TIP: Avoiding click track bleed from headphones.

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homerecor

Lost in the Fog
Yesterday, I recorded a soft spoken female vocalist with acoustic guitar. She wanted a loud click track, however, I only had open-air headphones on hand. Needless to say, the metronome bleed onto her vocal track was unwanted and embarrassing.

I dug out my trusty I.E.M.'s, that I use for live performances, and cleaned them up with rubbing alcohol for her. She popped them in and we re-tracked. Wallah! No more click bleed.

(FYI: They were Westone UM PRO 30 and she said that they sounded better than my Sony MDR 7506's)
 
Ewwww. I mean, I freak enough when my son steals my earbuds... and he's a blood-relation. or in this case, a wax-relation :D

If you're gonna track,
gotta be closed-back.
 
The word is Voila - it's french. And I hate open back headphones for tracking. Ear buds wouldn't work if I moved they fall out.
 
I have a nice pair of open-back phones....which I use to avoid using for vocals.
Then I realized that the difference between the open and closed back version in my stable was nothing more than a thin piece of plastic covering the vents.

Gaffer's tape to the rescue...two layers....Voila!....closed-back.
(I applied it inside the cup, but you could easly do the same from the outside on most headphones).

Works perfectly, and I can make them open-back again, any time I want. :)
 
I've heard of folks pairing earbuds with "deadheads" - shooters or construction muffs - in place of extreme isolation headphones. It's usually more about keeping something like drums out so they can hear the phones, but I'd imagine it works both ways.
 
I would like to point out that there is a difference between earbuds and in ear monitors. Two different worlds.

However, it would probably be more cost effective and hygienic just to go get some closed back headphones. Hell, I must have a dozen pair laying around somewhere... I might be able to donate, assuming I actually moved them to the new place.
 
ashcat_lt said:
I've heard of folks pairing earbuds with "deadheads" - shooters or construction muffs - in place of extreme isolation headphones. It's usually more about keeping something like drums out so they can hear the phones, but I'd imagine it works both ways.
Click to expand...

I do this sometimes.
 
Farview said:
I would like to point out that there is a difference between earbuds and in ear monitors. Two different worlds.

However, it would probably be more cost effective and hygienic just to go get some closed back headphones. Hell, I must have a dozen pair laying around somewhere... I might be able to donate, assuming I actually moved them to the new place.
Click to expand...
I grabbed two pairs of these on 2 for 1 Stupid Deal. They sound surprisingly good. I haven't tried them for vocals, so can't speak to bleed out of the phones, but they do a pretty good job at keeping the outside out... They suffer badly from acoustic coupling of handling noise though. Touching the cable is really loud in the cans, and if you bump the metal thing that goes over the top it's almost painful. Was kinda thinking about trying to duct tape that thing to keep it from happening, but IDK if it would really help.
 
If I had that problem, I'd do what I do when I practice playing drums along to tracks...pop in some ipod earbuds and put on my Winchester ear muffs. Easily the cheapest way lol :D
 
Buds & muffs for recording superloud amp or for max reduction of bleed.
 
My favorite way to avoid bleed from a click track is to not use a click track. Obviously sometimes you have to use click tracks, but I hate 'em. People are generally a little more uptight recording with a click, and I think it shows in the results.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
My favorite way to avoid bleed from a click track is to not use a click track. Obviously sometimes you have to use click tracks, but I hate 'em. People are generally a little more uptight recording with a click, and I think it shows in the results.
Click to expand...

But what about bleed from other tracks?
I don't see why there's only concern for click tracks with open-back phones...?

When I use to try doing vocals with open back phones...it was never the click track that was bleeding, as I tend to play the click very low, so that it's almost subliminal (which can also removes that anxiety of trying to play along with it, for some people)....it was always other tracks that were bleeding out of the phones.
 
miroslav said:
But what about bleed from other tracks?
I don't see why there's only concern for click tracks with open-back phones...?

When I use to try doing vocals with open back phones...it was never the click track that was bleeding, as I tend to play the click very low, so that it's almost subliminal (which can also removes that anxiety of trying to play along with it, for some people)....it was always other tracks that were bleeding out of the phones.
Click to expand...

Obviously using open back headphones for tracking is not going to work out a lot of the time, but bleed from a source that will end up in the mix isn't nearly as bad as audible click in quiet parts of a song. And most people I've worked with need more click in the mix than you seem to need. Usually it's a drummer with click so loud it leaks into the overheads. Decent IEMs work for most of those situations.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Usually it's a drummer with click so loud it leaks into the overheads.
Click to expand...

I can understand why the drummer might need the click louder then say, a singer....but man, that must be REAL loud for the click to bleed into the OH mics...over the actual drum playing!!!
Are they closed back phones?

My only point is that if you use open-back phones, the problem with bleed isn't just with the "click"...even if the other tracks are part of the mix, bleed would be a PITA.
With closed/iso phones, you can even play click real loud for the drummer, and bleed is not an issue.

I always give my drummer a pair of the old Koss Pro4AA, which are great closed phones, and very much like isolation phones. They fit snug and I've never gotten any bleed...and I run the OH mics only about 3' over his head in M/S configuration...so the Side mic points straight down at him.
 
That's like a comedy of errors. A drummer with open back headphones is funny enough. It's even funnier that they're so loud that it bleeds into the overheads. What a clusterfuck. Someone in that situation has to know better.

Try this - closed back headphones. Better yet for a drummer - isolation headphones. Problem solved.
 
miroslav said:
if you use open-back phones, the problem with bleed isn't just with the "click"...even if the other tracks are part of the mix, bleed would be a PITA.
Click to expand...
I see his point, though. Not the one about people not playing to a click, that's just stupid. But the point about click bleeding is a bigger problem than something that will actually end up in the final mix. A bleeding guitar or bass will get masked by....itself......in the final mix. A bleeding click will stand out.
 
Still, why would anyone use open backed phones in a tracking situation ever? It's not like they are insanely expensive or anything.
 
RAMI said:
I see his point, though. Not the one about people not playing to a click, that's just stupid. But the point about click bleeding is a bigger problem than something that will actually end up in the final mix. A bleeding guitar or bass will get masked by....itself......in the final mix. A bleeding click will stand out.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with that...."click" tracks that bleed won't blend into the mix like other tracks, but there's another thing to consider....if you need to make any kind of edit on a single track, to move things around, etc...then even music bleed is a problem if it's on that track. I've had that happen a couple of times in the past...it was a PITA lesson to learn. :facepalm:
So that's why I see bleed in general as a problem...not just with click tracks.

As it's been said by everyone...there's a simple solution...closed-back/iso headphones. They eliminate the need to worry about any kind of bleed. :)

Now if someone just plain hates using a click, that's a different issue altogether.
Lately I've been removing/muting the click track once I have my drums down tight (which I always do first, with only a scratch music track for the drummer to follow)...but I still stay away from open-back phones if they are going to be near any live microphones during tracking.
 
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