DO PORTABLE ISOLATION BOOTHS / REFLECTION FILTERS WORK?

[NanosaurMusic]

I bought this exact reflection filter and it works wonders in my bedroom studio. I have wood floors and the room is huge with no acoustic foam anywhere and I would definitely recommend it to anyone with the same type of workspace.

[TheHouseofKushTV]

Nice to see someone actually debunking these things. Also, the reflection filter isn't the only thing not working, that pop filter is still letting a lot of bursts thru to the mic capsule. Most of them do. They're definitely better than nothing, but nowhere near as good as distance and technique.

From an audio engineer and VO artist 25 years in the game: there's no reason to point your mouth directly at the mic capsule, and in fact most people project sound more out of one side of their mouth than they do the front or the other side. Watch yourself talk on video and you'll see your mouth habitually curving and pulling off to one side, that's where the vowels and resonance go. Point THAT side of your mouth at the mic by standing where you normally do but pointing your nose 3-5" to the side of the mic, and your P's and F's and Ess's will sail past the capsule while the body of your voice hits the capsule beautifully.

[RNGD-jpnk]

Excellent analysis. My dad gifted me with one a few years ago. I tried it and was disappointed with how it solved zero issues with my recording.
Recording in my closet with blankets on my walls has been a bigger improvement than the reflection filter

[AviramNetanel]

I was also skeptical but I bought one for around 100$, and the improvement is really noticeable!!! so you can talk theoretically as much as you want - but in the practical level, it DOES make a difference!

[AndrewKamenMusic]

3:16 - When someone in the other room says they gonna spark a blunt.

[flemingandjohn]

If you can't hear the difference, then you don't need one :). It depends on the frequency content/volume of your source as well as your room. 
It also depends on what surface you are facing.
Sometimes the difference is very small...sometimes not. It definitely reduces room ambient noise (record the quiet room with and without to check it). It smooths out high and and high mid frequencies that bounce back into the mic. I have tested it in treated rooms with a bunch of different sources. If your mic is set too deep into the filter, it will add low mids.

So, not a room silencer. It is a room tamer.

Another to know is that it depends on your mic choice.
Large Condenser mics pick up low frequencies from off axis sources.
The bleed around the mic is fatter....
The Filter lowers that significantly.

[sybaen]

0:25 "My owner is talking to himself again... I wish he would get help..."

[Vambibuda]

In my experience this worked like a charm. I did multiple recordings with ans without and the difference was significant. My recording studio, before installing the panels, it was very reverbish, and when I tried the SE it did made a huge difference.

[damionsheppard]

Man, your videos are great and I don't know why you don't have more views! Straight to the point, well explained, great stuff. And 3:10 was absolutely hilarious. Good work.

[pongespob]

The reflection filter helps to absorb the sound of your voice to prevent your voice from bouncing around the room but it isn't intended to be the sole solution. Put it in proximity to a wall directly behind you where you hang a large piece of carpet or a comforter. Or have a standup recording baffle behind you as well. You can also treat the room to kill reflections in conjunction with a reflection filter.

[rotosound]

Interesting. For what it's worth, in my experience, this small booth has been the single most noticeable and worth while improvement to my set up. A world of difference and something I'd not hesitate to recommend to anyone wanting to record some vocals for music (which is what I'm using my set up for).

[PostObzor]

This was the best advice that I got. Thanks. I do not need the reflection filter.

[KendallMadison]

I thought he was right at first, but I got the same reflection filter and realized I just had the filter and mic at the wrong angle. I experimented with the angle of the filter and mic and virtually all of the reverb I was getting from my living/dining room is GONE. If you are rapping or singing at home, this is what this was designed for and it will give you more of a studio type sound. Its definitely worth trying if you are serious and ocd about your sound, but you can't just "throw" it onto your stand, lol you have to think it through and position it correctly just like all your other equipment.

[labbaby]

There's many other factors in dealing with room acoustics during recording. Unless you're in a completely isolated studio booth, you're always gonna deal with some level of unneeded noise. A lot of commercially released projects in the past 10 years were recorded in tour buses, hotel rooms, bedrooms, etc. Jay and Kanye's Watch The Throne album was mostly recorded in a hotel, and Erykah Badu's New Amerykah album was recorded at her home and in a studio with the monitors playing in the background. A good producer, engineer and mixer can find ways to deal with noise and room acoustics. You'd have to pack the room and keep it as isolated as possible. Gates/limiters/compressors can deal with the remaining noise in your mix. As far as the reflection filters go, there's better ones than the one in the video (I have one that came in a bundle pack for $100)... but they definitely help in getting rid of a great deal of noise. It's not what you use, but how you use it.

[quasimanez]

I ware a large mexican hat with my kids soft toys hanging round the rim when I record vocals. This breaks up room reflexions from behind me really well. I wish I could patent the idea.!!!

[tbhv]

I think these shields are effective and helpful when used strategically. The shield doesn't help in this video because the reflections are mostly coming from that massive corridor behind you. I bet you would get better results if you turned your whole set up so the off axis point of the mic was aimed at the corridor and then you drew some curtains on the windows on your sides.

[bassgypsy]

My studio set up is in a bedroom, which is a 12x12 box, and very bad for recording. I bought an Auralex Roominator Kit about ten years ago. The newer ones look like they absorbs better then the kit I have. The kit removed the slap back and a few of the upper and lower reflections, but I still had unwanted a lot of low and upper mid frequency build up. During the mixing stage I used to have to do a lot of surgical EQ cutting. For years I had to deal with this, until I bought the same filter he is demoing about two years ago. It worked out great for vocals and just amazing for micing up my guitar cabinet. Now I do very little EQ cutting, thus retaining the source sound. The room he is recording in doesn’t really sound bad. No slap back, not bassy, but with a little bit of airy highs from the back wall. When he stands behind the filter it removed little bit of the upper frequencies and the airiness in the room. Understand that your room needs may not be the same as his room needs, Every room is different. Some rooms need more dispersion, while others need more absorption or both. This filter helped with my problems. Is it perfect no, but my results are a hell of a lot better then what I had before...plus its portable. :)

[danieljoshua]

I mostly agree.

In a multitrack band environment, it would provide a little protection from other instrument bleed.

Also, use it facing into the room with your closet behind you. Might do something.

[muhacks]

Just a note that if you are doing voiceover work, this is probably true. If you are projecting and singing loudly, this is not true at all. This is an extremely effective filter. While I like this channel for some review data, note that a lot of these scenarios are specific to voiceover work and don't hold true if you are using these for recording amps/singing. That being said i love the C100s :)

[Tysto]

You can get a nice-looking, wooden room divider for $100 to $150 and hang acoustic foam panels on one side. Treat an empty corner of your room with acoustic foam panels too (or something more decorative that is still thick and soft), and now you have a nice little sound booth that is hidden by the decorative side of the room divider and can be moved to create more space. Make sure the room divider is tall enough for you. Most are 5-and-a-half feet tall, but plenty are 6-feet tall. The "empty corner" could also be an open bedroom wall closet.