the t.bone Micscreen LE

Most microphones are optimized to record sound comming from a single direction. Obviously, sound comming from other directions are recorded as well, but their volume decreases, the farther they are away from the sweet spot.
Mic screens are therefore prettymuch useslees for directed microphones, since thes dampen the sound comming from behind the microphone, which is the direction it records with the least volume. What would help is making this screen larger and install it behind your head to dampen the reflections that hit the microphones sweet spot.
Now if your recording setup is e.g. fully encased in glass, then yes, this Micscreen might improve your sound, since it would slightly reduce the amount of reflections created by your singing. But so would 10 bucks worth of cloth hanging over the glass to prevent high frequency reflections from all sides.
If you want better sounding vocals, spend some money to accustcally treat your recording space. And if money is an issue, start with the area directly behind you (e.g. fit a corner of your room alternaingly with absorbers and diffusors and record with your back facing the corner at a short distance).
If you already have a accustically decent recording space, this micscreen will do nothin for you.

Yes there are microphones that are optimized for multiple directions, but if you want to dampen all direcions except for one, you are using the wrong microphone.

When building a home studio on a relatively low budget one of the biggest challenges is the acoustic treatment. Panels cost a fortune, especially if your room is quite large like mine and no one likes to have no control over the reflections of their room when recording, which is why this micscreen was a small but good investment.

The vocals I?ve recorded with this screen (using a sensitive medium diaphragm condenser microphone) were surprisingly dry and comfortable to work with during the mixing process. That being said, I do have some acoustic paneling in my room and the results are still not as dry as they could be but the screen does noticeably and considerably reduce those troublesome early reflections.

Its versatility in articulations and positioning are ideal and extremely helpful for fine-tuning how much you want to dampen those reflections, the only thing I will say is that the materials and fabrication of these articulations are not of great strength and stability, but at this price range you?d expect a trade-off somewhere.

All in all, this micscreen is already at the quality of others almost double its price. It?s not the most stable or sturdy piece of equipment but if you?re careful and delicate with it, you?ll be more than happy with the results.

I'm using this Micsreen LE at the top of Millenium 2003 mic stand (which is cheap and pretty okay quality) for Rode NT-1 microphone with a pop filter. I'm using it at one of my studios which is in my bedroom studio. So I wouldn't use it at my main studio, because there is all good with acoustics. You know, the Micsreen are being used for places, where the acoustic is poor. For e.g. bedroom studio. Let's make it all clear with pros and cons.

Pros:
1. When the recording was done - it feels the difference with this Micsreen and without. The function of Micsreen was actually done well.
2. The back (from design and quality perspective) actually does look good.
3. Fits almost every standard microphone stand, what is important.
4. Good quality materials.

Cons:
1. I didn't really enjoy the handling of it. Let's say I'm using Rode NT-1 condenser mic. The place for mic's cable is poor and uncomfortable. It didn't fit well so you have to move microphone little bit right/left to plug a mic in. So handling - is the biggest con.

In conclusion, I still would recommend this product for bedroom studios users. It works well and the quality of the record is actually better.
You should watch out for one more thing: Micsreens are pretty heavy (3kg.), don't forget to have a better quality microphone stand, which has good and strong materials, just for safety and your own work quality. :)

Have fun, you guys!

Before purchasing this product I had looked at several others from other internet firms, but some of the reviews mentioned quality of finish. I'm a great believer in buying the best that you can afford if you want something to last. To date I have not been disappointed with Thomman products.

The price for the T-Bone micscreen is still cheaper than it's competitors on other e- retailers web sites; this includes allowing for postage to the UK. So what's it like?
The outside casing around the absorbtion foam for soundproofing is of good quality with no rough edges or signs of poor finish. The inner foam is nice & thick & has been grooved, I assume to assist with acoustic reflections.

The mounting brackets are well machined & made with a substantial chrome finish. This included three seprate mounting nuts for the microphone stand. There is also a longer one enabling you to mount the microphone higher on the stand should you need it. Along with the sliding bracket on the front of the mic screen this then gives you a full range of adjustability.

On this point I have given four stars for the handling as I found that the screen was slightly wobbly. Having said that I think this could be down to the way I used the supplied locking nuts. Otherwise everything else deserves the five stars.

I tested a condensor microphone first with vocals & found that I got a nice dry sound with no ambient reflections that I could discern. I then tried recording a harmonica, again this produced a nice crisp tone with no other echoes or reflections to spoil the mix. Equally good results were obtained with a dynamic microphone on vocals again.

I'm delighted with the results & am happy that my money has been well spent. I would point out that I put my live recordings through a valve microphone pre- amp to warm things up a little. I also played around for quite a while with the mic screen to obtain optimum results.

This mic screen represents excellent value for money & you won't be disappointed if you buy one. I'm glad that I did, it has solved most of my problems with recording vocals & acoustic instruments.