Recording - November 2015 - 44

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

Auralex HoverDeck v2
Auralex is best known for its foambased wall treatments found in home studios and high-end pro studios worldwide.
The company also makes a wide variety
of well-respected isolation products such
as the MoPad and ProPad speaker isolators, the GRAMMA series of guitar amp
isolators, and more. Recently they sent me
the latest incarnation of their HoverDeck
drum isolation system now in v2 status.
The HoverDeck v2 is an expandable and
portable system made up of 233/4" x
233/4" square panels, sold in sets of two.
Each deck panel is a fabric-wrapped 1"
thick laminated panel with an MDF core,
set upon webbed ISO puck feet. It's kind of
like a portable floating floor; as such The
HoverDeck v2 helps minimize the transmission of thumps and bumps into your microphones. It also helps lessen the resonances
and sympathetic vibrations that can be
transmitted between the kit pieces as well.
The system is designed for studio or stage
use and on average it takes about 8 panels
(4 sets of 2) to handle a typical 4- or 5-piece
drum set. The fabric panels are held together by industrial Velcro® strips both on the
sides and on top. Each panel is heavy, rigid
and well made, and the fabric is a tight carpet material similar to that on many PA
speakers and portable rack enclosures.

recommended for use on carpet, so I rolled it out of the way
before laying down the decking, which was very easy to do.
My studio is out in the country,
so while I don't battle much with
traffic, I often get low rumble from
farm equipment. It's the kind you feel
and hear more with a mic than by
ear. I waited for a test day when my
neighbor was plowing his field, and
while it did not eliminate the ground rumble completely, the HoverDeck system definitely minimized it.
When tracking drums (on non-harvest
days), the system does what it says and
cleans up and tightens the drum sound by
cutting down inter-kit vibrations and the
transmission of the thudding drums
through the floor. It also keeps concrete
floors from absorbing the vibrations, sucking the sound out of your kit.
I also found the HoverDeck great for
tracking bass cabinets and guitar amps
for added tightness and definition. I know
that Auralex makes additional products
for this task, but if you have a HoverDeck
v2, note that it can pull double duty. I
even had singers and an acoustic guitarist stand on it while tracking-again,
think "simple floated floor".

At war with the tractors
I set the HoverDeck v2 system up in my
tracking area, which is usually just a carpet
on a concrete slab. The HoverDeck v2 is not

Final thoughts
As is the case with many isolation products, it's easy to write off the HoverDeck v2
as mainly a placebo, and of course you

can still make good recordings without it.
However, the fact remans that these products do work-it's simple acoustic design.
They do fall into the the category where the
improvements are incremental; the better
your room, the less their effect is noticeable,
but they can be highly beneficial in today's
world of bedroom, garage, and basement
setups. Since they are portable, you can
use them for live gigs and for tracking
drums in interesting spaces as well.
The only thing to be aware of is that
being carpet, it will quickly get dirty with
stick shavings and such, but it is easily
vacuumed. Also note that the flatter and
more even your floor is, the better; you
can get some "thunking" of the panels as
you move around on them if they are on
uneven ground. Over all, another highlyrecommended tool from Auralex to help
improve your recordings.
Price: $219.99/2-pack
More from: Auralex, www.auralex.com

Primacoustic VoxGuard VU Absorber
Primacoustic is one of the market leaders in room acoustics and isolation
solutions, with products ranging from the flagship Broadway Absorption Panels
to a series of handy studio IsoTools. The VoxGuard VU falls under the latter category-it's a new update of Primacoustic's popular VoxGuard vocal shield.
Designed to control ambience around the microphone, the VoxGuard VU minimizes unwanted reflections commonly found in many home recordings. It captures a more intimate, articulate recording, even if you do not have access to a
commercial studio or professional vocal booth. It is ideal for home or project studios that may sound boxy or overly roomy when it comes to recording vocals.
Features
The VoxGuard VU's absorption material is 1" high-density open-cell
acoustic foam, contained in an extra-large outer shell to isolate the microphone. The high-impact ABS outer shell is 4.5 mm thick,with a textured black
44

RECORDING November 2015

BY ALEX HAWLEY

http://www.auralex.com

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