Good headphones for recording acoustic

[Flemmigan]

I'm trying to find a good solution for monitoring myself while recording mic'd acoustic guitar. Currently I'm just using my Bose QC25s, which aren't monitor headphones but had the least bleed compared to my others. I adjusted my click tone and low passed the ear mix a bit to avoid click bleed, but I'll still get a bit of bleed into the mic, especially if I'm recording finger picked parts where I need to boost the signal a bit to match picked sections.

Long story short, I'm looking for great closed back studio headphones that would excel at this application. Currently I'm looking at the Shure SRH440s which look pretty solid. Neighborhood of $100 is preferable but I would be willing to look up to $200 if it's truly worth it.

Thanks!

 

[DudeManBrother]

I really like my Beyerdynamics DT770’s. You still have to be careful with volumes to avoid bleed but they’re great headphones overall.

 

[Drew]

Honestly, the best headphones I've found for tracking acoustics to minimize bleed are a pair of Skullcandy Smokin' Buds earbuds. It sounds crazy, and they're nowhere close to flat, but they basically create a sealed airspace in your ears and aren't producing very much output to begin with. If you wanted to get really crazy, you could also wear a pair of over-ear headphones on top of them, too, to further isolate the drivers from the mix.

But, Skullcandys (or your favorite earbud in that style) are cheap, reasonably durable, and bleed extremely little. If I'm tracking acoustics and have to worry about other instruments bleeding (like, for example, playing to a click for a part that will be solo'd, or scratch drums that won't be in the final arrangement) I'll usually pull out my pair. This is actually one of my personal favorite home recording "tricks" I've come up with over the years, because who in their right mind would track monitoring on a pair of earbuds? And yet, it works amazingly well. You're probably going to want to dial in mic position listening on something else though.

Otherwise, while my DT770s bleed a hair more and solo'd could be slightly audible, in a full mix the bleed will be obscured by whatever's bleeding into it, and I don't usually bother. They're more comfortable and sound a LOT more accurate, too.

 

[Descent]

DT770s or other closed pair, like drummer's headphones Senn HD25 or HD280 Pro, AT M50X, or one of the super cheapo KAT KTUI26, Vic Firth V2.

 

[Flemmigan]

Honestly, the best headphones I've found for tracking acoustics to minimize bleed are a pair of Skullcandy Smokin' Buds earbuds. It sounds crazy, and they're nowhere close to flat, but they basically create a sealed airspace in your ears and aren't producing very much output to begin with. If you wanted to get really crazy, you could also wear a pair of over-ear headphones on top of them, too, to further isolate the drivers from the mix.

But, Skullcandys (or your favorite earbud in that style) are cheap, reasonably durable, and bleed extremely little. If I'm tracking acoustics and have to worry about other instruments bleeding (like, for example, playing to a click for a part that will be solo'd, or scratch drums that won't be in the final arrangement) I'll usually pull out my pair. This is actually one of my personal favorite home recording "tricks" I've come up with over the years, because who in their right mind would track monitoring on a pair of earbuds? And yet, it works amazingly well. You're probably going to want to dial in mic position listening on something else though.

Okay, this is awesome. I'm sold.

I may also look into the HD280s or DT770s, but I'm gonna give this Skullcandy trick a shot first.

 

[Descent]

You can always use earbuds and cover with normal headphones unplugged on top to minimize bleed.

 

[Synllip]

I'd recommend DT880's they're flatter than DT 770's and semi open which makes for a better sound. You can't go wrong with either though.

 

[Drew]

I'd recommend DT880's they're flatter than DT 770's and semi open which makes for a better sound. You can't go wrong with either though.

While semi--open is nice for a reference mixing environment, it's not going to help any with his bleed issues.

Okay, this is awesome. I'm sold.

I may also look into the HD280s or DT770s, but I'm gonna give this Skullcandy trick a shot first.

I do really like the DT770s for mixing - I don't love how they sound for casual listening, they're not especially punchy and the high end sounds kinda... washy, maybe, to me...? But, what they are, is extremely transparent. I have an easier time honing in on small EQ tweaks on them than I do on my Yamaha HS80s, so I usually reach for them for more surgical stuff.

The Skullcandys, for say sub-$30, are cheap enough that they're absolutely trying first.

 

[Bandersnatch]

Audio Technica ATH-M30x, ATH-M40x and ATH-M50x.

All sound incredible, truly neutral tuning and affordable. All of the are right in your price range. I have the M50x which I used in my home studio before moving into my own apartment and made some pretty good mixes on them. They now live at my desk at work

 

[MSS]

I have AKG 701’s and am pretty happy with them.

 

[isotropy]

Sennheiser 280HD Pro

 

[Hendog]

I got the ATH-M40x. I was planning to upgrade these eventually but I just love them and for $99 you can't beat them.