wearing headphones

John Bigl · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 905

while performing a gig do you folks wear or not wear headphones?

except for playback and editing purposes, it was suggested by my voice acting coach not to wear my headphones to monitor my takes on a demo or gig. in her view, its a distraction that puts too much of my attention on my voice rather than the performance of the script... she has a radio acting background, and has never worn headphones while performing...

i've always worn headphones, and never really gave the 'distraction' angle much thought, so, i did a little control test: a few scripts done w/ and w/out headphones... seems i perform better sans headphones..

anyway, i dont know if not wearing them is old hat amongst a majority of pros, so forgive my naivete ....

Be Well

Steve Royal · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Aug 2006 Posts: 167

Hi John,
I don't know about any of the other VOs, but I typically don't wear headphones when I'm reading a script.
...it helps me avoid the unnatural "Hand Over The Ear" type of presentation! (unless that's the sort of read I'm looking for).
But, I've found that some studios/producers insist that I wear them during a session, but usually only for talkback.

My recommendation: Leave 'em off...it'll help you sound more natural because you're not competing with yourself!

Cheers!

Scott Pollak · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007, 22:02 (GMT) Post subject:

I never wear 'em when recording.

Ronald T Robinson · **Voice Talent** Joined: 22 Apr 2004 Posts: 1008

I'll use headphones to check for mic-proximity and leave them on when doing a "sell"-spot.

If doing a more "conversational"-read, I'll slide one of the phones off one ear and turn the volume down somewhat. But then... sometimes I don't - like yesterday! Smile

Lance Blair · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007, 22:38 (GMT) Post subject:

I wear them on one ear.

You can hear your natural self so that you have the proper sensory feedback to give your best performance, and yet you can hear that what you're doing is going to the mic and to the recording correctly. Not wearing headphones in a studio-quality dead space can lead to overpronunciation and other mouth/breathing issues. Being able to hear the end product can only help: is my voice acting really coming through as a digital signal? Sure, I sound great in my own head in natural acoustics, but I don't believe that matters much. These are voiceover recordings, not "let's go over to Lance's studio and listen to him talk live" sessions.

If you're going to work outside of your own studio or do phone patch or other linked sessions from home, you have to get used to the headphones, so it's a good skill.

Whatever works works though...this isn't rocket surgery. It's a craft that depends upon the individual.

Now I'm thinking of making comparative recordings of a somewhat dramatic read that involves altering my voice a few times:
1.) Record with headphones
2.) Record without headphones
3.) Record with earplugs

Should be interesting...

Jacob Ekstroem · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721

John Bigl · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 905

Tak, Jacob Smile

more good stuff there... sorry i missed your thread..
i never really gave it much thought till now..

Be Well

Andy Froiland · **Voice Talent** Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 90

only when Im on the air taking a call or walking up to a post.... other than that??? nope! you dont sound natural!

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

Up here on the frozen tundra, we only wear them during winter recordings (ie. late August through June).

We don't plug them in or anything, and we call them ear muffs.

Voice On!

Cristina Urías · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Sep 2005 Posts: 7

Hello there,

I´m used to wear them, it works for me because I can notice if mi voice is in the right level and, for example when I have to do a characterization I need to know if I´m using trachea or phariynx (sometimes the difference between thems is too little), is clearest if you hear your own voice like if you were another person..

Best

Cris Urias

Robert Jadah · **Voice Talent** Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 2627

I wave my floppy green hat to you, Senorita. You have courage to jump in so confidently in a language other than your own.
And your V123 home page is disarmingly charming. I love your writing that you "have an average voice," and that your English is "maybe 60%".

Bravo, Cristina. And thanks for contributing.

Ole On!

Colin Campbell · Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007, 14:04 (GMT) Post subject:

I'm old school. Got to hear what I am sounding like, got to listen for plosives, level, proximity etc. I just can't imagine how anyone can get anything done without them on. Sorry to buck the trend.

Kara Edwards · **Voice Talent** Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 347

I'm with you Colin...I've worn them since day 1 and would be lost without them. Maybe once you've become completely adjusted to the sound of your voice, they aren't as distracting? I dunno...

Don Randall · Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2007, 14:27 (GMT) Post subject:

Colin -

You just ain't hip to the what's happenin' today. Don't worry, it'll change tomorrow and the self consciously hip will be telling us all the reasons why it is absolutely essential that we always wear headphones all the time. If someone with a big booming voice and a lot of admirers says he only records while he is sleeping, you can bet there will be a run on Sominex.

People just seem to be looking for the next trendy and hip thing.

Erik Sheppard · **Voice Talent** Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 1317

I guess it is a matter of personal preference but I am really surprised by the number of talents who don't wear them.

My feeling is that once your voice goes through the mic and the pre and any other EQ or processing, it has changed is not necessarily the same sound or tone coming from your mouth. I like to hear what is going into the computer so I can compensate for those changes and work with them.

If a mic or an EQ rack make me sound too boomy then I have to watch that, depending on the read. If it thins me out then I can bump it up a notch in my read.

The extra isolation and volume really helps me concentrate on and hear my tone and delivery as well so there are no surprises when monitoring afterwards.

Perhaps it is a bit of a crutch but it works for me.