Yes, a vocal screen can make an amazing difference to a room that is less than stellar by taming unwanted reflections that would otherwise clash with the other elements in your mix..at least the Aston Halo does to a high degree that all of the other only wish that they could. It does not seem to ugly up what is captured, and what you hear is the source and the sound of the microphone. In the first video James Ivey actually has an orgasm while talking about the Halo, and that's why the video was edited to only reveal the room from the vantage point from his shoulders on upwards, the wet spot expanding on his jeans took away the focus of the review.. The second video, beginning from 1:00 onward compares without and then with the Aston Halom and the result is fairly dramatic, but in a good way. For 300 bucks it seems like some pretty hip shit and a great solution to help in getting a fine vocal sound. It looks rather buff also. I wonder how it would be while recording instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars, flutes, trumpets, hand drums, excetera in a badly reflective space? And James, here's a wet towel, now go and clean yourself off, control yourself, gee wiz!

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 19, 2017

Lol! You mean they must control their bilabial plosives?
You can use a pencil in front of the mic. But dedicated popfilters are heaven sent.

 

Speaking of pop filters, it blows my mind how in a high profile recording session like We Are The World, at A&M Recording Studios in Los Angeles —the finest recording studio as it was commonly referred to, the crew resorted to using nylon stockings as pop filters.

 

https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,73636.0.html

Basically gentle midboost, lowpass, reverb/sat.

 

oohh not a good sign.. I may have the same crappy one.. no wonder they were more or less giving it away

and out of curiosity.. how did you determine the cancellations? just obvious on playback?

would seem so Sir Super... and since it's 3 bills.. it will definitely give me pause to evaluate
and consider rather than just rushing out to try one..

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jun 19, 2017

Its probably because you can get a whole box of the disposable sock type ones like they have at the shoe stores. Keeps things cleaner and not so gross when you have a lot of singers I would assume, just keep changing them out? Pop filter is a nice name but it's also a spit guard, lol
There's a million dollar idea right there disposable pop filters

 

Last edited: Jun 19, 2017

Ha, around my way here in der Schweiz it is only CHF 249 including tax and delivery (Aston fabricates it in England so the freight and taxes here in Europe are much less), and as of today there is only a 3 percent difference in currency exchange, favoring the Swiss franc. I actually think I will pick one up as a self bought birthday present in October. As you know, I 'm eyeing that cedar top Hanika classical and any funds readily available are earmarked for that.

 

A world of difference. I have used mine to record a cello (we did a whole ensemble with one cello) and a few practice amps as well. I won't record without it now. I bought the sE reflexion filter pro when it was new. Set me back about 250. There a little tech in it (if you believe the hype) Not acoustic foam like the under 200 and DIY ones. I also have a bunch of the big loose pieces of auralex. 3x5 When I record vox I will encapsulate your upper body in a coat closet with them.

 

Last edited: Jun 19, 2017

No mention of Soundtoys Radiator so far? wow...

I also like to put a Marshall ampsim on vocals and blend it in parallel sometimes, but it works only on particular singers.

 

The new UA SSL 4000 E Channel Strip sounds great and can definitely add some grit to a vocal, but that's useless if you don't have an Apollo.
Acustica as mentioned by mercurysoto make some great stuff, but you better have some power on tap as their plugs are DSP hogs.

Otherwise, the easiest all in one vocal processing plugin that comes to mind is iZotope Nectar 2, as TW mentioned.
Pretty much most any saturation based plugin will get you some of what you're looking for in varying degrees of effectiveness/quality.

BUT... if you are recording these vocals its best to start at the source.
An MXL v67g and a GAP Pre73 will get you there with little effort, plus its the real thing and won't break the bank.

 

Yep, on immediate playback vocals tended to feel kind of unnatural, a bit tin sounding, not night and day different, but it was there, and leaving the screen behind made the fix. This became more obvious as I upgraded mic and preamp.

 

That was the norm back then, everyone was high on cocaine, it looked real to them.

 

It looks like it was fashioned from a coat hanger! Now I suddenly own a lot more pop filters!

 

Vocals warm best plugin? Klanghelm SDRR.
Pro tip - Turn those knobs on randomly for that magic warmth. Make sure to be precisely random. It'll do the trick.

 

I guess I paid like $130, not precisely cheap stuff. I have to admit it looked really cool and people were wowed easily.

 

I guess you could strip a pop filter, keep the frame and add some stocking fabric in place. How many fabric cuts can you get from a pair of nylon stockings? Anyhow, most drunken punk rockers won't give a damn. It's the mic I'd be willing to protect.

 

I've got a run in my pop filter!

 

i always use awesome fabfilter saturn.

 

lol Slightly muddy. a muddy that sounds pleasing

 

i get everything with EQ & compressor but to add colour i only use izotope tape & exciter.. thats all end of discussion