Yes. Monitors are for mixing/mastering. You don't typically track in the same room with them on because A) they'll bleed into a live mic, and B) it's silly.At what point do you use the monitors, though - toward the end of the mix/mastering?
Greg - you're right about monitoring.I turned the master volume on the Profire down a few notches so I could turn the input up, and sure enough it didn't feed back. I'm also comfortably at about -12db right now when I strum.
Thanks again!
Talk about big closed headphones that block sound, and come with an amplifier - these are sweet, but too pricy -
Amazon.com: Beyerdynamic DT-770-PRO Closed Back Studio Headphones w Superlux Headphone Amplifier: Electronics
Others I've been looking at - Audio Technica ATHM50s and Sennheiser HD 280s/380s.
Is it really ok to use less expensive drummer's headphones to block noise? Does it matter if the actual headphone quality is less good while tracking & monitoring with headphones? Or is it more important to have good monitors during final mix?
Back off of what? Your monitoring should have nothing to do with your recording levels. Shut the monitors off, set the recording level, then turn them back on if you have to. The feedback from the mic in your monitors is not an indication of anything other than your monitors are too loud and/or too close to your mic.The monitors are only turned up about 60%, though. It's the input knob I'm turning up loud so I can get a good signal. I'm just using the feedback as a way to know I'm too loud and then backing off. And then I put on the headphones.
Put the amp in another room. This is just another thing that is confusing your recording level with your monitoring level. Attempting to get a sound out of your amp is a separate process from setting the recording level, which is a separate process from monitoring your mix while you overdub.To be honest, part of this is due to the issue I mentioned in another thread. Which is, once the amp is past a certain volume, it drowns out what I'm hearing in my headphones when I'm trying to do overdubs. And I don't even have that guitar signal coming through the headphones. It's just too loud in the room itself.
How far away do you have the mic from the amp? It really should be right on the cabinet.As an aside, I have found other posts from people saying that the Profire recorded too quietly. Sometimes wish I'd gone with the Apogee Duet which I've only heard good things about...
How far away do you have the mic from the amp? It really should be right on the cabinet.
How close to the amp are you when you are playing? You should probably put it on the other side of the room to get it away from you so you can hear whats going on in the headphones.
Don't worry about overall volume after mixing. That can be brought up to a respectable level as a 2 track mix.
Put the amp in another room.
How close to the amp are you when you are playing? You should probably put it on the other side of the room to get it away from you so you can hear whats going on in the headphones.
As for moving the amp, I'm realizing that's not going to work due to the layout of my house. But when I'm recording, I'd say I'm sitting about 6 feet from the amp.
This is true. I treated myself to a £10 pair at the start of the year with money that my Ma in law gave me but everyone else tracks with £5 phones, as do I when I'm tracking downstairs. As long as you can hear what you're tracking to, pristine may as well be 16.You don't need anything fancy with a tracking headphone.
+1 on those construction mufflers. They are fantastic at cutting out the outside sounds. I swim with a pair. My MP3 player earbuds would slip out of my ears on occasion in the water so I got a set of those construction ear thingies, mainly to stop them falling out actually. But it also improved the sound of the music I'm listening to and reinforces the bass which was an unexpected bonus. And I can't hear a thing outside unless I turn the music down {which I don't}. Mind you, when I'm walking back to the changing room, I can hear a deep bass version of my footsteps in my flip flops on the floor, like it's conducting through my jaw and cheek bones. It sounds creepy.you can use earbuds and construction worker ear mufflers if you want. Pristine sound quality isn't necessary for tracking. You need something that attenuates.
check if you have a mic or a line input on the pro fire! experiment with that, although mic level should be fine if your miking up a guitar amp and decent volume.