sE Electronics have been awarded United States patent protection for their industry standard Reflexion Filter™ series of portable vocal booths. A patent had already been awarded in China and patents are pending in the EU.

Abstract: Patent No. US 8,191,678 – An apparatus comprising a combination of a microphone and a composite acoustic panel. The composite acoustic panel comprises materials having different spectra of acoustic absorption. The materials may be integrated in a single layer or in a plurality of different layers.

Initial concepts for a portable vocal booth were conceived by sE Electronics’ founder Siwei Zou. sE officially launched the Reflexion Filter Pro six years ago.

The first Reflexion Filter Pro subsequently started shipping and was an overnight success. To date sE Electronics have sold over 100,000 Reflexion Filter products worldwide with sales still growing rapidly. sE Electronics‘ James Young puts the huge success of this product down to several key factors:

“First of all, it’s one of those inventions which exactly hit the spot. There were so many people who desperately needed a proper solution to difficult recording spaces or conditions, but couldn’t either practically or financially afford to acoustically treat a custom recording room. How many of us spent our youth collecting egg boxes to stick to bedroom walls?! The Reflexion Filter resolved this problem on a commercial level for the first time and made those days a thing of the past.”

“Second, the product works! It is incredibly difficult to produce a viable recording space in such a small footprint. The Reflexion Filter uses sE’s patented technology to resolve this problem incredibly effectively, producing almost zero sound colouration, while taming the effects of room ambience by removing direct source energy before it can be reflected.” “… and finally, the end users themselves have been the cornerstone for the success of the Reflexion Filter. There are a huge number of top producers, engineers, artists and studios who have lent their names to this product, because they use it, and it does its job perfectly. In a nutshell, if you want a portable acoustic treatment device that really works, there is only one choice for professionals… an sE Reflexion Filter” With producers and artists as diverse as Gil Norton (Foo Fighters, Counting Crows etc), Stevie Wonder, Chris Porter (George Michael, David Bowie), Rik Simpson (Coldplay), Ricky Lawson (Michael Jackson), Simon Frangelin (Celine Dion, Avatar)… and many, many more, who stand firmly behind the technical achievement and performance of the RF series, the Reflexion Filter is one of an elite group of pro-audio products which can truly be considered as an ‘industry standard’.

The message from sE Electronics is clear… Innovation, Performance, and great Value for money. If you want a portable vocal/recording booth, use the professional’s choice… the Reflexion Filter.

Gil Norton’s production credits read like a who’s who in the world of music and he recently won a Grammy for the Foo Fighters album Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace. After a quarter of a century producing the best, this man knows his gear, and of the sE range he says: “a great range and a mic to suit every occasion…”

“I never intended to be a record producer!” says Gil Norton looking back at a quarter century of doing just that, and doing it with some of the biggest names in the business. “I started engineering around 1980 at Amazon, an 8-track studio in Liverpool. I was working with various local bands producing demos – there were loads around Liverpool at the time.” One such band were Echo And The Bunnymen with whom Gil got his first big break working on the album Ocean Rain. “That was really when I realised what I wanted to do,” he says. “I started working with 4AD, some US bands and Throwing Muses which led to the Pixies and eventually the Foo Fighters who were big Pixies fans. When Dave [Grohl] was looking for a producer he thought of me and we had a meeting and that was it.” That meeting eventually led to a Grammy at this year’s awards when the Foos picked up Best Rock Album for the Norton produced Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace… “I had a fantastic time,” says Gil looking back at the ceremony. “I was in the third row from the front with George Martin at the end of the row and Yoko Ono in front! I talked to Dave and asked what he thought about us winning and he said ‘I don’t think so’. But then we did! I got up on stage with the band which was nice as well.” Gil discovered the sE range by way of his engineer, Adrian Bushby, and now uses the Reflexion Filter, Gemini, Titan and 4400a mics. “I really like them,” he says of the range. “I use the Gemini as an ambient room mic, maybe put it in front of the kick. The Titan I use for bass as it can take a large amount of signal. I also used it with Gomez as Ian Bell has a really big voice and it took it really well.” “I used sE ribbons with the Foos. Other ribbons tend to lose it in the higher frequencies but the sE’s handle it perfectly. The whole sE range is great. They are well-crafted microphones – simple, good, clean and affordable. Within the range you can cover everything – there’s a mic that suits any need. They are also really durable which is good.” “In fact I can’t remember a single session over the last 5 years on which I haven’t used an SE mic…

I’ve also found the 4400 to be a hugely versatile mic – it’s great for acoustic instruments, and I especially like it on drums and percussion.  Its hyper-cardioid pattern is extremely useful on toms and snare as it controls cymbal spillage really well and delivers the great punch and tone”

Gil is also a fan of the Reflexion Filter… “It is a good one for me,” he says. “I thought it was a great idea. We were doing the Counting Crows at Avatar Studios in New York and we tried to do the vocals live in a little room but we were getting reflections off the glass making it sound boxy. I had a Reflexion Filter sent out and it really helped take the boxiness off the vocal.” Gil has a busy few months ahead with a new project taking him to LA until 2011. But while the future maybe busy, how does he look back at 25 years of top-flight production? “I’ve worked with lots of great bands they all mean different things at different times,” says Gil. “The Pixies were a highlight and Throwing Muses – that whole 4AD period was special. But the last 2 years have been just incredible having Counting Crows and Foos come back after ten years. I’m just enjoying it and looking forward to the future.”

Johnny used to be in the band Vega4 but since signing to Snow Patrol’s Polar Patrol publishing company, he has been establishing himself as one of the UK’s foremost songwriters and building a recording studio packed to the rafters with the best gear.

“A couple of friends of mine had sE mics a while back,” he says, “and when I came to choose mics for myself, one of the first on the list was the Gemini. As soon as I plugged that thing in everything seemed to come to life. It has a huge sound. I use it for very specific vocalist sounds when I want a fat, warm sound. It has this belly and you can hear and feel the valves in it.”

But while the Gemini has the sound, Johnny’s GM-10 is his songwriter choice…

“When you’re writing you are constantly grabbing things like an acoustic guitar to put an idea down but you’re moving around so much. The GM-10 is brilliant, and one of the best inventions for the singer/songwriter. You clamp it on there – it straps to anything – and it stays in the same place no matter where you move. I really do use it every day. I’ll put it on there even if I’m using other mics – it’s a great safety track to have as well as a really great sounding microphone.”

Then there’s the sE 4400a… “Such an amazingly versatile mic – you can put it in front of pretty much anything; a Vox, a Marshall, or it will perform just as well as picking up every nuance of an acoustic guitar. It’s also perfect for female vocals.”

Finally, Johnny is a fan of the Reflexion Filter and sE’s professional mic stand, the Stand 1…

“That mic stand is great!” he says. “I wanted something like the old Abbey Road mic stand and this is the only thing I can think of that allows you to strap big heavy stuff to it without tipping over. I use the RF for a variety of things. With the Snow Patrol John Martyn track I just worked on, I used it on a glockenspiel and it helped get this real swell of tone – it was really cool actually.”

He continues: “I also did a performance with Paul Van Dyk in Germany with a massive symphony orchestra doing some of my songs and there were RFs everywhere!”

Johnny is currently working on tracks for the new Gary Go album, Paul Van Dyk, album and Example album among others.

As well as being twice nominated for Grammy awards – winning one – Ricky also regularly appears in Top 10s of the world’s best drummers, be it for his contributions to Pop, R&B or Soul.

Ricky not only knows about hitting drums, he also knows how to record them, and he is a recent convert to the sound of his sE4 matched pair condenser mics that he’s now using as main overheads in his California-based studio.

“I’m using a set of sE4 mics right here in my recording studio in Los Angeles. I have a nice little set up here with a G5 [Mac] where I can record, mix and master all within one facility.”

“The matched pair of sE4’s are being used as my main overheads on the drum kit. They’re each about as big as a real nice cigar… and they sound just fantastic!”

“I love sE mics… it’s the clarity, for one. Whatever you play through them, then that’s what you got. Whatever you record in to them, it’s not gonna, you know… mask or colour the sound. Literally what you hear is what comes out on the other side. Perfect clarity. Most microphones just don’t have the guts in them to do that.”

“You know, the sE mics that we’re using sound much better than the other mics that are out there in this price range… As a matter of fact, these mics sound better than a lot of microphones that cost a lot more! The pair that we’re using… as soon as we put them up… Bam! You can hear it instantly. We’ll have them set to the same parameters as the previous mics that we’d been using… and as soon as we put those sE’s up… well, it’s like night and day. They’ve been up there ever since!”

“I’m using the Instrument Reflexion Filters on those sE4s as well, just to focus the sound a bit more. If you’re doing any significant recording then these are a must. Trust me – these Instrument Reflexion Filters will change your recording process for the better!”

The realization of the final production RNR1 has surpassed even his highest expectations, “My own feeling is that subjectively, the microphone has disappeared and we are looking through a clear window into a sound picture that is only limited by the skill and imagination of the sound engineer. An audio design engineer must understand the principles and limitations of microphones, loudspeakers, recording devices and the like – these will always constitute a challenge and when one has the privilege of working with people like sE’s Master Designer Siwei Zou, the challenge becomes an exciting adventure – one begins to see how one’s own expertise can be invoked to produce a truly seamless acoustic-electro transducer.”

Despite owning numerous high-end stereo pairs, the RNR1′s were an instant hit at Blue Rock. The combination of detail, and rich, natural sound distance the RNR1 from anything else available, regardless of price.

For Blue Rock’s Chief Engineer Keith Gary(Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Coldplay, Simon & Garfunkel), the RNR1 is destined to become a mainstay of the recording business: “The sE RNR1 is proof that active ribbon technology is here to stay. The mic can handle an extreme amount of dynamic range, without the need for compression, providing a deep, smooth, and natural reproduction of the acoustic source. Ideal for piano, brush drum overheads, strings, and great for a meaty guitar amp. A convenient high pass filter offers an option lacking in active ribbon competitors. sE + Rupert Neve = a microphone destined to become a classic.”

The sE/Rupert Neve collaboration Ribbon is the first of several mics being readied for production in this Rupert Neve Signature sE series.

The RNR1 offers revolutionary performance, courtesy of a unique blend of discrete circuits and purpose designed, transformers from Mr. Rupert Neve, and the best capsules and chassis design that Siwei Zou and sE have to offer.

Mr. Neve states: “I have worked for some time on the designs for this new range of microphones – the concepts of which are actually already being implemented in our own Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Console – namely utilizing Discrete Single-Sided Circuits and my custom designed transformers.”

“This new approach to analogue sound processing has required extreme care in its manufacture and meticulous alignment of the embedded discrete opamps and the delicate microphone elements.”

“I am delighted with the early fruits of this collaboration and look forward to the series of revolutionary products that will follow.”

Siwei Zou states: “This collaboration has been a dream come true for me. I have known Rupert for many years, and have discussed with Rupert many times his theories regarding microphone development and design. To get the opportunity to couple Rupert’s exemplary and time tested approach to electronics design with my own passion for excellence in sonic reproduction and acoustics, has been incredible. I think that the results speak for themselves.”

The RNR1 mic has all the qualities engineers love in the very best Ribbons … warm and silky lows and incredible depth and air to mid frequencies, but with a clarity and impact in high frequencies that reveals vital harmonic information normally missing.

We invite you to evaluate an RNR1, and listen for yourself

There always going to be a number of dilemmas when recording singers with an acoustic guitar. Most of them perform better when doing both at once, they very rarely stand in one place and if they do, the resulting performance is invariably stiff and lacking feel. The variation in sound as they ‘waft’ past carefully placed microphones is distracting and difficult to manage. Coupled with that, the sound of the vocal might be enhanced by the leakage into the acoustic microphone but the problems with the guitar are compounded more by the leakage of the acoustic into the vocal microphone.

I recently recorded two artists within the space of a week that presented me with these challenges.

The GM10 offered a solution to part of this problem by anchoring the microphone to the acoustic so no matter how hard he tried, the player could not get away from it! The big surprise though was how good the microphone actually sounds. It is equal to any good quality condenser mic and suffered from no mechanical interference. It was very easy to position exactly where I wanted it and most importantly the players quickly became oblivious to its presence. The top response is clear and natural and the middle frequencies smooth and balanced. The bass response handled the proximity well and remained pleasantly detailed. I mixed it in with a vintage Neumann U67 and a Coles 4038 and it contributed significantly to the blend as well as holding the image in place despite the movement.

For the first artist, who was isolated from the rest of the musicians, I used the Reflexion Filter horizontally to screen between the vocal microphone and the acoustic. This worked fantastically to control the separation without distracting the player at all. However, when we came to use the vocal microphone without the filter underneath I realised that the filter was also having a conducive effect on the spacial delivery of the vocal microphone (which was an M49)

Encouraged by these results I took the idea one step further with the second artist who was to perform in the same room as at least one other musician. After employing a certain amount of basic engineering common sense I was able to set up two Reflexion Filters, one horizontally and one more conventionally behind the vocal microphone.

Again the artist was not distracted by this array and the results allowed me to control the spill very easily.

Both these devices have been well thought out and beautifully constructed to address a simple problem with a simple solution that has enabled me to enhance the creative environment for these artists – many thanks SE!

It has 4 polar patterns, Cardioid, Hypercardioid, Figure of 8 and Omni. 2 bass cuts at 60Hz and 120Hz; 2 pads at 10 and 20dB. The chassis is small… very small, but still manages to house a twin diaphragm 1” capsule and all the top grade electronics and switches. This flat, round edged chassis design allow the mic to be used flat onto a drumhead or guitar cab, or pushed through into the skin of a kick drum. It is also perfect for sung vocals and voice over work, because although it’s the smallest mic of it’s type, it still ‘looks’ big when used full face on. It is extremely thin at less than 3/4” and fits neatly in the palm of your hand.

sE4400a has a unique, black, non-reflective, non-marking, rubberised finish which is ideal for live stage, theatre, TV and broadcast applications which require lighting.

Finally, the capsule has been specially tuned after almost 2 years of pre-market tests with professional studios and broadcasters, to really be something that very few mics can; the true all-rounder. Vital in professional studio or broadcast applications where an engineer needs to know he can reach for a mic that will handle any job, and equally for the home studio user who is on a budget and needs one mic to suit every occasion. The mic is multi-functional yet uncluttered, the sound is smooth and flattering and yet, because the capsules are hand made (like all sE mics) and then individually tuned, it benefits from lacking the usual hyped top end of most modern mass produced mics from automated machines.

It comes with a unique shock mount which allows you to fit the mounted mic into tiny spaces, or invert the shock clamp to extend the mic fully outside the shock mount for close mic-ing applications or vocals. It also comes with a full, steel re-enforced, black aluminium, signature sE flight case.

Available also as a stereo pair, hand-matched at the factory, this mic is set to be a classic.

He soon became the chief engineer, responsible for many large studio projects including being part of the famed “On U Sound” crew alongside Adrian Sherwood. Eventually going freelance in 1995, Alan has put together an impressive collection of studio equipment and has worked all around the world, from Cuba, Japan, and Spain to France and the USA, but remains one of London’s most in-demand Producer/Mixer Engineers.

When it comes to mic’s and experience Alan Branch has worked with a few artists over the years:

Sinead O’Connor, Beverly Knight, Chaka Khan, Ronan Keating, Sade, Bjork, U2, Primal Scream, Blur, Jamiroquai, Alex Parks, Cara Dillion, Damien Dempsey, Juliet Turner, Jacknife Lee, Shola Ama, Fierce, Lighthouse Family, KC & Jojo, Depeche Mode, Eternal, Simply Red, Damage, M People, Herbert Gronemeyer, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Michelle Gail, Public Demand, Nu Colours, De La Soul, Soul To Soul, D:Ream, Skindive, Pop Will Eat It Self, Boy George, Shed 7, Aco, Haddaway, Asian Dub Foundation, LSK, The Last Poets, Shane MacGowan , Truce, Junior Delgado, African Head Charge, Bim Sherman, Bedlam Agogo, Dub Syndicate, US3, Matt Bianco + Flamenco Blues Band, Akabu, Jose Antonio, Atari Teenage Riot , Audio Active, Colonial Cousins, Jalal, Little Axe, Pale Saints, The Popes, Revolutionary Dub Warriors and the legendry Doug Wimbush, to name a few.

Alan’s most recent project being the completion of a live surround DVD project for Jeff Beck with guests, Eric Clapton, Joss Stone & Imogen Heap when we caught up with him to get his perspective of mic’s and his thoughts on the Gemini II.

“Ok let me start by saying a few things about mic’s and how I hear them, firstly it’s the number one hardware in the recording chain, no matter what cable, audio interface, computer or recording device without this all important front line component being right for the recording job and in the right place then no amount of plugins are going to save the recording and make it as good as what it can be with a well built quality mic. “

“Secondly, trying a few mic’s will bring different result’s for singers, guitars, strings, drums etc the point being there is no perfect mic and experimentation is important, as each mic has a character and finding one that fit’s a voice perfectly is key, of course if you can find a mic that’s versatile enough to do a great job with different singers and instruments then it makes life a lot easier. So when I got the chance to try the Gemini II I was really excited as I am slowly becoming a real sE fan, I was bowled over by the clever design and quality of the GM10 and have recommended the Z5600a II so many times to artists wanting quality from a small budget, all of them feeding back how much a difference it made to their performance. It’s not often you find a manufacturer living up to it’s hype or having spent real attention to the R&D of a product.”

“I got the Gemini at the same as another high quality German mic costing over three times as much turned up for a review I was doing, so it was going to have some tough competition, I know they say first impression’s count for a lot and to make it fair I asked other opinion’s before I said mine and almost 100% said they preferred the Gemini, to make it tougher we put up 3 mic’s and recorded a vocal performance with all three then did a blind test and it was quite startling the difference, the flat polar response with the high end lift was obvious, the warmth and character of the valve output was tremendous, but has a lovely hump in the top end to produce the air in the sound without over emphasizing it like some of the other mic’s, to soften it we tried off axis which works really well with no noticeable coloration of sound, fantastic stuff.”

Sven Lens is one of Holland’s leading engineers. He’s an expert in Pro Tools, runs his own studio and works freelance in many other facilities across the country. Recently he was involved in an extraordinary recording session involving two international superstars from what you might call very different sides of the street. Rap superstar Snoop Dog and country icon Willie Nelson got together to record the track My Medicine and Sven was engineering the session and able to witness this meeting of very different minds…

“I was asked by Wisseloord Studios, a big commercial studio over here in Holland where I frequently work, to be the engineer for the session,” he says. “It went very smoothly. Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson are both very nice, talented guys, and easy going.”

As well as an sE Gemini, the studio had other mics available for the session, but Sven believes that the Gemini easily had the best sound.

“I had a couple of expensive mics from Germany and Latvia plus the sE Gemini,” he says. “From the moment my assistant talked through it [the Gemini], I knew it was something special. Actually, it blew both of the other mics away. I can hardly believe that the Gemini sounds so good. Willie Nelson also recorded another track with Snoop, which I actually like better than the one which is out right now, where he used the Gemini to record guitar and vocals, at the same moment, balancing his voice and his guitar. The Gemini was somewhere between his mouth and his guitar. It sounded awesome.”

“Actually, thinking about it,” Sven continues, “when people sing through the Gemini, it sounds like they are three feet closer to the mic compared to others, which gives you a more modern sound – that’s addictive! I actually bought the Gemini I used with Snoop and Willie right after the session, since it sounded so good. It is my first [choice] mic for vocals now, so I don’t have to look what the studio has for me, as I always bring my own Gemini!”

Sven is currently in the studio with up and coming Dutch band Terry Bogus and, since we interviewed Sven, we hear he’s already used his new Gemini with a certain Nelly Furtado – more on this later!

Sven’s top recording tips 1. Have respect for, and listen to what the artist(s) have to say – don’t only do your own thing. 2. Try to be as prepared as possible. 3. Try to have a good time!