Reflection filter with end address mic

[aux8]

I have one mic only - a Røde M3. It's an end address mic and it's also quite long - nearly 9".

I'm wondering if there's any point in getting a reflection filter. All photos of these things show vertically mounted mics. I'm guessing my horizontally mounted mic would be too far out of the filter to benefit.

 

[woodman]

If room reflections are affecting your vocals, there's no reason you couldn't angle the mic 45° or so, keeping the element in the shielded area, right? ... One alternative that might help some would be to hang a thick quilt or something similar behind you to block reflections from behind. Or do both!

 

[Ed Driscoll]

Before building my project studio, I used the Reflexion portable vocal booth on a few projects. If you go this route, make sure you hang duvets behind the Reflexion as well; it can't do it alone. Frankly, I think you'd get equally good results, if you just hang the duvets around the room to minimize, and ideally eliminate any room tone.

 

[thesamhill]

I've never used either the Rode M3 nor a reflection filter, but my understanding of reflection filters is that they are good for omnidirectional mics because those mics will pick up sounds (reflections) from the other side of the singer (or whatever sound source), and the filter blocks the stuff coming from the opposite direction from the singer's voice.

Looking at this site here (which I know nothing about and might be wrong but I have nothing better to go on):

Rode M3 Meta Review | Gearank

Rode initially designed the M3 to be an instrument mic, but it has also found wide use as a vocal mic and that's one of the applications that Rode list on their website for it.

www.gearank.com

The Rode M3 is a cardioid pattern, not an omnidirectional.

As you can see in my amazing drawing over the cardioid pattern diagram, the mic will pick up sounds in front of it very well (meaning, where the singer is) and pick up almost nothing coming from behind it, which is where the reflection filter would be. So there's not much point to a reflection filter behind a cardioid mic.

As @Ed Driscoll notes you're probably better hanging duvets around the room.

My understanding is that the place you need to muffle sound most is directly behind and out to the sides of the singer, because those reverbs will be picked up most strongly.

See also

Microphone Directionality and Polar Pattern Basics

In order to choose the right microphone, it's crucial to understand the fundamentals of how a microphone picks up sound. The key to this is directionality.

www.shure.com

 

[Ben Harmless]

I'll third the "don't worry about it" notion. I'm highly skeptical of reflection filters and their ability to accomplish even what they claim. If you can soften the corners of the room and break up the parallel surfaces, it'll go a longer way toward making it a good space. Then you get to use whatever mics you want whenever you want. I'm sure someone somewhere would say that their reflection filter saved their recording, but I bet that many, many more have felt like they weren't as transformative as expected.

I would employ the old false-option scenario here: You may have two out of three of a sub-optimal room, a nice condenser mic, and a great recording. It's hard (I won't say impossible) to have all three.

 

[thesamhill]

You may have two out of three of a sub-optimal room, a nice condenser mic, and a great recording. It's hard (I won't say impossible) to have all three

Ok I am pretty sure I know what you meant but... Can I choose A and C?

 

[Ben Harmless]

Ok I am pretty sure I know what you meant but... Can I choose A and C?

Sure! Get the source and performance just right, and choose techniques that minimize the ways the room can interfere. Good dynamic mics are less sensitive and can help a lot. Condensers or ribbon mics with a figure-8 pattern can have really good rejection of sounds (including room reflections) from the sides. Consider arrangements that don't rely on the room being good - like using an electric guitar (direct or close-mic'd) or a pickup on an acoustic rather than a mic if the song will work that way. Some virtual pianos are great.

I think we've been assuming that you were thinking about the reflection filter due to having a suboptimal room, but are you sure you need it? The best room in my home is a bedroom, and it had one issue (a frequency node) that's been largely solved by some basic treatment, but it wasn't that bad to begin with. Anything's a studio if you make recordings there!

 

[thesamhill]

@Ben Harmless cheers! I wasn't the op on this one, I was the highly skilled computer artist who drew the reflection filter drawing above

But point taken- if the goal is to avoid unwanted room noise, and condenser mics are designed to pick up a lot of ambient noise they might be the wrong choice for a bedroom studio, esp if you're belting it out rather than singing super intimate Billy Eilish type songs.

I'm always glad to hear success stories about bedroom studios. If you have a minute, and is not too big of a thread hijack, I'd be curious about how you identified which room was the most promising and then diagnosed and treated it (or even a link if you already explained elsewhere). And does the room still function as a bedroom or guest bedroom?

 

[matman14]

A mic company sent me a reflection filter thing (a big, chunky, heavy affair) to try out maybe ten years ago. After about fifteen minutes of trying to set it up in such a way that it didn't produce comb filtering and actually did something helpful on the recording, I gave up and tossed it In a box of bits.

I actually found it still in that junk box a few months ago when I was packing everything up getting ready to relocate the studio. Needless to say, it did not make the move to the new location.

The advice about treating the area (even just hanging a moving blanket or duvet) behind the source is going to net far more positive reults.

 

[Ben Harmless]

@Ben Harmless cheers! I wasn't the op on this one, I was the highly skilled computer artist who drew the reflection filter drawing above

Ah! My error, and may I say that your annotation of the cardioid pickup pattern is masterful.

As to your question, it was really a matter of necessity. I'm single, and live in an apartment in a miserable housing market, so it's small. My bedroom is the most isolated from environmental noise. While mixing my own stuff in there, I noticed that there was a node maybe a little below 200hz that was building up and making everything sound muddy no matter what. The room is also not inherently flattering to a recorded sound, so because I compulsively look for things to spend money on, I put up four 2x4' absorption panels from GIK Acoustics (no affiliation, just a happy customer) on the most uninterrupted wall. That managed the issues enough. I haven't done much with the corners, which are common culprits, and I'm limited on what I can do with the ceiling due to being a renter. So yeah, necessity is the mother of invention, I suppose. I also don't claim that it's a perfect environment, but I'm mixing two records in there right now, and the rough mixes of the first one are what got me the second, so there's that.

The side benefit is that I find acoustically-deadened environments to be supportive of serenity and relaxation, and I need that.

 

[Papanate]

I have one mic only - a Røde M3. It's an end address mic and it's also quite long - nearly 9".

I'm wondering if there's any point in getting a reflection filter. All photos of these things show vertically mounted mics. I'm guessing my horizontally mounted mic would be too far out of the filter to benefit.

You aren't really getting any reflections with a shotgun mic - so there is no reason to get a filter.

 

[aux8]

Thanks all for the answers. Very helpful