[Fuzziekiwi]

Quote:

They used the semi-open 240 for tracking? Fire the engineer.

The ones I listed were mainly only while they were recording their voices. I can never find footage of the actual person mixing/mastering it, except Coldplay. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa147lG0gbg
 
You can put it on 720p and see it says K-240 on the side

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

The ones I listed were mainly only while they were recording their voices. I can never find footage of the actual person mixing/mastering it, except Coldplay. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa147lG0gbg
 
You can put it on 720p and see it says K-240 on the side

That...is the dumbest thing I've seen all day. Why would anyone record with a semi-open headphone. The audio from the headphone is just going to leak back into the mic.

 

[machoboy]

If the vocalist likes to hear themselves in the room rather than in the mix/signal chain then they can use something like the K 240 turned way down just to stay on tempo.
 
Of course, the more popular option is to just use closed headphnes with large pads and remove one cup from your ear and leave the other on, but it doesn't look as cool as K 240s.

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

That...is the dumbest thing I've seen all day. Why would anyone record with a semi-open headphone. The audio from the headphone is just going to leak back into the mic.

agreed, but leakback is extremely common also, even in hit recordings and well produced stuff. No one would ever notice in a downmix though.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

agreed, but leakback is extremely common also, even in hit recordings and well produced stuff. No one would ever notice in a downmix though.

 
True, but I'd rather create that kind of sound with a delay or a reverb than have it shoved forcefully into my mix.
Quote:

If the vocalist likes to hear themselves in the room rather than in the mix/signal chain then they can use something like the K 240 turned way down just to stay on tempo.

Ambient mics?

 

 

[machoboy]

Perhaps IEMs/ambient mics would work for this (I've never used any) too but I always just use the old one cup on/one cup off method.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

Quote:

agreed, but leakback is extremely common also, even in hit recordings and well produced stuff. No one would ever notice in a downmix though.

The vocal recording for La Roux's song bulletproof you can easily hear the music playing through her headphones while she is singing.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbE3gVfaloU

 

[Myrthin]

I did a lot of studio work as a musician long ago. My headphones were Sony V6 and Sennheiser hd280p. Both solid closed headphone options.

 

[GREQ]

Actually I do have something serious to add (duh!) - my dad gave me an old AKG K141 which was once used in the video/audio studio he used to work at, until it got shelved. Not sure what it was used for exactly, but I can testify to their neutrality. 

 

[obobskivich]

I can tell you that for live use, a lot of the monitors/isolation cans that were mentioned are not uncommon. IEMs are popular as well of course (especially for talent). I generally see/hear about studio monitors for true control rooms and mastering suites - because the target playback is speakers. I'm sure Chesky and people like that are probably using headphones to test/monitor the binaural effect, but beyond that I'd say monitors over cans unless you're monitoring (e.g. in booth).

I've heard of all sorts of weird stuff though, like RS-1 and LCD-2 being chosen for mastering applications. I'm sure it happens, but I doubt they're the only "lens" that the engineer is using to evaluate the final product.

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

That...is the dumbest thing I've seen all day. Why would anyone record with a semi-open headphone. The audio from the headphone is just going to leak back into the mic.

Since when did anyone record anything good in the last 20 years? hahaha  (not being literal)

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

The band Skillet using Beats Pro to record vocals (and using HFI-580 to mix things on their computer?) and Senses Fail using Solo Beats to record vocals.

 

[ostewart]

Senses fail falling like that? Bad, their hearing sense must have failed

 

[machoboy]

Quote:

The band Skillet using Beats Pro to record vocals (and using HFI-580 to mix things on their computer?) and Senses Fail using Solo Beats to record vocals.

 
If by record vocals you mean listen to themselves while singing (tracking), they can use absolutely any closed-back headphones for that. In fact, you might use something with stupidly exaggerated bass on purpose to make the singer think they sound better than they do and get them into it... Or patch them into a signal wet with lots of EQ/reverb that isn't actually going into the recording side.
 
In summary:
 
Most artists do not mix their own music. In fact, almost none do unless they're poor/upstarts.
 
The people who do mix the music (engineers) primarily use external monitors, not headphones.
 
If they're getting a second opinion from headphones the common choices are HD600, K 702, DT 880 - the same exact "flattish" headphones that are popular here.
 
For recording/tracking purposes, the only requirement is that they isolate well enough to not experience microphone feedback. DT 770s with their flattering sound and solid build are common tracking headphones, but you can really use anything.
 
Finally, after the mix has been mixed on monitors, it's a good idea to check it on as many consumer audio devices as possible to make sure it works on the widest array possible, including bassy boomboxes, crappy headphones, offbrand wannabe hi-fi/surround sound systems, badly vibrating car stereos, etc. They aren't mixing for these because they sound good, but because they know people will inevitably listen through them.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Any idea what headphones professional big-name artists use to produce/listen to their music after they record it? I'm not talking about when they are actually in the process of recording their music in their soundbooth, for that they probably wear closed-cans right?
 

 
They use whatever is handed to them with a contract behind it that has a dollar sign. Otherwise, they use whatever they can actually get their hands on that is inexpensive or provided by the studio (hint, they're not overly colored or flagship level audiophile headphones, they're usually just flat robust studio monitors).
 
Very best,