Headphones ... Your thoughts?

[eeoo]

Another technique I've never tried but I hear works well is to set up a cardioid mic in front of your monitors so that the sound from the monitors is directed at the null points of the mic. Crank it up and sing away, no cans necessary. I personally enjoy singing with cans on but I 'm going to have to try the afore mentioned some time.

eo

[Len911]

Just read a blog about how closed backed cans can really screw with a singer when tracking... and how the phones bleed in the mic is better than trying to Melodyne their out-of-tune vox.

The bloggist's suggestion is that open backed cans, one-ear-out, or... 1 1/2 ears out... helps the vocalist hear their natural voice they way they are use to hearing it and helps them give a better performance.

But, I guess we are talking about mixing here.... ??

Russell

What if the only way they are used to hearing it is through headphones?

The trickiest part imo, is balancing the volume of the backing and vocal and also making sure the singer isn't competing with the same freq as the backing track. Temporarily cutting the eq in the backing track in the vocal range seems to help, a flat mic seems to benefit the most from that technique versus a mic with a presence peak. If a singer doesn't hear themself well, they will go out of tune, and if the vocal is too loud or the backing too soft, the vocalist will lower their voice to a whisper for balance. So if the engineer would get the headphone mix right in the first place! the vocalist wouldn't need to have one ear open, or 1 1/2, or if slightly out, open back cans.

[Russell Landwehr]

So if the engineer would get the headphone mix right in the first place! the vocalist wouldn't need to have one ear open, or 1 1/2, or if slightly out, open back cans.

Yeah, there is the "getting the headphone mix right" thing. When I performed live, I used in-ears, and I put my vocal panned slightly left and also put a reverb on it about the size of a small bar. This way I could hear my vox coming from somewhere besides in the middle of my head... this is the way we naturally hear it.

Russell

[waltergrund]

Hi,

2 years ago I replaced my AKG's with Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro and I could suddenly hear new things (hum etc. in my recordings...)
It might be a good idea to go to a huge store where you can try out a many brands with the same music.

In January I went to a store like that and bought the ATH-M50's which just droppped in proce a bit here in Europe. IMO they sound as good as the Beyerdynamics but a little different. That's what I wanted, so I have an option when I have to Pre-Mix with headphones-

Walter

[funsongs]

fwiw:
Only just now am I in the market for some new "cans" to plug into my
desktop/cheap logitech after-market computer speaker gear:
simply for the alternate listening capabilities...not mixing or production.

It was so cool, imho, to be able to go back and dig up this 'archive' conversation,
and have at my fingertips some great recommendations.

Just one more reason to write: "the Taxi forums rocks!"
Thanks, guys... what a wonderful resource.
Cheers,
Peter R.

[funsongs]

fwiw: ordered up the Sony MDR-7506... seems they were the consensus favorite per dollar value.
Now...
I wait for delivery, each day until 3....
Oh, Lord, they're due here by February 3...

Thank you, Peter D. for kicking this off... where ever you be.
Did you find what you were searching for?

Cheers.

[bigshot]

Anyone tried the Monster 24k's? I'm using the Detox edition Beats by Dr. Dre right now and I'm pretty accurate with them so far.

[cardell]

I use a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro, Semi-Open headphones.

I can hear more detail on these cans than on my Yamaha HS80M monitors. I really love 'em!

Stuart

[JamesCarvalho]

i kinda like what Ethan was sayin. as a aspiring singer i had been struggling with a interesting vocal recording technique. i hope to try "no cans" but i need more info on aiming the speakers at "null?" part of the mic..
would anyone care to explain?

[eeoo]

Here you go Jimi:

http://ronansrecordingshow.com/2010/11/ ... eadphones/