Headphones and Cue Mixes

STEINERT - MAIN STUDIO: Creating a Headphone Mix

You may want to create a headphone mix from the control room to a performer’s headphones in the studio (known as a “cue mix” or “monitor mix”).

Using the audio software:

• Create a send from one of the existing tracks to a stereo bus. When you do this, your DAW will automatically create a new aux

channel with the same stereo bus selected as the input.

• Double check that the new aux channel has the correct bus selected as its input,

and that the input and output are in stereo.

• Create sends in all of the tracks that you want in the cue mix to the same stereo

bus, so that they are directed to the same aux channel. You can create the send

on multiple tracks at once by selecting the tracks first.

• Click and hold the send on each track and select Pre Fader, which means that

you can adjust how much of the track you want in the cue mix without altering the

monitor mix you have in the control room. If the send is Pre Fader, it will be on

the right side of the level knob.

• Set the output of the aux channel to analog outputs 7 and 8

On the patchbay, analog outputs 7 and 8 are normalled to the presonus monitor station input ST2.  Select "ST2" as the cue source on the monitor station and deselect any other cue sources.  Your headphone mix should now flow from the presonus monitor output into tie lines 1 and 2 in the tracking room.

Next, go to the tracking room and find the rolling rack with the headphone amp or use the portable “Rolls” headphone amp (both pictured below). Use the cables attached to the back and plug them into tie lines 1 and 2. Now, the cue mix signal should be directed to the headphone amp, which has a few ¼” outputs for headphones. Make sure that the headphone amp is connected to power and turned on, in order to hear the mix.

In addition to the headphones provided in the bin on the bottom of the rolling rack, various headphone adaptors and extensions are available in the bottom drawer of the Yamaha mixer desk (located next to the window into the Control Room).