated room.

I use mine mainly when I have to record spoken work things in a room which is really not very suitable. For that, it works very well. Used in accordance with the instructions, recordings are almost a dead as when done in a proper voice booth--but you have to be very careful about the set up to get best results.
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Interesting point. I never tried using for spoken word, seems like that might be a decent potential use. For me - when singing vocals it did not really reduce the hollow boxy character. I'm really glad you re-inforced using it safely with a heavy duty stand. My point about it causing damage, injury or death was only slightly exaggerated. One thing I actually didn't mention is that even if it works, it's expensive.
 
Bobbsy said:
I have one (one of the originals, not one of the newer, cheaper model) and have to say it's very effective at what it's designed for.

Unfortunately, it's not designed to reduce ambient noise in a room. It's purpose is to reduce the hollow, boxy character you can get recording in an untreated room. It's designed to be a quick acoustic treatment, not sound proofing if that makes any sense.

I use mine mainly when I have to record spoken word things in a room which is really not very suitable. For that, it works very well. Used in accordance with the instructions, recordings are almost as dead as when done in a proper voice booth--but you have to be very careful about the set up to get best results.

As for the other questions, they've mainly been answered. You need a very heavy duty mic stand to use it safely and you have to adjust it carefully to get a good balance.

But...what it claims to do, it does well.
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+1 to what Bobbsy says
I use mine to take some of the room out when using my large recording space (Living room) which is not treated. I like the natural reverb in the room but some times I need to dry it up a bit and the Reflexion filter is very effective at doing just that

Just like a lot of other treatment it is designed to deal with reflections which is not the same as isolating a mic from noises in the room

One thing I actually didn't mention is that even if it works, it's expensive.
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I suppose it depends on your situation. For me I find it great value. Compared to having to treat all four spaces that I habitually use for recording, Vox, instruments and Bass and have to deal with potentially being in the dog house with the wife for ruining the look of the house, I find buying one reflexion filter to get a modicum of control over room reflections to be relatively cheap

As always YMMV
 
I can't say about one of those little guys? I dampened "the living room..."

Reflections are bad for vocalists.

Here's a pic of the corner I sing in to; And yes, that's a Neumann U 87 Ai on the mic stand...

studio.jpg
 
That mic is sweet... And when you pair it with the Avalon 737 pre-amp I run it through? It's like "fun" with your favorite adult actress "without the STDs..." Not just any one? But your favorite one...
 
It only reduces the horizontal plane of room noise. You need to put up foam on the ceiling above and a rug on floor below to make it most effective.
 
That is "technically" true? But in reality? It comes down to the reflections one can hear? And a fairly dead room, i.e., walls, + floor (my living room is carpeted like most?), vs. "an anechoic chamber?" I really don't think anyone can tell the difference in the mix JMO... I could be wrong, but it's a home studio in my living room. Like most of us (so it's carpeted), therefore I am commenting mainly on the horizontal for obvious reasons.

Again, you have to find a way to deaden your space for certian applications. If you are recording a singer, or an acoustic performance. There is a time and a place for a live room? But you also need the ability to isolate the reflections (again, in my opinion). There are different ways to skin the cat, but in the end? We're all in search of a hairless...

















"cat..." Freshly shorn.
 
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RockinRobby said:
That is "technically" true? But in reality? It comes down to the reflections one can hear? And a fairly dead room, i.e., walls, + floor (my living room is carpeted like most?), vs. "an anechoic chamber?" I really don't think anyone can tell the difference in the mix JMO... I could be wrong, but it's a home studio in my living room. Like most of us (so it's carpeted), therefore I am commenting mainly on the horizontal for obvious reasons.
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Are you commenting on your room or on the SE Reflexion filter?
 
Commenting on the importance of reducing reflections and the previous poster stating that the reflection filter doesn't do anything for horizontal reflections. Reflections are bad Um Kay?
 
RockinRobby said:
Commenting on the importance of reducing reflections and the previous poster stating that the reflection filter doesn't do anything for horizontal reflections. Reflections are bad Um Kay?
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Yes, reflections are bad. I couldn't tell from your post whether you use the device the OP was asking about. Not that it matters one way or another, but I am very curious about other peoples experience with the reflexion filter good-or-bad.
 
RockinRobby said:
Commenting on the importance of reducing reflections and the previous poster stating that the reflection filter doesn't do anything for horizontal reflections. Reflections are bad Um Kay?
Click to expand...

You misread my comments. The only reflections that are affected are along the horizontal plane. I have one of these and use it all the time. If you are recording at home with an 8 foot ceiling on a wooden floor, you're going to want to treat the bounce from top and bottom as well. That was my point.
 
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