Recording Vocal Studio Isolation Ball Microphone Pop Filter Shield Accessory,Reduces Pops, Noise, Reverb

I love this for my Audio Technica AT-2020 condenser mic, and it's a nice addition to my home studio setup.I'll mention first the few minor drawbacks to this item, and they are MINOR.Firstly, with my AT-2020 mic, it fits very well, but I had to hang my mic very low in the suspension cage in order to have enough length for the mic's capsule to be fully exposed inside the isolation shield.It does hang safely, though, and the spongier foam insert (please see photo) doesn't block the mic's diaphragm. It did take some adjusting, but it works perfectly. If I weren't using the suspension mount and using an upright configuration, I would have more control over where the mic's capsule sits inside the chamber. However, it worked perfectly for me in sound testing with vocals.The second design drawback is not being able to 'work the mic' as I normally do when using a close-proximity pop filter alone, i.e. moving laterally with more dynamic passages. So, in lieu of moving from side to side, I only need to slightly turn my head to get a good vocal take. It does take a little getting used to, especially with not being able to see the mic, and relying on the headphone mix for dynamics and proximity monitoring, but the learning curve with this is short.The fixed distance of the dual screen pop filter is another issue. I had to be very conscious of not accidentally hitting it with my lips/mouth when tracking vocal takes.It just took a little getting used to, but I did find that I needed to boost the gain on the mic just a bit on my audio interface to get a proper signal in my recording software [tested with GarageBand, Logic Pro X, and Logic Pro2 for iPad, using only a PreSonus Audio Two interface] in order to keep my face away from accidentally touching the filter.The fixed dimensions and mic proximity with the pop filter in place also negate doing any close-up whispering or breathy passages.Anyway, those are the quirks and minuses I found, and they are minimal.On to the pluses...Here's what I absolutely love about this unit:It's lightweight, and it doesn't require any special mic stand adapters to use it.It dampens ambient noise (refrigerator, air conditioner, fans, etc.) VERY well, especially when boosting the gain on my mic to pick up subtle vocal nuances.It deadens ambient sound more than 270° around the mic, and it's so much more efficient than my heavy clamshell type device I had been using.The pop filter is well made, and the dual mesh inserts are separated by approx. 1/4" of airspace. So, I can really hit plosive sounds (P's and B's) without spiking into the red, or losing a good vocal take.It's also removable for more subtle work, and doesn't require a cumbersome gooseneck adapter.The main hexagon body is made of high-density foam, and it's durable feeling (and easy to brush clean).Note: The shipping box makes for handy storage and dust protection.The insert for the AT-2020 (and others *not in my collection) provides good vibration dampening around the mic itself in relation to the cube.Overall, I love this unit, and if you've ever experienced being inside an anechoic chamber, that's pretty close to how well it deadens reflection, and deflects/absorbs unwanted ambient noise.My home studio and neighborhood is noisy at times = occasional outdoor passing traffic, kids playing, appliances running, heating cooling fans, etc. So, before doing vocal takes, I need to turn down the thermostat on my refrigerator, turn off the AC units, shut off the forced hot air furnace, etc.This is by far the most ideal solution I've come across so far for compact and easy to use isolation and dampening.I highly recommend it for home recording studio use, and I think it's more than a good value considering the alternative of papering my walls with foam panels.Lastly, it's now the coolest looking thing in my setup.

Size matters! You need to use this with a mic that has a fairly tall design, something along the lines of a U87 body. In all honesty, this shield design does NOT work well with the majority of my microphones. I have a few U87 clones (Donner DC-87 and a pair of Behringer B-2 Pros) and a Suuntøk TM251S that kinda fits.When the mic body is shorter, the shock mount will typically get in the way and the shield will sit awkwardly on top, sometimes at an angle. That’s what happens with the Suuntøk.If the mic body is too short, your recording will sound muffled because the diaphragm will be obscured by a lot of foam. I have an MXL Rev FET Mini that falls into this category. I’ve also got multiple JZ mics that fall into this category - they have a design similar to Austrian Audio, sort of a flat squared off shape instead of cylindrical.And this shield design is only for side-address mics; it won’t work for end-address mics because they’re unlikely to fit inside and still point at your mouth.Sound-wise, it does a decent enough job of reducing (but not eliminating) room noise from your recordings. It can impact the tonality of your recordings, making things sound - unsurprisingly - restricted, boxy, limited somehow. It’s subtle and likely won’t stand out in a mix but is definitely noticeable in an A-B comparison.Still a useful tool to have available, and for some might be a necessity if their room acoustics are really bad. I had the AC running to get my office down from 87º and this did help attenuate some of that low rumble / whoosh.Affordable and serves a purpose, definitely worth 4 stars.

Worlds of difference in ambient room noise! I AM using this with my previous sock and pop-screen inside, but with that combination my room noise doesn't register basically at all. My studio is in my home and with general residential noise (and cicadas and such) there's always a bit of grit to my audio (my AT2020 seems to really like ambient sound) that i had to run filter passes to remove - this (in combination with my other sock and pop filter) has removed that, basically entirely. I was worried with so much physical filtering on my tone may sound dead, but it really doesn't, i guess it allows enough reverb in the little mini-booth that it doesn't have that issue, but truly I am SO glad to have added this to my set up, it fits well, was super easy to set up and with minimal fidgeting it's excellent!

This is a clever isolation shield that works. It's made of sturdy foam with a hole in the bottom to fit most microphones, and a pop filter that slides into the front of it, leaving your microphone sitting in a completely shielded environment. While it does not eliminate all outside noises, it does a very good job toning them down, especially for cardioid directional mics. The hole in the bottom may not be for all microphones, but I use it with a standard diameter condenser mic and it fits perfectly.

This mic isolation shield does a decent job at diminishing high and upper mid frequency noise. It is designed to use with large diaphragm microphones that are vertically oriented.I wanted this to serve as a field version of an isolation frame, but without modifications it isn't quite that. It does cut some decibels off the high and upper mid range noise, but like all foam sound control, it has significant limits. In my tests, it acted like an extra thick foam windscreen for sounds coming off axis.The pop filter actually does a surprisingly good job for an all-fabric design. I don't detect any loss of sound with it installed and it does a solid job with plosives.I do wish the shield had an access from the rear that matched the foam cutout at the bottom. It might be a nice option to have more typical vocal and instrument mics mounted to work to their best advantage.This is a respectable budget isolation "shield", though I think competition from regular budget isolation shields/frames might limit its use to field or location work.