Headphones - How Do you Prepare for a Recording Session | Studio 101

Headphones. How To Prepare For A Studio Recording Session Studio 101. Are you going into a recording studio or need help at home? How to prepare for a studio recording session is your solution. I hear from clients in my studio that they cannot hear very well while playing with headphones. That is not the truth. They are just not used to how their instrument sounds in a headphone. This problem happens because of the way they practice. Let's use a guitar player as an example. A guitarist has ten or twelve-inch speakers in their rig and up to eight speakers in a full-stack. The earth trembles and the house shakes. Life is fantastic!

Now you enter a studio. They hand you a headphone with a three-inch speaker in them. You were practicing with eight twelve-inch speakers. Do you see the problem now? You have to practice in the environment you are entering. A studio does not have the earth trembling and the house shaking.

Headphones. A problem? What is the solution?

Practice with headphones. Most amps have a feature on them to listen with headphones. I know it is not sexy. However, it will be helpful. There are distributors to have multiple headphones plugged in at once if you are a band. Now you have to blend that by turning down and listening to one another. You will get used to hearing your part in a smaller, more reduced fashion. When you are entirely comfortable, now book your studio time.

Most studios have multiple channel mixers that you plug headphones into for listening. Now you have various channels to bring up or down in your headphones instead of just one send at home. Instead of saying you can't hear yourself, you will be saying it is fantastic! Your recording will reflect that.