What I don’t get is this. With my monitors I’m hearing, for example, a left pan in both ears while with phones I only hear it in the left ear. From my perspective this alone “colors” the sound differently, i.e., a different soundstage than what I would hear through speakers.
Bud
Bud, the phones I use are open back design. That’s the type mentioned in the article that Joe posted the link to as well.
With them being open back you do actually hear the left pan in the right ear, etc. Not the same as you would with monitors mind you, but much more than you would with closed back phones (or ear buds).
So open back phones are the best for mixing, no good for recording through a microphone however, because you would get the bleed from the phones into the mic.
Open back vs closed back phones should make absolutely no difference on Pan perception or cross talk unless there is something wrong with the headphones or they don’t have similar frequency response specs. With open back phones you do get a sense of the room you are listening in from the lack of isolating aspect of open back phones. But the room sensation is from sound sources not originating at the phones themselves.
Sorry, you are mistaken. That is the entire point of the open back design.
Provide just one citation on the purpose of open back headphones allowing ear to ear bleed. Every credible reference on the difference of open vs closed back designs supports my position.
I prefer open backed earphones for mixing. For 15 years I used some of the finest electrostatic open back designs from Stax and Sennheiser as a sound quality engineer for General Motors.
After that, I worked as an engineer for Westone for 5 years. Westone invented in ear monitor earphones and had responsibility to run our earphones and headphones testing stations.
Your claim that the point of open back door in is to allow one to hear like stereo speaker playback, where bleed occurs that is audible in the opposite ear is the first I have ever heard such a claim.
You get room noise with open back. You get some bleed out of the back, but never enough to be heard in the opposite ear. Low frequency response sounds different. But it's not to be able to hear opposite ear output.
It is not my claim, I read it in the SOS article from the link Joe provided a few posts ago.
About half way down that article there is a greyed out section called “Choosing headphones for mixing”.
Read paragraph four where he talks about open back phones providing cross feed between the ears.
I see that there and SOS is typically a credible source. Doesn’t bear out with the physics of acoustics and the distance between the ears. I will see if Mr. Walker is still living and if he still makes that claim. HD650 are some of the best open back phones I’ve heard with dynamic drivers. I’ve wanted a set for years after I auditioned some at Grace Design (actually theirs were HD800’s I believe).
Edit: actually farther down in the article Martin addresses what is needed to simulate speaker playback with the discussions on cross feed software and circuitry.
The point of open back phones is not intentional cross feed of channels to emulate speaker playback.
Generally, I mix in the reverse order of cheap to good.
I start with the really cheap speakers first when I am doing the first mix.
I have a pair of very inexpensive Insignia flat panel speakers I got from Best Buy. I think they were $9.99.
Putting them close together I can simulate mono (sort of) and definitely simulate a 1965 Chrysler Bel-Air dashboard radio speaker.
I have found that if I mix on these FIRST then the song is going to sound pretty flippin’ great on just about everything, with a few minor tweaks.
It is kind of amazing to me how much time it saves. If you get it sounding good on those, when you put it on the good speakers, or the car, or the headphones or anything, you go "Oh yeah."
A few minor tweaks, but we are talking minutes not hours.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
Add updated printing options, enhanced tracks settings, smoother use of MGU and SGU (BB files) within PowerTracks, and more with the latest PowerTracks Pro Audio 2024 update!
Download and install this to your RealBand 2024 for updated print options, streamlined loading and saving of .SGU & MGU (BB) files, and to add a number of program adjustments that address user-reported bugs and concerns.
Did you know... not only can you download your Band-in-a-Box® Pro, MegaPAK, or PlusPAK purchase - you can also choose to add a flash drive backup copy with the installation files for only $15? It even comes with a Band-in-a-Box® keychain!
For the larger Band-in-a-Box® packages (UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition), the hard drive backup copy is available for only $25. This will include a preinstalled and ready to use program, along with your installation files.
Backup copies are offered during the checkout process on our website.
Already purchased your e-delivery version, and now you wish you had a backup copy? It's not too late! If your purchase was for the current version of Band-in-a-Box®, you can still reach out to our team directly to place your backup copy order!
Note: the Band-in-a-Box® keychain is only included with flash drive backup copies, and cannot be purchased separately.
Handy flash drive tip: Always try plugging in a USB device the wrong way first? If your flash drive (or other USB plug) doesn't have a symbol to indicate which way is up, look for the side with a seam on the metal connector (it only has a line across one side) - that's the side that either faces down or to the left, depending on your port placement.
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows® Today!
Update your Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows for free with build 1111!
With this update, there's more control when saving images from the Print Preview window, we've added defaults to the MultiPicker for sorting and font size, updated printing options, updated RealTracks and other content, and addressed user-reported issues with the StylePicker, MIDI Soloists, key signature changes, and more!
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!
The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!
There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.
If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.
We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!
Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.