Questions about headphones for y'all, not sure which forum to post in.

bluesfordan

bluesfordan

Member
due to my living arrangements, I'm finding myself having to record and playback almost exclusively with headphones. My question is not so much "What headphones to use?" but more about how to use them without driving yourself to distraction. I'm an electric instrumentalist, my guitars and bass are solid body electrics and I have to plug them into something in order to do the gozintas and gozouttas that make the sound move around. Because I can't be making noise I have to wear headphones.

The cables of the headphones and the instruments have an affinity to entangle every chance they get. Last night I had the mini epiphany of running the headphone cable down my back instead of letting it hang down in front of my torso. Where it almost invariably will meet the guitar cable at some point. Then I thought "What if I put some sort of clip on the back of the chair to keep the cable from trying to mate with its instrument counterpart?" Then "What if I put a hook on the back of the chair to hang the phones on when I take them off?" For all I know there may even be products out there for exactly that. If so, tell us about them.

I can't be the only one who has had this problem. Surely there are other people who have to live with the headphones 24/7 if they want to do their thing. I don't see a section where to talk about this. I guess it could be in the recording techniques forum, since once your done recording, the instrument cables won't be an issue.

I think the ideal setup would be to have the source of the playback be behind me with the headphone cable coming from behind and the guitar cables go forward to the input devices and hopefully the only place the twain shall meet is in between my ears.
 
Depends on your chair man. Maybe an over the door hook?

I use my Furman as a headphone holder...

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Pics do not seem to be uploading....
 
You need a skyhook! Seriously, find a joist in the ceiling and screw in a 50mm long metal hook immediately above your seat. The cans wire goes straight up (maybe a second hook, along and down) then into the interface. You will probably need a TRS extension cable, 1/4" (6.35mm) types are more rugged than 3.5mm. Most AIs/HP amps are 1/4" anyway.

Or, you can get low latency, high quality wireless guitar systems these days, pricey tho'but. Bluetooth cansamps are a non-starter, poor latency and IME low headroom.

Dave.
 
I like the over the door hook idea for chairs. I've been using those 3M stick on hooks all over the walls and cabinetry to hold everything from headphones to track sheet clipboards
 
ecc83 said:
You need a skyhook! Seriously, find a joist in the ceiling and screw in a 50mm long metal hook immediately above your seat. The cans wire goes straight up (maybe a second hook, along and down) then into the interface. You will probably need a TRS extension cable, 1/4" (6.35mm) types are more rugged than 3.5mm. Most AIs/HP amps are 1/4" anyway.

Or, you can get low latency, high quality wireless guitar systems these days, pricey tho'but. Bluetooth cansamps are a non-starter, poor latency and IME low headroom.

Dave.
Click to expand...

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to think about the sky hook idea. In a similar vein I was thinking of a swivel yardarm on a pole situated atop the desk hutch with hooks to hole the cable. The major problem I see with a overhead solution is when and not if you drop something and you bend down to pick it up and the phones get ripped off your head
 
Yes the duck tape thing is only for Keith Moons. I think the pain of removal drove him to drink:eatpopcorn:
 
bluesfordan said:
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one to think about the sky hook idea. In a similar vein I was thinking of a swivel yardarm on a pole situated atop the desk hutch with hooks to hole the cable. The major problem I see with a overhead solution is when and not if you drop something and you bend down to pick it up and the phones get ripped off your head
Click to expand...

I saw a photo a while ago of a studio in Nashville where they had about a score of mics hanging from the ceiling, looked super cool and practical!

The "ripping cans off head" scenario? Put a loop in the cable and a length of lakky band. Ok, so more faffing about but then "Easy life come from hard work". If you want to get even smarter you can buy 'balanced' tool suspender/retractors. I rigged some in a factory for electric screwdrivers at work stations.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
I saw a photo a while ago of a studio in Nashville where they had about a score of mics hanging from the ceiling, looked super cool and practical!

The "ripping cans off head" scenario? Put a loop in the cable and a length of lakky band. Ok, so more faffing about but then "Easy life come from hard work". If you want to get even smarter you can buy 'balanced' tool suspender/retractors. I rigged some in a factory for electric screwdrivers at work stations.

Dave.
Click to expand...

ooo, now that's a great idea.
 
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