What's the deal with singin while only using one phone side?

[Cat5]

What's the deal, and solution when a singer or performer insists on leaving one earphone off. I did some recording for some well seasoned folks from England several months ago, and the producer scoffed at the girl for taking one ear off while she sang. In a stern british voice he yelled \"You know better than to fool with your cans when your in there! Do it proper!\"

Well, that may have been a bit harsh, but time and time again I find performers wanting to do this and it's less than ideal for a couple of reasons.

1 - It sometimes affects their pitch.

2 - It causes the loose earphone to bleed into the mic. The pits with Nuendo's \"nail in the head\" click, and almost as bad with a soft wood-block click.

3 - The performer loses their ability to interact with the mic. Sometimes this results in a performace that the artist thinks is awesome, but just doesn't translate well on recording.

My school of thought is the encourage people to LEARN to use the headsets properly, and wear them on both ears when they track. Am I wrong? When i bring it up everyone starts babbling about how all the artists on MTV use only one earpiece in the videos. I myself have no problem singing or playing with headphones on. In fact, I think it enhances my performance.

Are there half headsets available so that at least I can eliminate the bleed when I have an artist that demands doing things this way?

Shane

 

[akisd28]

Are there half headsets available so that at least I can eliminate the bleed when I have an artist that demands doing things this way?

Just turn down the volume of the channel the singer doesn't listen to. :wink:

 

[Ashermusic]

Actually, improving pitch is the main reason they do it. When singers are having trouble singing in tune we sometimes tell them to take the phones off one ear and then they are less likely to sing out of tune.

Nowadays, I just let them sing a little out of tune if the performance is otherwise good and I pitch correct it later.

 

[Sparky2]

I think another reason to do it is to get that \"naturalness\" or \"immediacy\" feel...I like having the vocal on one side and music on the other to get separation...But if the singer feels more comfortable doing that, then the engineer should try and accomodate, I think

 

[sniper]

live with it i'm afraid... if the perfomer wants to do it there's not much to say.
akisd28 provided a great tip i never thought of!

being a singer myself i tend to do it myself,
singing with headphones feels a bit claustrophopic, like making love with a rubber.. you just want OUT!

 

[akisd28]

singing with headphones feels a bit claustrophopic, like making love with a rubber.. you just want OUT!

Hmmm... I don't sing, but I prefer recording with headphones than having sex with a rubber! :mrgreen:

 

[sniper]

believe me, you want neither!

 

[chewie]

How about makin´ love with headphones then, should I take one ear off then as well? :wink:





Sorry, couldn´t resist.....


Chewie

 

[max cooper]

Actually, improving pitch is the main reason they do it. When singers are having trouble singing in tune we sometimes tell them to take the phones off one ear and then they are less likely to sing out of tune.

Nowadays, I just let them sing a little out of tune if the performance is otherwise good and I pitch correct it later.

Uggggh...how depressing.

In ten years: \"Oh, that sounds so, so...turn of the century.\"

\"Yeah, real 'Auto-tuney.'\"

 

[jgm]

Just do whatever it takes to make the singer confortable

2 phones , one phone, no phones (out of phase speakers in front of the

singer)