Do Headphones Effect Performance?

[brandondrury]

We've been talking about headphones quite a bit recently so I was just curious as to how important you thought headphones were to getting a mega vocal take. (I'm only using heapdhones for acoustic guitar and vocals these days).

Obviously, if the sound coming out of the headphones is shit, then the singer won't be getting inspired much. However, I've recorded so many guys with tastes that are mega drastically different that I would expect that just as many people would like the $20 Behringer headphones as they would something robo high end like the Grados.

What are you guys' thoughts on headphones?

Brandon

[richiebee]

I don't know what its like in the hard rock world, but in many genres, singers (and many instrumentalists for that matter) don't want to hear what the microphone is picking up. They want to hear what they normally hear (which of course is always very different). That's why many performers record with one ear on (so they can hear what they're playing to) and one off (so they can hear themselves).
I have real trouble playing the trumpet and recording using normal headphones. The sound is completely different to what I hear in my head. If I don't get that, it throws a lot of things off. I've taken to recording with good walkman headphones. I record with them at fairly low volume. They allow me to hear the sound of my horn that I hear when I'm playing normally, while still hearing what I'm playing to.
Performers do feel more secure in their performance when they hear things the way they want them, and certainly loud enough. I think you need to provide headphones with a full range of sound, but I don't think it needs to be frequency accurate.

[brandondrury]

Performers do feel more secure in their performance when they hear things the way they want them, and certainly loud enough.

The one problem I see with this (and it's probably mostly in the hard rock genres) is the people that want to hear things in a way that is detrimental to their performance. It goes back to the whole "more me" problem.

I don't know of any rock engineer who hasn't picked up a headphone mix that a given player was happy with just to find out that there was no possible way that player was hearing anything but their own instrument. (This is why I always check headphones when something is weird in the performance).

Brandon

[richiebee]

Well yes, ego needs to be checked in at the door I guess. I think another part of this is that rock musicians tend to do a lot of their training in rehearsal rather than formal training, meaning that they probably don't have that acoustic sound in their head. Well, in a way that's good. It means they won't be put off by hearing something that's not particularly natural sounding (ie, close miking). It's probably also to some extent similar for guitarists, bass players, drummers and keyboard players who don't have to have a sound in their head to play the right notes.
Whatever the musician wants to hear should inspire their best performance, whatever it is. Whether it does or not is their problem really. Sure, you can offer suggestions that they might like to hear some melodic instruments to maintain pitch, or rhythmic instruments to maintain rhythm, but at the end of the day, whatever works for them should be what they get. An hourly rate rather than a package deal might help them to see it your way. If they don't give a good performance in ten takes, then maybe they shouldn't be there at all!
Personally, I don't think the quality of headphones has a huge effect on how well the performer performs. But then again, I'm not a hard rock musician so maybe I have it totally wrong.

[brandondrury]

An hourly rate rather than a package deal might help them to see it your way.

I'm glad that I've been away from this arena. There is nothing like busting your ass for a shitty band, and throwing your life away, just so some asshole can look at you like you just stole his daughter's virginity when you ask for a humble payment.

Some band people are the lowest forms of life....

Okay, not that I got that out of head (I had a flashback of some bad recording memories), we can get back to headphones.

I find it interesting that you mention "rock music" and "training". It shows the side of the planet you come from is quite different than the typical rocker. In fact, I bet I've not heard the word 'training' in my studio unless it was related to a job....certainly not for music.

Rock guys are typically lazy people with little ambition that adhere only to the conventions that serve their laziness. The one exception is the semi-lazy rock guy who will play a zillion shows but won't do a single thing to bring more people to these shows. Of course, there are like 20 exceptions (I mean 20 people).


Okay, finally back to headphones:

Whatever the musician wants to hear should inspire their best performance, whatever it is. Whether it does or not is their problem really.

I think this somes it up. Most singers I've dealt with are pretty cool about the whole headphone thing. However, there have been several that just couldn't stand it. I mean, they were completely useless with headphones on. I think this may be a function of nervousness though and headphones seam to be a same thing to blame.

Wagerner had two of the Sony DMX-R100 consoles (which were cutting edge 5 or so years ago). Anyway, he could push a button and instantly hear the aux that he was sending to the headphones. The fader would all adapt so it was just like you were mixing the song. I found this feature to be incredibly powerful. You always knew what the singer was hearing and could adapt to their preferences. Really cool!

Brandon

[richiebee]

Depending on how low a latency you can get on your system, you might try feeding the vocals through a big reverb. I'm not sure how a rocker would take this (they might think its really gay, I don't know), but I know that for most singers, sticking a ton of reverb on them makes them sound way bigger and better than they really are. That gives them confidence. At some point you have to tell them they don't really sound like that, and that releasing an album that way would totally suck, but don't tell them til they've tracked everything with a wonderfully confident voice. Thickening up the vocal sound might have the same effect.

You could try the walkman headphone thing. It really works for me. They don't bleed much, and they allow me to hear what I'm doing acoustically.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained...

[brandondrury]

I've toyed with the reverb thing. I don't know why, but I've always had a hard time making any big reverb not sound completely horrendous (for my genre).

I love big reverbed rock drums, but I can't seam to ever make myself set a reverb so that it adds to the vocal in a headphone mix. I've tried all the usual reverb tricks but can't seam to ever get anything useful.

Maybe I'll give it hell sometime.

I generally prefer working with the kind of singers who are content with dry vocals. It sure makes my job easier.

Brandon

[DT Chris]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I generally prefer working with the kind of singers who are content with dry vocals. It sure makes my job easier.
Brandon

I'd have to say my first experiences in the studio were quite strange, I was not used to wearing headphones, and it was a little strange. Most of my singing experience before hand would have been karaoke, rehearsal halls, and live performances where I got used to hearing myself through crappy foot monitors, or mostly the reflection back from the opposite walls of the stage.

In the studio, suddenly I was singing into my own ears and it felt completely un-natural. It got a little better with time, but I still dread it even now.

I don't like my vocals to be too wet, but completely dry doesn't help with the softer passages, or inspired 'wails' or screams necessary in some rock performances, that just doesn't inspire with dry vocals. I would compare singing 'dry' to playing an electric guitar 'dry', yet the guitarist has to play hammer-ons, bends, without the sustain,etc he was used to that inspired him to start with.

Anyways, for me, singing in a recording session has to do with how comfortable or 'at home' I am with the whole situation, the engineers, etc. If I feel comfortable, I'm not too cold or hot, not hungry, creative and encouraging atmosphere really goes a long way to getting a good performance, rather than if headphones are a big deal or not.

[brandondrury]

Cool post, dude.

It's cool hearing it from the singer's / horse's mouth.

I've noticed that singers tend to get a lot less picky about their headphone mixes as a session goes on. I've had a guy that would literally take an hour to get their level right...seriously. In this particular case, the guy was just trying to avoid actually singing.

I generally do add just a little short reverb to the headphones, but I find that finding a reverb that works for every part of a song is sometimes difficult if the song has a lot of dynamics.

I've had sessions where we spent way more time playing with the reverb than we did actually recording takes. While I understand that there are times when a vocalist needs this to be inspired, there are other times when over analyzing the headphone mix is just a way out from a situation where they are being judged.

This hasn't been a problem for me since I've picked and chosen my recording projects, but was certainly an issue in the past.

Brandon

[DT Chris]

I don't think it's easy for anyone, musician or vocalist, experienced or not, to just go into a studio and lay out some amazing tracks. I'm sure even the 'big boy' singers (to borrow your term) have the same requirements - to feel comfortable with the studio, the engineer, the producer, whoever is there, so they can feel that they can let their hair down, and when the inevitable mistakes happen, they can feel that they're not being judged.

I would have to say that it helps to have engineers and the studio (in my case NAL Sound, North Van, BC) already be into your vocal talent, and your band's ability and potential, since you already have that rapport with them, it makes it easier for everyone. To go to another studio where you don't know the people, and they're all clinical and dry about the whole experience, and may not even like your music = that will definitely show.

The point being, if you can find that studio and staff that respect your work, and want you to succeed, and you trust their judgement and experience, if they asked for me to sing the vocals hanging from a chandelier, I just might.