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Audtion with Pro Tools and headphones-any tips?

S

Skyblue977

Jun 13, 2008
265
30
Canberra ACT Australia
#1
I had a first audtion last night with a group which practices exclusivley with and electronic kit and all guitars bass going to a big flash blue box and them via Firewire into Mac running Pro Tools and then back to headphones. That was the first time I have ever played that way. Each player can get an indvidual mix and we could play at whatever volume we wanted until the wee hours of the morning with the only real noise being that of the vocal. I played reasonably well as I only had basic charts to go on with their mostly original stuff and I've been asked to come back next week but I did have a hard time coming to terms with the whole setup using headphones, getting a good mix and an even harder time getting a tone!
Can anybody share any tips on how to adapt to with way of playing? I quite enjoyed the experience but it was quite difficult.
 
#2
I practice this way quite frequently with a couple of bands. I use a Sansamp to help get a "better" tone than the direct bass plugged into the box.

Eventually if you join up you'll get your own headphones or in-ears that you like, which will help with your comfort (and perhaps bass response). Getting a good mix is just a matter of getting used to the tools, for now I would just ask whomever is running the computer to set the levels for you.
 
#3
I've done this in the past. Drummer had a decent electric set, but never played it. Needless to say the cops came wile we were practicing. Went out and bought a behringer 8 channel headphone amp (gave us 2 mixes). After that, drummer started using the electric set live and left the other set alone.
 
#5
We rehearse/record that way every practice. Nothing is lost, and it saves our ears.

If you're a moderately flexable player, you'll blend in with it nicely.

The big pain is whenenver you have gigs. It's wickedly complex and time consuming to set back up, and it never works quite right when you do set things back up. The first practice will probably have something missing in your recording, or the mix may not quite be right.

The good thing is that once it's set back up, it's stable, and there's absolutely no fiddling around afterward.

I'm a big proponent of it, but mostly 'cause I'm growing older and my ears aren't as healthy as they used to be. :-(
 
#6
Alembicplyr said:
I've done this in the past. Drummer had a decent electric set, but never played it. Needless to say the cops came wile we were practicing. Went out and bought a behringer 8 channel headphone amp (gave us 2 mixes). After that, drummer started using the electric set live and left the other set alone.
Click to expand...

I hate that man...you get a good drummer with a nice kit and whenever he starts playing it, some old fart bonehead has to call the cops....

That's an interesting way to do an audition though. I might be afraid they were trying to take my fills though...
 

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