Best Reflection Filters/Isolation Shields for aspiring vocalists

07/02/2020
Admin Admin

Form a band online, promote your music, buy custom beats, sound parts, and share your Beat or Track as a Royalty Free loop with us. Collaborate to make beats online with the best loop makers from around the world on the Forum for musicians and beat makers. Keep up to date with Music News and learn from FL Studio Video Tutorials and the articles on the Blog. Free DAW Music Software downloads, VST and Instrument Packs for FL Studio, Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, and how to use the most popular free DAW Software, Fruity Loop Plugins, MIDIs and more.

Gone are the days when recording equipment was cumbersome and prohibitively expensive for an aspiring vocalist. The digital age has made the idea of home studios economical. Inexpensive yet effective and portable recording equipment are a godsend to upcoming talents today.

Reflection Filters are the most economical and accessible equipment for a budding vocalist. They are portable and easy to set up at home, even in your small bedroom. Since its invention in the mid-2000s, it has become the go-to home solution for amateurs, budding professionals and even some established vocalists and music producers who would often turn to reflection filters for smaller recordings at home for advertisement jingles and promos.


Also Read: Logic Pro X for starters 

The obvious question is how effective and reliable they are. Lets take a look at some of the most commonly preferred Reflection Filters in the market:

1. Auralex MudGuard V2

Auralex has been a leading name in the acoustic industry, having existed for over four decades. They started out in 1977 with the mission of producing quality acoustic solutions that were affordable. It was thus, only natural for them to penetrate into the economical home recording segment. The MudGuard is one hot product of theirs in this segment.


                                                    
Contrary to other isolation shields, Auralex has equipped the MudGuard V2 with a patended convex design. The MudGuard thus holds an edge over others, by its unique convex shield warding off undesired acoustic energy from the microphone.

One of the most economincal options out there, the MudGuard V2 can be easily mounted to almost any microphone stand.

2. sE Electronics Reflexion Filter PRO

Before veteran players like Auralex came up with the product, sE Electronics was responsible in revolutionizing the segment by inventing Reflection Filters. The idea of having an absorption right in front of the vocalist, was then totally unconventional. Every other reflection filter that succeeded was an undeniable imitation of the sE Reflexion Filters. The sE Reflexion Filter PRO remains an industry standard today.


          SEReflexionFilter

Being the pioneers often gives an edge. sE’s Reflexion Filter PRO is state-of-the-art in almost every aspect. The product remains a much favored home solution even among leading professionals. It is also a hot favorite in online shopping portals, being consistently rated high. The virtually unanimous opinion among customers is that their home recordings on sE reflection filters seldom sound like ‘home’ recordings. When properly put to use, the result is often as good as that of a good studio recording. Besides being arguably the finest home solution, the sE Reflexion Filters have also found their way into some of the most sophisticated recording studios around the world. Its multi-layered shield punctiliously works across the entire frequency spectrum ensuring a clean and balanced sound without coloration.

The only disadvantage with the sE Reflexion Filter is that unlike most of its imitations (including good ones like the Auralex), it is not easily mountable on smaller, lighter microphone stands. It is also heavier and comparatively less portable.

3. Primacoustic VoxGuard

The Primacoustic VoxGuard is one of the cheapest reflection filters available out there and the most accessible and affordable one for beginners. It is also portable and very lightweight. Instead of the standard reflection filter mounting system, the VoxGuard uses a normal micstand mounting, and arguably serves all the basic requirements that a reflection filter must, i.e.,  eliminating unwanted noise and reflections.
                                  VOXGUARD
 
Equipped a high-density open-cell foam and an ABS backing shell, the VoxGuard has a cable port behind for almost almost every common microphone. The extension bar that comes with the VoxGuard facilitates a wide range of microphone placements. Some newer versions of the VoxGuard (since 2015), feature a rectangular opening in the center of the shield to allow easier communication.
 
The VoxGuard is the ideal thing to get started with, especially if you are recording in a small room or apartment.


Also Read: Beginner Guide for the Reaper DAW

4. Marantz Professional Sound Shield

The Sound Shield from Marantz is another one among the cheapest reflection filters available. Equipped with two foldable absorptive walls and three stationary absorptive walls, the Sound Shield also boasts a thick EVA foam and is incredibly lightweight.
                            marantz
It can be either stand-mounted or easily mounted on a tabletop, making it the most flexible among the cheapest options available for beginners.

5. Porta-Booth Pro

Exactly as the name implies, the Porta-Booth is a really impressive portable recording booth in the literal sense. Featuring one of the most inventive portable designs, it is fully collapsible and is equipped with a high-quality interior foam sourced from Auralex.

                                                
The Porta-Booth also comes with rear slots for shot gun mics and boom stands.

6. Aston Microphones Halo Shadow Reflection Filter

A multiple award winner, Aston's Halo offers one of the most original designs for any reflection filter with its quirky shell-shaped shield.

                                        

Made with material sourced from recycled PET plastic, the shell-shape ensures maximum isolation with a 360-degree filtering. The Halo is also equipped with what they call an "Easy Mount" hardware, thus making it easy to set up. Aston holds a patent for Halo.

7. Auray RF-C12R Professional Desktop Isolation Filter


                                                         loopazon_RFC12R.jpg?1595772848632
 

Priced just over a $100, the RFC12R from Auray is a small, portable Desktop Reflection filter mainly aimed at, not just singers, but also podcasters who are constantly on the move. Predominantly intended for Desktop use, the RFC12R comes with a filter stand that is adjustable between 7.25 and 9 inches, thus easily accomodating both tall and short microphones. The microphone depth too, is adjustable, i.e, it allows the microphone to be moved towards or  away from the filter. Auray however needs to consider a more competitive pricing that would give it an edge over some of its competitors.



Also Read: How To Drum Cubase Tutorial | Easy Guide

8. Neewer Professional Studio Recording Microphone Isolation Shield

The Neewer Microphone Isolation Shield is one of the better ones among the cheapest solutions available. Priced just below $60, the Neewer is very portable with a foldable diffusion shell that facilitates ease of transport.
                                                     
Like the VoxGuard, the Neewer can be mounted on a microphone stand thus enabling it to work with microphones of different sizes. It also comes with an additional adapter which can be used in case the shield it does not fit to a non-Neewer microphone stand. The hardware quality is excellent for its cost, with the vented steel finish assuring durability of the shield. The foam finish in the front is as good as in some of the much higher priced isolation shields. The Neewer again, is incredibly lightweight and can be mounted on a table-top. The Neewer and VoxGuard serve as excellent alternatives for each other.
 

9. sE Reflexion Filter X


The Reflexion Filter X is an affordable solution for beginners from none other than the pioneers themselves - sE Electronics, thus making it the obvious favorite among all reflection filters for beginners.
                   sE Reflection Filter X (Scaled down version)

The price though is not as competitive as that of the VoxGuard or Neewer, but the extra buck is very reasonable considering the sE patented technology that comes with the Reflexion Filter X. It also boasts a multi-layer design that ensures virtually zero coloration. Besides its premium acoustic layer, the RFX is equipped with an air gap layer, another layer of wool fabric and a vented composite panel in the outer-most layer. When appropriately put to use, the result is a clean and dry vocal output to which your engineer can add all desired effects during the mix. Very portable and lightweight like its cheaper alternatives, the Reflexion Filter X is also very flexible and adaptable for different recording environments.

10. Vicoustic Flexiscreen Ultra

The Flexiscreen Ultra from Vicoustic comes with the most conspicuous premium design among all the reflection filters we have discussed here.
                                        
It boasts a polyeurethene structure that facilitates optimum absorption levels. The outer-wooden layer is an instant attraction. The Flexiscreen too works with microphones of virtually every size and the vocal output is favorable. However in many countries, the Flexiscreen Ultra comes at a much higher price in comparison to sE’s Reflexion Filter PRO, and thus not always the first choice among professionals. Vicoustic does offer a lesser priced version like sE, but again the price is not competitive.

Also Read: Can Songs Made In GarageBand Be Sold?