In Summary

Artists need to hear what they’re doing in the studio, and more often than not that means using headphones. With performers’ accuracy and comfort at stake, here we share some ways to get the right sounds into people’s ears every time.

Going Deeper

Following on from live recordings with little or no foldback, from the middle of last century headphones began to play an increasing part in the artist experience. Beginning with ever more controlled and isolated live recordings in the late 1960s into the overdubbed tapestries from the 1970s to the present day, the humble headphone is now an intrinsic part of the recording landscape.

In the 21st century, the basic main mix ‘copy’ for performers is alive and well on micro productions. Equally though, even very modest studios now have access to multiple cue mixes and all the flexibility (and complexity) those can bring.

Whether you’re doing a single overdub, or tracking multiple performers who need to hear it like it is, here we outline ways to maximise what artists are hearing for performances that shine.

The Need For Headphones

First and foremost, not everyone needs to use headphones. Some small acoustic ensembles that have spent years playing together live sometimes need to be captured in their purest form. For that, headphones might be completely unnecessary. Larger orchestral sessions might see musicians using single-sided cans so they can hear themselves from their instrument, but often headphones will be absent. Some plugged-in bands will even insist on their beloved wedges in the studio - any compromises in recorded quality will be less than those from a compromised or self-conscious performance.

What To Wear

Once it’s known that headphones will be used on the session, the next question is the type and how they will be driven. Artists might bring their own (In-Ear-Monitors) IEMs or cans on some productions, but any studio headphones need to be tough and capable of pushing the right levels. Closed-back designs are the go-to, simply to help keep external sounds out and internal sounds in. This helps keep levels into precious ears as low as possible and also keeps headphone signals out of the mics.

Headphone amps need to have plenty of power in hand. Not to deafen the artist, but to afford headroom - this precious commodity keeps the audio clean and does give artists somewhere to go upwards if they have to. Overdriven headphone amps fry headphones as well as people’s ears eventually.

Headphone amps might only have one or two inputs fed from a control room mix, or be of the matrix mixing types such as the Hearback or Aviom systems. These let artists mix their own cans from direct sources and/or stem mixes.

Pre-Production

Running any session needs talkback to the artist which needs to be in place right from the outset. On larger sessions having a way to talk to the studio is a useful way to talk to anyone working on the session; loudspeaker talkback is most useful for this. Listenback mics are also useful for the same reasons; some performers won’t be able to speak otherwise (as useful as that might sometimes be…).

Creating sends and roughing out mixes ahead of the session can pay dividends in time saved. This can avoid lots of requests at once if people can hear at least something from the outset. Most people want to hear themselves louder than everything else. For example, assuming a comfortable level at a singer’s headphone amp, there needs to be the necessary differential for them to hear themselves in the cue mix over their acoustic-self, with enough headroom in reserve for “I still can’t hear myself”. Setting their send(s) at something like -6dB and the band as low as -18dB can accommodate this. The same goes especially for things like drummers’ click tracks.

Many singers like to hear their voice with some reverb or sometimes a character effect such as slapback delay. While reverb can help some singers with their pitch, other effects can help performers feel the vibe of the track. Most engineers choose not to compress the monitored signal; this makes it easier especially for singers to hear exactly what they’re doing and work their own dynamics. If processing is being committed on the way in this will usually go to the headphones anyway unless an unprocessed feed is set up.

If headphones are going to be mixed from the DAW (more on which later), this rough mix can be saved and/or used in templates. The best template can usually be had after a take or two.

Sourcing Headphone Mixes

The simplest mix is a copy of the main output, but most of the time a separate cue mix is more useful. Primarily, in the post-tape era, headphone mixes must be sourced to avoid the one thing that performers should never experience: latency. With this in mind, headphone mixes can happen in a number of ways:

From A DAW

Any headphone mixes including those sourced in the DAW use pre-fader sends. Pro Tools HDX systems are quick enough to send cue mixes with imperceptible amounts of latency; Pro Tools’ Copy To Send command in the Automation menu copies the main fader mix onto a send of choice as a quick basis for further refinements.

Cubase’s ASIO 2.0 Direct Monitoring Mode folds interface inputs straight back to the artist. Not all interfaces support this, but the feature may also be available for audio hardware with MacOS drivers. In ASIO Direct Monitoring mode, the monitored signal comes from the hardware even though the mixing is done in Cubase. This brings near-zero latency plus the tape style auto-input monitoring that interface DSP mixers cannot match.

From An Interface

That said, many audio interfaces feature useful DSP Mixer that are still better than the alternative. These allow input mixes to be made and sent upstream of DAW latency - most drivers mean that this is virtually free from any audible delay. DAW input monitoring should be disabled when using this method. As mentioned the big disadvantage of these mixers is the latent ‘double’ that will also be heard on drop-ins. To avoid that, the audio to be replaced must be manually muted.

From A Console

Although analogue consoles can claim zero-latency cue mixing (“near-instantaneous latency” sounds less slick in marketing-speak) it can still suffer from some of the doubling artefacts mentioned if not set up properly. When working on a Pro Tools HDX rig (or with Cubase’s Direct Monitoring Mode), cue sends should still be sourced from the DAW.

SSL’s SuperCue system allows for the simultaneous monitoring of the channel's input and DAW return signals via the Stereo Cue send bus. The DAW transport record status is used to mute the DAW return signal when needed, allowing for “zero latency” source monitoring in record and dual source monitoring during playback.

From A Headphone Amp

On more basic systems with fewer mixes available, augmenting a main mix or basic cue mix with a facility for a mixable ‘More Me’ input can provide extra flexibility. This is the MO of many mid-market headphone amps. Most interface outputs can be configured to provide this.

More Of This Or Less Of That?

At the start of a session if artist preferences are unknown, using a copy of the main mix as mentioned above can form the basis of cue mixes. Taking this, and pulling all faders down by around 6dB apart from each performer’s own send(s) will head off early requests for ‘more me’, and still keep some level in reserve. Singers’ voices and drummers’ clicks might need a greater differential between themselves and the rest of the band as detailed earlier.

One of the most common headphone mix requests is to hear more of something. This kind of race to the top can be understandable with lots of competing levels both in the headphones and in the room. Often though, the most effective way to turn something up is to turn something else down - even 3dB out of the guitars for example will make it much easier to hear vocals.

Many drummers ask for drums in their cans because they need to hear the full range of their instrument, but that often leads harmful amounts of level in the headphones. Instead, the acoustic sound of the drums through the headphones can form the baseline working level for drummers’ cue mixes. The lows and mids of drums are clearly audible even through cans like Beyer’s DT100s; sending a much lower level of just the filtered overheads can be the basis for a much lower overall cue mix level.

IEMs for live use can provide excellent cue monitoring with much lower working levels. Alternatively musicians with moulded earplugs can wear these under their headphones. Levels can then be safely increased to ‘get over’ the room.

Anything Else?

When double tracking, some singers especially will need to hear the previous take loud and clear; others can struggle to pitch this way and will need the first take lowered or muted. A third way is to hard pan the signals and let the singer ‘nudge’ their headphones’ headband to get what they need. Many singers like to do this anyway to hear themselves in the room.

It’s been said that inverting the polarity of vocal inputs can help some singers with their pitch to better sum the headphones with bone conducted information - if you’ve tried this and it works let us know in the comments.

Leaky clicks into mics can ruin recordings. Softer sounds such as shakers can be less likely to escape, but the ultimate trick is to fire click MIDI elsewhere… A high tonic note in a piano VI can sometimes dissolve in the air much more easily than the familiar “BLIP-blop-blop-blop” that we all know and love…

It goes without saying that any great performance comes from a place of artist comfort and the reassurance that a great cue mix can give. By paying attention to monitor audio quality, and good communication between all involved, as well as the all-important cue mix itself, artists are ready to forget the tech and do their thing at their very best.

What are your cue mix tips and tricks? Have we missed anything? Let us know in the comments.