Recording Vocals Without Headphones

DonnyThompson, post: 447326, member: 46114 wrote: When I was 17, I had surgery on both ears, to "reshape" them to stop cartilage from growing over my ear drums.
To this day, nearly 40 years later, I still feel pain if there is any physical pressure on my ears for longer than just a few minutes; this pain can be caused if I sleep on one side too long at night, or if I wear a hat that's too snug..

Hey Donny, I remember you talked about it a while back.
Did you ever try a molded in-ear monitoring system ? I made one DIY a few years back and was able to play hours on tour with those.
How I did it ?
Bought some self molding sillicon ear plugs from radians : http://www.radians…
With the inprint of my ears I made a negative with silicone a base mix from this company : http://www.sculptur…
You can choose the hardness (I took grade 20 if I remember)
I then moleded many earplugs and some that fits with my monster earbuds

There's this I might try too :
https://www.amazon…

https://www.amazon…

I can certainly see how this would enhance a vocalists experience. I've already gone to singing and playing into the M/S setup I have now. Maybe I'll try without the headphones. I personally find the headphones fine, and they make me focus more, but, there certainly is a level of stress they add.

Almost three minutes of trying to sell me on the technique? That's where I bailed from the video. I bet it could have been explained in less time.

brilliant technique (y)

DonnyThompson, post: 447348, member: 46114 wrote: I was assuming that a veteran such as yourself wouldn't need to watch it.

The vid was placed more for the benefit of member who were perhaps newer to the craft, and for those who have never heard of the technique before.

So hell... f u c k it all then. I'll promise to not bother anyone here with these vids anymore.

No! Don't not post them! And now I'm curious. Was it just getting up to the mic to exploit inverse square law or something more clever like the Remy trick? Sac! I may have to watch it.

Well I welcome any pro active approach to all things related to improving a performance or the final product. This technique is absolutely brilliant, the video was excellent as well, and I'm definitely headed in this direction because I too believe headphones are a big hindrance to many performers including just plain irritating in comparison to what it feels like to sing/perform live. As the fellow said, the trade off is well worth the remainder.

One day soon, spectral editing will enable us to remove whatever we don't want. That day will be my long awaited beginning of HD sound. I can't wait.
It won't be long to when we look back at a lot of what do now, as so dated and restricted recording methods.
I look forward to the day when I can null out and replace what ever I want back in. Anything that helps bring art closer to what I/ the artists imagines/ envisions, is a plus.

It's an extraordinarily long winded explanation of the Remy trick.

1. Get the monitor mix, mic placement and levels sorted, change nothing for the rest of the session

2. Record the track

3. Record the bleed

4. Invert the polarity of the bleed

5. Mix with main track to null the bleed

bouldersound, post: 447353, member: 38959 wrote: It's an extraordinarily long winded explanation of the Remy trick.

Indeed, I was thinking the same. But better explained in the video lol. The whole concept around nulling tricks to remove bleed is awesome.

Been doing this for years. Just make sure the mic(s) is/are solid as a rock. And I mean solid as a rock. It never fails, they always move just a hair during the performance period, and of course you don't achieve the optimum removal. And sometimes the mic moves in a way that actually introduces additional phase when you are cancelling it out with the polarity inversed track. Also, his trick #3 at the end of the vid is more/less an essential (and not a trick) for any success to be had.

It's easy as pie on paper/in theory, but has the potential to drive you nuts in the real world if you don't have everything solid.

Yeah, I was wondering about phase issues. Thanks for adding to this, Jay.

LINK

Ronan's tutorial is better. Thanks for posting that.

Read the way the Bee Gees recorded their harmonies!

Chateau d'Herouville studio assistant Michel Marie recalls being amazed by the way the Bee Gees recorded their harmonies. "When I learnt they would be three to sing, I set up three different headphones and three different mics. They said 'No, no!' and asked me for a single mic, and no headphones — just a little speaker close to them. They sang together around the same mic, looking at each other. And when I heard them, I knew what 'good singing' meant : even on the first take, they were perfect, in tune, in the rhythm... I was not used to that from French singers!"

http://www.soundons…