Recording Vocals / Headphone Volume

[Bloodsoaked]

When I am recording vocals I ahve a hard time hearing the song in the head phones while I am singing. I do Death Metal style vocals and they are loud for the most part and see to over power the tracks I am listening to in the head phones. I do want to crank the head phone so loud that I hurt my ears. I record the vocals in my bedroom.

Has anyone else run into this issue and if so what have you done to resolve it? Thank you...


Peter

[FajitaTone]

sealed back headphones reduce bleed, so does distance from the mic. I assume you are screaming, so you don't have to be that close to the mic. If you can't hear the music, turn it up. If you can't hear the vocals turn the music down and raise the overall level of the phones. be careful because if the vocals bleed out of the phones, you'll get this annoying phasing going on.

good luck.

[studiomaster]

whenever i record with my headphones, the headphone's sound get recorded as well. and it ruins the recording. how can i fix this? my headphones are sony ones and are loose on my ears. i have another sony monitor headphones that are much tighter to my ears.....would it be better if i use this one?

[JOT]

If you're not comfortable with headphones you could this method.

Place your monitors in an equalateral triangle with your microphone (have the mic pointing at you and rejecting the monitors while they face you so you can hear).

Throw one of the monitors out of phase, it may sound a bit screwy while you listenback but the mic won't pick up much form the monitors because it's out of phase and rear rejected.

Michael Jackson used this method.

[Dogman]

I have the vox only coming back to me on one side.....this helps some. But when I get really loud, I actually turn off teh vox volume, and just listen to the music.

[tarnationsauce2]

Originally Posted by JOT

If you're not comfortable with headphones you could this method.

Place your monitors in an equalateral triangle with your microphone (have the mic pointing at you and rejecting the monitors while they face you so you can hear).

Throw one of the monitors out of phase, it may sound a bit screwy while you listenback but the mic won't pick up much form the monitors because it's out of phase and rear rejected.

Michael Jackson used this method.

I never thought of that, I gotta try that out.

[metalhead28]

Originally Posted by Bloodsoaked

When I am recording vocals I ahve a hard time hearing the song in the head phones while I am singing. I do Death Metal style vocals and they are loud for the most part and see to over power the tracks I am listening to in the head phones. I do want to crank the head phone so loud that I hurt my ears. I record the vocals in my bedroom.

Has anyone else run into this issue and if so what have you done to resolve it? Thank you...


Peter

Are you monitoring your vocals very loudly in the phones while you're singing? Sometimes I need to really lower the monitoring level so that the singer can still hear the music. Sometimes there is hardly any vocal sound in the phones for big screamers.

Just a thought. Also, it can help to hold the phones against your head so that you hear them a little better, and the outside sound is cut down even more. That may be obvious to you, but I've had to instruct a few people to do that when they couldn't hear anything. Tight phones help.

[Bloodsoaked]

Originally Posted by metalhead28

Are you monitoring your vocals very loudly in the phones while you're singing? Sometimes I need to really lower the monitoring level so that the singer can still hear the music. Sometimes there is hardly any vocal sound in the phones for big screamers.

Just a thought. Also, it can help to hold the phones against your head so that you hear them a little better, and the outside sound is cut down even more. That may be obvious to you, but I've had to instruct a few people to do that when they couldn't hear anything. Tight phones help.

I have NO vocals at all playing in the head phones when I am recoring vocals, only music. I hear to much of my voice/vocals over the music in the head phones and then start to loose my place and on the song as to when I need to start the next word or sentence.

I sing loud and it over powers the head phones. Maybe I need tighter head phones so they keep all the outside sound outside the head phones.


Peter

[punkin]

I just wanted to say that I really liked Dogman's avatar.

Um...k...sorry to interrupt

[EdWonbass]

I get bleed from the phones sometimes because I have the music cranked. One way to cut back on the bleed is by pulling back tracks that have a lot of high end like certain guitar parts, overheads and snare. I think it also helps you hear better. I have been meaning to invest in some decent closed back phones. I figure if no sound sound is getting in then no sound should get out.
Does this seem right?

[brendandwyer]

not that this helps a metal screamer, buuuuut, we've found that monitoring in mono, in only one hear with the other ear off helps with the quality of the vocal tracks.

That way the phone that is off doesn't bleed out, and you can crank a bit in the other ear.

As for monitoring while singing really loud, Vic Firth (?) makes drumming headphones that are noise cancelling and they are not my favorite for tracking, but once those things are on, you won't hear much of anything except the cue track.

[punkin]

I second those cranial cans. I got a set for my son...he's got a ways to go yet. He's way too young for hearing aides.