Achieving same crystal clear recording as heard by a set of headphones.

[dan2004]

Hi,

Today during a recording session, I heard something and had a very illuminating experience which I would like to share with everyone. I would then like to ask for suggestions on how to research/reproduce what I experienced into a Pro Tools mix.

I have only been using my equipment for about 10 months. I am now at the point where I just purchased a headphone amp and via tutorials on YouTube I learned how to set up headphone mixes. In our recording scenario there is only me playing a grand piano and my friend who plays a Wind Synth which is plugged directly into a Digi 003 Rack.

The grand piano produces a beautiful sound but it has a very pronounced bass end, sometimes almost “boomy”. I have worked tirelessly trying to EQ the piano so as to have a clearer and crisp sound on the recording.

Well, today to my surprise I was able to hear almost exactly what I would like to end up with in my recording of the piano. And it was done with, believe it or not, a pair of Bose QC 15 headphones through the headphone amp. These are what Bose refers to as “noise canceling” headphones and I do not believe they are meant for recording studios. They’re just to watch TV and not be disturbed by blenders, washers, dryers, or air raid sirens in the background.

The sound of the piano through the QC 15 headphones and through the headphone amp (which as you know is separate from the sound heard on the monitors during playback) was almost perfect for what I am looking for. The “boomyness” was minimal and the overall sound was crystal clear. I was ecstatic.

My question to the many experts that help make this forum possible is what can I research in the way of plug-ins that would help me learn how to achieve this? If this was my original recorded signal then all I would have to do is add a touch of reverb and our Jazz duo would be cooking!

Thanks for any help. Really, really appreciate anyone’s response.

Dan

[sunburst79]

Your recording might be fine it may be you mix area thats sounding boomy. Sounds like a classic case of low frequancy build up.

[dan2004]

Sunburst79,

Thanks for your response.

What is "Low Frequency build up" (I'll also Google it...) and how might I deal with it? Only by EQ? I've worked a bunch with the EQ plugins in Pro Tools but nothing can match what I heard in those headphones today. I am really determined to solve this puzzle. Anything else that you could offer to point me in a good direction to research?

Thanks!
Really appreciate it.
Dan

[sunburst79]

Basically Its the interaction between your speakers, the room and your mix position within the room. Bass from your monitors is bouncing around uncontrolled in the room and out of proportion with the higher frequencies. So it sounds boomy. When you put on the headphones there's no build up up of low frequency. They are "Truer" than the room is. There may be another explanation but I would suspect an untreated room first. Or your headphones may simply be deficient in the lower mids and low end.

You might try a rough mix on the headphones and then on the monitors. Burn them to CD and play them in a different environments and compare notes. Audition the Mix in your car. The living room. On a boombox etc and see how it translates.

If it is your mixing area then you will need to do some type of sound analysis and acoustic treatment.

Google bass traps. Theres lots of info out there.

[sunburst79]

I just googled those headphones and realized they have some form of active noise cancellation. I assumed they where simple closed back phones eliminating the room and monitors from the equation. Thus cutting the mud.

Still if things a boomy it sounds like something getting out of hand. you might want to have a look at the acoustics of your mix position and the room your recording the piano in.

[stickboymusic]

Have you tried playing a cd of piano music that you have always loved and has that sound you want, on your studio monitors?

Does this professionally recorded piano also sound a bit muddy and boomy?

as said above.... it could be your room

or

if you are hearing what you want from the headphones, then maybe you have achieved it (like someone suggested... play this recording on various hi-fi's ect and test)

also, like suggested, it could be that the headphones cant reproduce bottom end correctly so you are hearing the piano with a lot of this missing.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by stickboymusic

Have you tried playing a cd of piano music that you have always loved and has that sound you want, on your studio monitors?

Does this professionally recorded piano also sound a bit muddy and boomy?

as said above.... it could be your room

or

if you are hearing what you want from the headphones, then maybe you have achieved it (like someone suggested... play this recording on various hi-fi's ect and test)

also, like suggested, it could be that the headphones cant reproduce bottom end correctly so you are hearing the piano with a lot of this missing.

And after reading his first post again its possible that the Bose headphone as deciding the boomy bottom end IS noise and canceling it.

Are you using the high pass filter on your 003 when recording? That may help cut the mud also.