Need high power headphones

[nonsqtr]

Hi folks, this weekend I'm going to try recording live drums. All the other tracks are already laid down, and there's a drum machine track, so basically the drummer will need to monitor the existing stuff with a pair of headphones ('cause the drums will be mic'd). My monitoring board (a Mackie CR1604-VLZ) has a headphone output, but it's not very loud, and I also don't want to destroy my studio 'phones by driving them too hard.

The question is, what's a good set of headphones that I can drive "loud", that will suffice for the drummer to get whatever volume he needs for monitoring? I can provide an external headphone amp, no problem there. The headphones should have good acoustic isolation so I don't pick up unwanted signal through the drum mics.

[Josh Ryan]

sennheiser hd-280 pro. You can destroy your hearing forever with these if your not careful.

[Treena Foster]

There are a set of phones designed specifically for this purpose, they are called MoreMe Headphones

My husband and I purchased a couple sets for our studio and Kurt ( my husband) wrote a review for our Emag. HERE



The specifications of the “MoreMe” phones is as follows.
General Specifications:

Impedance: .............. 32 Ohms +/- 10%
Maximum Input Power: .... 100 mW
Frequency Response: ..... 20 - 18,000 Hz
Sensitivity: ............ 105 dB S.P.L. @ 1 kHz +/- 3 dB
Distortion : ............ less than 0.5% THD at 105 dB SPL at 1 kHz
Weight: ................. 56 grams
Plug: ................... 3.5 mm Stereo (1/8th" plug, w/1/4" adapter)


You may purchase “MoreMe” headphones directly from:
ITR Studios
8676 Travis Road
Sanger, TX 76266
(940) 482-3422
hargerst@airmail.net

http://www.ITRstudio.com/moreme.html
Harvey Gerst
Indian Trail Recording Studio
http://www.ITRstudio.com/


Treena

[Petebass]

Just be careful you don't turn them up too loud. I've seen more than one recording session spoilt because the recording mics were picking up the sound comming from the headphones. Sometimes you can fix it during mixdown with a gate, but not always.

[nonsqtr]

Thanks for the suggestions. Treena, I'll definitely check out those MoreMe phones, they sound good and the price is right. I went and got the 280 pro 'cause I needed it "today", so hopefully that'll do the trick for the time being. Longer term I'll need a couple more, and I can wait a couple of weeks to get them shipped. Thanks for the tips, y'all are the best!

[Treena Foster]

Originally Posted by Petebass

Just be careful you don't turn them up too loud. I've seen more than one recording session spoilt because the recording mics were picking up the sound comming from the headphones. Sometimes you can fix it during mixdown with a gate, but not always.

I agree Petebass, but a great recording engineer should be using their experienced ears to keep that from happening.

Solo each track while you are doing your initial setup for tones and see if you hear any bleed, if so, do what you need to, to stop it.....

Also make sure the backs of your phones are enclosed, the open back phones will bleed really bad, even at lower volumes, especially vocals.


Treena

[Petebass]

Originally Posted by Treena Foster

I agree Petebass, but a great recording engineer should be using their experienced ears to keep that from happening.

Absolutely! But recording engineers are no different to live engineers in that some are better than others. And lots of drummers are deaf and keep asking for their cans to be turned up, so it's an easy pit to fall into. To be honest it amazed me at the time that no-one in the control booth picked up on it ??????

Either way, it happened and we learned from it. And I pass the info on in the hope I can help someone avoid the same situation. As always, your tips are right on the money Treena............

[Droog]

Abit late here, but you might look into Sony MDR 7509's. I like them for drummers (as apposed to the 7506).

Any studio engineer worth his beans should pick up on the bleed through the Over Heads. If the drummer is too deaf, then you'll have to re-think your mic'ing.