Red 100 mic enhancer sound shield thingy, has anyone tried?

[treesbygb]

Nice idea,
I like the curtain rail solution as it's very neat.
Nothing to lose!

[pedrocosta]

Ok glad to hear I'm not crazy after all

[andygabrys]

the foam thingy works ok, a collaborator of mine has one that sounds ok - but.......you probably get what you pay for. I think at the high end of the mic stand mounted absorbers, some figure that the SE Reflexion filter is better.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Reflexion/

I went for a different solution, more money, but more versatile and I was looking to treat my room with bass traps for mixing:

http://www.readyacoustics.com/bass_trap ... r9f50kf6i3

a year ago they sold a more inexpensive model that didn't have the wood frame, but still 4" thick. So they are pretty functional as bass traps

I have them on my front wall behind my monitors, the first reflection points on the side walls, the corners of my room, and at the back of the room etc. I have two mounted on mic stands, and when recording can put one behind my vocal mic, and one right behind the vocalist so its cutting off a lot of the room sound. Or in-between me and my mac pro if the fan noise is louder than usual and I am recording acoustic guitar.

then when I go to mix I move them back to where they were to get the best mixing sound in the room.

the recording sound is dry as a bone. which I consider very much a positive as at least the recording doesn't have a room sound of its own, and I can put whatever reverb I want on it to make the mix work. And if necessary I can squash the crap out of a recorded sound without bringing up the room sound. .

another option would be http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm but I don't know anyone who has personally bought one as of yet.

it will have to do until I build that million dollar live room

[sethlit]

This could be a bit far fetched, but it worked for me a little while back. Try contacting local community theaters and see if they have any old stage curtains laying around in storage. I was able to get some torn up, dirty, stained, yet effective stage curtains that I hooked to a curtain rod installed across the wall. I could then make my very modest drum room (basement) a little less room sounding. I figured, with a bad sounding room (small, basementy, fluttery) my only option was to deaden it and use room verb plugins.

The curtains were heavy as hell though... I ended up leaving them when I moved

Seth

[mojobone]

Cheap and cheerful; heavy blankets over a folding room divider. They make a portable vocal booth that attaches to a wall and folds out in similar fashion. None of these treatments will prevent the sounds of heavy trucks or other low frequency noises from contaminating your tracks, (for that, you need a lot of mass, preferably many feet of concrete) but they deal pretty well with pesky early reflections at higher frequencies. The SE Reflexion Filter works even better, but as Mazz mentioned you want some padding behind the singer as well, if it can be managed; I sing in front of a closet full of heavy winter clothing, with the closet door open, for that very reason.

[treesbygb]

Great photo! Why didn't I think of that!
However, I've bought a reflection filter and will be trying it with a singer tomorrow, so I'll let you know. I read a great article in sound on sound (thanks for the recommendation Mazz) but I can't find it now to put the link up. Basically is said that a few simple things will make a big difference and each room is different and experiment, it gave me the confidence to try out cheaper solutions. I also use the rack of clothing behind the singer trick! Getting there now. All I need now is to work out how to get a decent acoustic guitar sound!
Thanks for all the posts.
Gary

[treesbygb]

Recorded one of my singers last night and the refection filter worked very well. The vocals had more warmth and clarity, also she saw one on the x factor and was well impressed! What you do eh?!!

[playagibson]

I've ordered one of those too. I was told the cheaper versions and homemade ones sound cheaper and homemade. That is clearly a subjective opinion however.
A good mic and stand plus a comforter hung behind you all helps.
With this type of gear you do get what you pay for.
I've seen this in many high end studio's. That sells it for me.

Rich.