Reddit reviews LyxPro VRI-30 Sound Absorbing and Vocal Recording Microphone Isolation Shield Panel For Home Office and Studio Portable & Foldable Stand Mount Adjustable

Hey there! Here's my suggestion if you're starting out and have a $600 budget.

• Mic: https://www.amazon.com/Rode-Anniversary-Condenser-Microphone-Package/dp/B002QAUOKS/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1520276764&sr=1-1&keywords=rode+nt1a
  
  
• Interface/soundcard: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Interface-Generation-Technical/dp/B01J9NDHXK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1520276849&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=scarlett+2i2&psc=1
  
  That mic is a great one to start out with and I can personally vouch for its sound, whereas i cannot for the SE one you linked (not saying it's bad, just haven't tried it!)
  
  That soundcard is a hell of a deal, high quality, and *comes with a mic stand and XLR cable (and an extra pop filter) all bundled in.
  
  Total price for all of this: $390
  
  You can grab a reflection shield and still be at $450 total (https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1520277017&sr=1-2&keywords=reflection+shield)
  
  Important: Please note, while it will help, a reflection shield alone is not enough to tame the echoes in a hardwood room with a lot of reverb. If AT ALL possible, the absolutely best thing you can do (if I had to choose between reflection shield vs. doing this, I would do this every time) to improve the quality of the recording you'll get is to spend some of that remaining budget - remember we've got everything for $450 so far! - and buy cheap blankets from Ikea or similar. They have like their cheapest comforter/duvet blankets that are only like $4-5 each and cover a lot of space, if you use some command hooks (or nails/tacks, whatever your living space allows) to put these on the walls, put a cheap rug down on the floor, etc. to break up the flat surfaces, you'll be astounded by the difference.
  
  I did this to my studio room - again, using all cheap blanket materials and no expensive acoustic foam - and even random guests comment on how quiet it sounds when they're talking and walk in from the hallway and hear how much their voice changes.
  
  Here's a picture series (click the right arrow to go through them https://www.instagram.com/p/BWYSx2XFdi0/?taken-by=petravitamusic) from my studio after I'd set up the blankets, and for sound quality examples of the microphone, everything on my soundcloud within the last year has been recorded on the mic I linked, and recorded in this room. A couple examples: https://soundcloud.com/petravita/the-land-of-no-seconds-petravita-prod-syndrome-demoaday-67365 and another with no reverb added back in during the mix process so you can hear that the recording sounds very clean: https://soundcloud.com/petravita/the-science-of-art-petravita-prod
  
  I really hope this helps you, and please don't hesitate to reach out to me via PM or reply here if you have questions :)
  
  

Hm. I hear it. I have a couple thoughts. Maybe you know all this already, and if so, apologies--just trying to be thorough.

1.) Where did you record it? If the room you were in for recording had a lot of hard surfaces (like a bathroom or a room with hard floors and very little "stuff" to break up the sound bouncing off walls, etc. that will result in the reverb. If you can find a room that's a little more dead to record in, that would help. Recording in a non-reverb prone space is certainly the BEST solution, but it depends on what's available to you.

2.) How far away from the mic are you? The closer you are to the mic when you record, the more you'll be able to control the ambient room sound (i.e. your voice will be at a much higher level than any room sound the mic pics up). The trade off is, depending on what kind of mic you're using, you might get some proximity effect (a disproportionate increase in bass response) when you get really close to the mic. In some cases, this could be a desirable effect. You also might hear a disproportionate amount of mouth sounds the closer you get to the mic.

3.) As far as a post-production solution, you might be able to use a gate plug in and set it to a high enough threshold to allow the primary sound of your voice through, but then cut off any much quieter room sounds (like the reverb), but what you use depends on what audio software you're using to record and edit your audios. It's not an ideal solution, though, as it might inadvertently remove some of the other small sounds that you want to be there (like breathing, and other subtle performance sounds you make), and at the same time won't be able to cut off ALL the room sound either. It MIGHT help though.

4.) I doubt it's happening, but there COULD be some problem with the way the sound is bussed in the audio equipment, or recording software you're using. Either there could be a problem that's causing a subtle feedback problem (VERY doubtful) OR you've got some send bus you don't know about that is hooked up to a reverb plug in you're not aware is there. I DOUBT that's happening, but... it IS possible. If it IS happening, you'll need to explore your recording software a little and make sure it's not using any inserts or sends to add reverb to the signal.

If you have a little money and room, and have trouble setting up a room that would be better suited to recording, you might consider getting something like this.

Recording hood

(There are LOTS of options for these, I just did a quick search and linked to the first one I saw). It's weird using them cuz it feels so dead in there, but it will definitely cut out room sound. :)

> https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/

Just an FYI, you can trim all that stuff off the end of a url. And maybe learn to do that link thing. The text goes in [brackets](followed by the url goes here).

I think those devices look very useful, I just do not want to spend $100. on one this week.

Would getting something like this: https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1504526699&sr=8-8&keywords=mic+isolation or this: https://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-602650-Microphone-Isolation-Shield/dp/B00GR9W1MS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504526699&sr=8-1&keywords=mic+isolation help to reduce echo or do those not do anything and are just placebo effects?

You could try folding a towel a couple of times and putting that below the keyboard, or you could track down a small anti-fatigue mat, which is basically just a really dense foam (or sometimes vinyl/rubber) mat. You could also try a mic isolation stand like this, but that could be awkward to use in this kind of use-case...

You can get a MXL 770 for under $100 and a 2-channel Behringer U-PHORIA for around $100. This will definitely be enough to get you recording. I use this set-up (mostly for recording samples and very limited vocal work, as I do electronic instrumentals for the most part) and it does the job. That leaves you $200 for accessories (you're gonna want a stand for the mic and a pop screen before you even think about acoustics). You can get an acoustic shield for well under $100. Pop screens are as low as $10 on Amazon. You can definitely stay in that budget if you're only looking to record rap vocals.

MXL Mics 770 Cardioid Condenser Microphone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007NQH98/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hhj2CbR9JD6X1

BEHRINGER U-PHORIA UMC202HD, 2-Channel ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QHURUBE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Rij2Cb226B0WC

(I haven't actually used these two products before, just providing you with quick search results. Definitely shop around first)

LyxPro VRI-30 - Portable & Foldable Sound Absorbing Vocal Recording Panel - Stand Mount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Wkj2Cb78J3YWP

NEUMA Professional Microphone Stand with Pop Filter Heavy Duty Microphone Suspension Scissor Arm Stand and Windscreen Mask Shield for Blue Yeti Snowball, Recordings, Broadcasting, Streaming, Singing https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JHCL3KS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Coj2Cb8MF5N0G

Overkill this would be more effective https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Lc7KybF4YC41X

Do you believe this mic stand that comes with the AT-2035 will be able to bear the weight of this reflection filter?


Microphone + stand:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019RZNJZ6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3M2O3U6L5DL0B


Reflection filter:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012OFI98I?keywords=reflection%20filter&qid=1458312998&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

How about this shield to 'treat the room': https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1511645293&sr=1-2&keywords=acoustic+shield

If your room doesn't have any carpets, get some.
I'll assume you don't have enough money for foam covering the entire room, so you can use this instead:
https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Absorbing-Recording-Adjustable/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=Acoustic+panel+stand&qid=1564818851&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1
I've recorded with those before, the placement is important, so youll need to experiment with the placement to find a sweet spot in your home. I've gotten extremely dry recordings after finding a sweet spot. Look near closets or whatnot.

Mine is from a different vendor, but the same style as this one.

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https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-VRI-30-Portable-Absorbing-Recording/dp/B012OFI98I/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=vocal+booth&qid=1562775611&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1