Realtraps PVB - Portable Vocal Booth

[Geddyleewannabe]

It's now been a while since this product came out. Assuming some of you have now had time with this product, what are your thoughts and conclusions? I did a search and found nothing recent on this product. I'm not really questioning it versus the SE reflexion filter and other similar products. I'm more interested in how it does relative to an actual home made vocal booth. For example, do you feel that it got you 75-80% there? Any in depth experiences and thoughts?

[James Lehmann]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

I did a search and found nothing recent on this product.

Hmm... your thread alone brings up at least 5 similar threads including this one here where you can hear me testing the PVB!

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

actual ... vocal booth - do you feel that [the PVB] got you 75-80% there?

Absolutely! Just keep in mind that it obviously isn't designed to match the isolation characteristics of a proper vocal booth, but sound-wise - especially when used in conjunction with some MiniTraps behind - it surely delivers the goods IMHO!

[jamwerks]

I bought one about 4 months ago (shipped here to France) and in my case it really helps and makes my tracks usable. Remember that a real vocal booth does both: keeping the external sound out, and lets you record in a hopefully "roomless" (dead) space.

The PVB can't really keep any external noise from getting to the mic. Its strong point is letting you record in a bigger room without actually hearing the room footprint. It seems to soak up what doesn't go "in the mic" as you sing, and then soak up again what has made it though and heads back towards the back and sides of the mic.

It works even better if you have an absorbant surface behind you as you sing, and if you stay close to the mic.

Basically if you want to record and don't have a booth, you need one of these (or something similar).

[jambirn]

Geddy,
It's a fantastic product -- works great on vocals to minimize bad room tone. It's more than big enough to help minimize bad room tone when miking my big Vox AC30 combo with a fig 8. It's very easy to break down and use on a host of instruments. The SE filter looks good, but it's much smaller -- I would have had to get something else for amp miking. Get the PVB, without hesitation.
Additionally, the RealTraps folks shipped it to me within 24 hours of my phone call. I didn't expect a next-day air shipment. Wonderful surprise. This company's a class act.
Good luck -
jim

[Carlos Boll]

Another .

Works very well. Works even better if the room is treated.

[Geddyleewannabe]

Originally Posted by James Lehmann

...but sound-wise - especially when used in conjunction with some MiniTraps behind - it surely delivers the goods IMHO!

Originally Posted by jamwerks

It works even better if you have an absorbant surface behind you as you sing, and if you stay close to the mic.

In the interest of saving money, would buying 2 PVB's, having one in front of the singer as intended and having a second one at the same height directly behind the singer accomplish what you guys are speaking of and get me the isolation I need?

Come to think of it, are the 2x2 panels of the PVB the same type of panels as the MicroTraps? If so, I'm thinking it would be cheaper and I would get more panel area if I instead purchased two 2x4 MicroTraps to hang from mic stands to place behind the singer.

Also, my ceilings are only 7 feet high. Do I need to do something to block reflections from the ceiling? The PVB design doesn't seem to address this issue. Is it not an issue? I would think a ceiling only a couple feet from the mic would be as much of an issue as a nearby wall.

[thermos]

I bought one too, and it really helps. I mistakenly tracked vocals in a really bad live room, using the PVB, and I still hear the room. But just barely, and the tracks are more than useable which wouldn't have been the case without it. Not to mention I find it really useful on guitar cabs and the like.

[James Lehmann]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

In the interest of saving money, would buying 2 PVB's, having one in front of the singer as intended and having a second one at the same height directly behind the singer accomplish what you guys are speaking of and get me the isolation I need?

Just to re-iterate - a PVB will not give you much, if any, isolation. That's not what it does! Well, if one was being pedantic you could argue it does give you isolation from reflected signals, but I'd think of it as acoustic treatment as opposed to isolation treatment.

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

Come to think of it, are the 2x2 panels of the PVB the same type of panels as the MicroTraps? If so, I'm thinking it would be cheaper and I would get more panel area if I instead purchased two 2x4 MicroTraps to hang from mic stands to place behind the singer.

I don't know - perhaps Ethan will be along to explain. I know that, for example with the MiniTraps the reflective properties of back and front are quite different. RealTraps take care to select different materials for their acoustic properties - it wouldn't surprise me if they'd customised the PVB and tailored it to vocals.

I don't think 2 x MicroTraps with stands would be cheaper than a PVB would it?

FWIW I'd recommend buying the proper floortstands to mount MicroTraps on - I think you'll find them much easier to move around, store and create a semi-circular array etc than normal mic stands.

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

Also, my ceilings are only 7 feet high. Do I need to do something to block reflections from the ceiling? The PVB design doesn't seem to address this issue. Is it not an issue? I would think a ceiling only a couple feet from the mic would be as much of an issue as a nearby wall.

Well, as good practice, I always put a carpet on the floor and stretch a duvet overhead as my ceiling is untreated, but I don't know how much subjective difference it makes to close-miked vocals. Probably not a lot.

Your main goal is to get something behind your head in addition to the PVB, and for my money that means as many MicroTraps as you can afford: 2 will already help a lot, 3 is getting serious and 4 gives you a very nice 'vocal booth-like' space indeed.

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by Geddyleewannabe

I'm thinking it would be cheaper and I would get more panel area if I instead purchased two 2x4 MicroTraps to hang from mic stands to place behind the singer.

Yes, that will give you even more absorbing surface for the same price.

Do I need to do something to block reflections from the ceiling?

The ceiling is less important because people don't face upward while singing. Having more absorption on the ceiling will not hurt anything though. Understand that the main point of our PVB is to make the most of an untreated room. For a permanent install it's always better to treat the room.

--Ethan

[kvibeproduction]

Instead of using Mini-traps. Would it be efficient to use heavy velvet drapes behind you? I hear that heavy drapes work very well too.

Khoa

[Ethan Winer]

Khoa,

There's little benefit to having more absorption behind you if you're singing into our PVB. When you ding into the PVB it absorbs the sound right there, before it even has a chance to get out into the room.

--Ethan

[kvibeproduction]

Ethan,

Thanks for the tip again. I have another question =) Since I have an apt in manhattan and this is where my studio is located now, my refrigerator is in the living as well. From time to time, I hear it doing something causing more noise I don't need. What do you suggest I can do with this?

I was thinking of purchasing a clearsonic say around the 6'x6' range or something and putting your PBV inside of it. At least I can get some more isolation and maybe monitor without using headphones.

What are your thoughts?

[dhiltonlittle]

unpluging your refrigerator when you're tracking vocals would be the cheapest option!

[Ethan Winer]

Originally Posted by dhiltonlittle

unpluging your refrigerator when you're tracking vocals would be the cheapest option!

I agree with this. Seriously.

[fooman]

I have a PVB. I got it before I treated my room for a "in the meantime" solution. Now that I've put a few grand into my room I still use the PVB and it definately helps my keep the vocal track 'there' and 'up front' without worrying about unwanted ambience in the mic. My room may sound good, but for the type of music I record 'up front' is always wanted.

As said by everyone else, it's not an iso booth. If you have a noise behind it, you're gonna hear it. A humming fridge or a buzzing in the next room, this won't kill the stuff that gets into the mic.

It's a bit huge and you'll need a study mic stand for it that's for sure.