I have a very small home studio with modestly decent equipment. I have converted a closet into a booth for vocal recordings but I am always getting bleed from the headphones. I have tried turning the headphone pre-amp down to no avail. I would like the artist I work with to be able to hear themselves at a comfortable level and get the cleanest recording possible in the environment I have. My budget is around $300. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sennheiser HD 201

Cheap, confortable, clear sound (not bassy, in fact they lack a bit), extremely durable... You can buy 10 pairs with that money.

 

I usually record drums with Sennheiser HD280 cans. No complaints from the drummers (some actually ask me to put some of the drums in the cans). They do isolate, though I think the OP's issue is different. When I use the 280s for recording vocals, I might have a little bleed, but I don't think it is a problem. Most of the time, the bleed won't affect the sonics of the recorded track, and if it does, you can always remove the gap between phrases (being careful to leave the breathing in), or you can always use a noise removal plugin. Izotope's Nectar does the trick pretty neatly. I know EDM might require neat cleanup, but for rock music, the bleed might even add to the character of the song.

 

Ex-29 isolation headphones: http://www.extremeheadphones.com/pa...-headphones/studio-products/ex-29-headphones/

 

I had checked these out & they had mixed reviews. It was mainly about a persons head size being a factor. Do you own these personally?

 

AKG K240. Classics. Can't go wrong with that.

If you want really isolated (but with crappier sound), go for drum headphones like Firth SIH1.

 

Drum heaphones = instant headache

 

Sony-MDR-V6. Great ones.

 

dt100

 

Not if you are a drummer, as I am.

 

It was a joke.

Anyways, the OP is asking for a vocalist.

 

AKG K240 are great headphones and I use the "DF" model for mixing, but they are semi-open and I wouldn't recommend them for recording, especially for a vocalist, as they bleed. Not that much as open ones, but enough. Sennheiser HD280 or Beyerdynamic DT 770, or DT 150/100 are closed headphones and made for recording with 0 bleed.

 

Last edited: Nov 13, 2015

Here closed Sony MDR-75 to record, AKG K240 to listen/mix. But recently I've read a tutorial that suggests half opened headphones for the singer to perceive the music in a more natural way, with the chance to hear some of his voice return from the vocal booth. The bleed issue is solved by recording the music played through speakers in the vocal booth, with the singer in position. They then phase invert the audio file to play it along with the music and obtain cancellation.
Aliens things? you judge

 

I play drums and sing. Audio Technica ATH-M50 is my choice for phones that don't leak much into the recording when cranked. I have some AKG K7XX (open back---comfortable for long term work -but not using for recording monitors with a mic). I have CAD's--- they just suck for about most things except a 3rd set of cans if I need them.

 

Since i recorded in the Musicland Studio, Munic in 1986 and these was standard there, are these my go to headphones. You can't go wrong with these!

 

Last edited: Jun 28, 2016

If I don't hear this I don't believe it

 

I use MDR-V6 for location sound recording dialogue and love them. But in the studio I find them way too bright for mixing.

 

angie I don t know and I will never know, too lazy
I'd need a slave doing this for me in the studio
I'm recording vocals right now, I've started with AKG K240 but soon switched to Sony MDR-75 cause I need more VOLUME (I have an headphones amp and a monitoring mixer but....)

 

It works @angie .. the singer needs to be pretty much exactly in the place that they did the takes for it to work. It seems like voodoo, and it kind of is, but it does work. I have heard that a singer can record a vocal with a Sennheisser 441 in the control room with no cans, using the monitors at a decent level and it's all good to go. The tight pattern of the mic is the magic in this scenario.

 

Sennheiser HD 201 +1 for that.. if you want to save $280 for something else..

If you want to spend all or most of it..

then the Beyerdynamic DT 770's are great.. come in different ohm - ages for your purposes as well...

I have owned both of these.. and several of the HD 201's , they are a bit on the flimsy side... but who cares for 20 beans

I currently employ the Sennheiser HD 202 , not currently in production
but available on the usual sites, more sturdy and "good enough" for general use

the earpieces detach for those "doh" moments when you step on your cord..