What are Drum Shields & IsoPacs Anyway?

ClearSonic isolation booths isolate and control sound on stage, in the studio, and in House of Worship settings. These booths are perfect for improving the mix for a better playing, recording, and listening experience and can be applied to musical instruments such as drums, guitars, horns and strings, and also vocals, voice-over, podcasting and really, any sound source that can fit inside a booth. 

We call our isolation booths IsoPacs (for drums/vocals) or AmpPacs (for amplifiers/speakers) and offer them in many configurations to suit your sound isolation and volume reduction needs.

Amp shields and AmpPacs are made for guitar combo amps and help to keep tone intact while reflecting or diffusing the sound coming from the amp, improving the mix for all and listening experience for the audience. As with all of our acrylic panels, cables easily pass through the cut-outs at the bottom where the panels join. Sorber sound absorption panels are used in many of these systems to provide volume reduction or can be used as a free-standing gobo baffle like the S2466x2.

Why an Iso Booth?

If you’re a drummer performing at church or a live music venue, a vocalist or podcaster recording in your home studio, or just practicing your instrument at home, an isolation booth can help you keep the sound isolated, contained, and controlled. Our iso booths and enclosures offer some of the best solutions to control sound in recording, practice, and performance applications and will keep you, your bandmates, loved ones, and audience happy.

Why are ClearSonic Booths and Enclosures Important?

Often the isolation of the loudest instruments like drums, but also bass or electric guitar, can drastically improve the mix. Our isolation booths are made of acrylic sound shields and Sorber sound absorption baffles that surround the sound source. The acrylic shield acts as a sound barrier reflecting sound back into the booth where it can then be absorbed by the Sorber baffles. This way, the sound source is isolated for better control in the mixing process and is highly beneficial for live sound and recording purposes.

Examples of ClearSonic Booths and Enclosures

Drum Shields

Acrylic drum shields are a great way to isolate instruments on stage or in the studio. ClearSonic drum shield panels are portable, easily stored, and provide a simple solution to surround your drums to block, diffuse, and reflect the sound waves they produce. While they can help lower stage volume, they do not completely block all sound waves. And depending on room acoustics, drum shields can actually be ineffective without some acoustic treatment to absorb reflecting sound wave energy. When this is the case, our Sorber baffles can be applied directly to our acrylic panels, walls and ceilings, or they can be used with one of our IsoPacs to help absorb excess sound energy. 

IsoPac Enclosures

ClearSonic IsoPac booths are modular and portable, so they can move and grow with you. They provide an adjustable footprint to surround drum sets, make vocal booths, or surround other types of instruments. The MegaPac and the MiniMegaPac offer the most isolation and sound reduction of our IsoPacs. Both models feature 360 degrees of acrylic panels to surround the sound source, an extensive amount of Sorber sound absorption baffles, and a Sorber Lid on top and can reduce the sound by approximately up to 70%.

IsoPac A is a large booth but does not feature acrylic all the way around. Instead, the front half of the booth is acrylic and the rear half is Sorber. IsoPac B is similar in construction but has a smaller footprint and allows for more of the drum kit to be seen. Both IsoPac A and B include lid systems and reduce the sound about 50-60%. The IsoPac C and IsoPac D provide a drum shield and sound absorption without a lid system. Use these when looking for a moderate amount of sound control or if your room acoustics are satisfactory.

It is important to note that IsoPac systems are not 100% airtight or soundproof. All our iso booths have a gap in the rear to promote air circulation - any IsoPac system that has a lid system includes a two-speed fan for this purpose. If desired, extra Sorber lid pieces can be purchased to effectively close this gap and provide maximum isolation.

Vocal Booth Enclosures

IsoPacs are extremely effective for isolating vocals or other instruments. IsoPac E is the largest of the vocal recording booths. Plenty of Sorber sound absorption panels allow for easy adjustment to the acoustics of the booth. For a more basic set up, IsoPac F provides a clear line of site in and out of the booth, which is critical for tracking vocals in the studio. IsoPac G is small and compact, but effective with Sorber panels for placement around your microphone. IsoPac J allows you to set up a private area for translation, interpretation, or voice over applications. Each of these IsoPacs come with a lid system and a two-speed fan for air circulation. Our vocal booths are also great when a private, quieter space is needed in a loud environment, such as conferences, events, or in schools and classrooms. 

Speaker Cabinet Shields and AmpPacs


Speaker cabinet shields and AmpPac amp isolation booths allow you to keep your tubes pushed and tone intact whiles lowering volume on stage or in the studio. AmpPac 10 is great for small combo amps and with the lid, becomes AmpPac 11. Designed for a 1×12 or 2×12 open back speaker cabinet, the Sorber sound absorption panels of the AmpPac 20 surrounds the speaker and with a lid, becomes AmpPac 21. If you need sound absorption for a 4x12 cabinet, look to AmpPac 30 or AmpPac 31 (includes lid). For a simpler set up, you might consider AmpPac 32 (shield only) or AmpPac 33 (with absorbers). Normally used with half stacks, AmpPac 40 features a front acrylic shield with Sorber sound absorption behind the amp or get 360 degrees of absorption with AmpPac 41. For speakers similar to a Leslie Cabinet, use the LesliePac2 (includes lid).

Tips and Reminders for Isolation Booths 

When purchasing an isolation booth for drums, be sure to choose one large enough so that you can still navigate around the drum set. The lid should also be at least two feet higher than your highest cymbal. A drum kit needs to 'breathe' and have some space to move airwaves to sound its best. If the enclosure is too small or tight, the drums will sound harsh or muted. Inside the booth can be quite loud and dangerous for unprotected ears, so we also recommend establishing an in-ear monitoring solution so that the drummer protects their ears and does not feel too isolated from the other instruments or musicians.

Give us or one of our knowledgeable dealers a call to help you figure out the best configuration for your sound booth.

Check out these videos demonstrating the effectiveness of the ClearSonic booths and enclosures:

• Drum Enclosure Demonstration (Video)
• AmpPac Speaker Enclosure Demonstration (Video)

ClearSonic sound control products may be just the thing to control or isolate sound from musical instruments, singing, or even podcasting. Our specially designed enclosures can be used while recording, performing on a stage, or just trying to practice without disturbing the neighbors. Whatever your application, we will help you to capture your sound your way!