Tips & Tricks

Create a Separate Headset Mix

Using headsets while recording is convenient, and essential for punching in or miking instruments. With headsets, there's no risk of feedback or unwanted noise from the monitors. The problem arises when the musician wants a different mix than the guy at the board.

You can create a separate headset mix for the artist by using an unused pair of outputs and a Send. This way, the artist can hear only the parts he wants (i.e., more guitar, less vocals) while the overall mix remains unchanged.

Here's what you do.

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In Pro Tools, go to Setups > I/O Setup > Output and choose a free pair of outs (7-8 is a good choice). Label this pair Cue Mix Out by double-clicking on the label and typing a new one. This is where you plug in your headset amp.

Make sure you have a free send to use. I like to use Send E for my cue mix, so it leaves room for other Sends ahead of it. Insert a Send on every channel using either the Edit or Mix window. If you use ALT when inserting the Send, your actions affect all channels at once. So, simply ALT-click to insert Send E on all channels. How easy is that!

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Send the cue mix to an unused bus (like 1-2) and label this Cue Mix Bus using Setups > I/O Setup > Bus. Once you have configured the bus in your I/O settings, this label will also appear in your Send.

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Now create a stereo Aux track and set the input to Cue Mix Bus (your Send) and the output to Cue Mix Out (the headset amp). From here you can control the overall volume of the cue mix.

Be sure to set your initial fader value at minus infinity, so you don't blow out anybody's ears in the headsets, and gradually adjust up from here.

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To control the levels of the individual tracks in the cue mix, you need to see the faders for the Send. Change your display to show the individual Send (in this case Send E). ALT-click on the little "p" to ensure that the Send is pre-fader in every channel, otherwise adjustments to the main channel faders will affect the cue mix. A pre-fader send ensures independent mixes. Adjust the Send faders until you have the perfect mix for the recording artist.

Users of Pro Tools TDM have the luxury of copying the fader mix to the Send mix (Edit > Copy to Send) and using this as a starting point. LE users have to set the levels for each track in the Send manually.

Once you have your levels set, you can remove the Sends from your display or change the Send display to show assignments to conserve CPU power. This is especially important if you choose to show meters along with faders in the individual Send view.

You may notice that my setup also has a talkback channel. I set this up since my console doesn't have a built-in talkback feature. This one's really easy!

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Plug your console mic into an open input (I use Mic/Line 4). Rename this Input to Talkback using Setups > I/O Setup > Input. Add a new mono Aux track. Set the input of the track to Talkback and the output to Cue Mix Out. Now, the artist can hear you, along with the rest of the cue mix, and doesn't have to take off his headset to hear what you are trying to say.

Don't have a headset amp? No problem. You can still have a separate headset mix. Configure your Pro Tools session as described above. Because you don't have a headset amp, you will need to split the signal from your headset into left and right. Usually, a splitter that has a 1/4" stereo female jack on one side and two 1/4" mono male jacks on the other will do the trick.

How's that for an easy fix?