Blog-Can I hear Me Now 2

The Blog: Stage Monitor Mixes

Can I Hear Me Now?

As I go from gig to gig, I am constantly dealing with what huge a factor monitor mixes are in live shows no matter how simple or complicated. Obviously everyone on stage needs to hear certain things in order to feel comfortable. Unfortunately the monitor thing can get way out of hand.

The lead singer, who is standing directly in front of the drummer, (who’s playing full on) needs to hear his voice. The guitar player has her own amp and is quite happy, and by the way, the guitar amp is very loud on stage. The keyboard, also with their own amp, is also loud on stage.

So the drummer & everyone with an amp is content because they can hear themselves.

The singer is now pleading with the monitor mixer to put more vocal in their monitor wedge.

Enter that taskmaster of live sound: physics. I don't care how good a sound person you have working with you or how good your gear is. At some point physics will intervene and wreck havoc upon you in the form of that detestable thing that we all know and fear: feedback!

(This is one of the main reasons why in ear systems have become so prevalent in mainstream and higher budget shows.)

Are we completely at the mercy of this law of nature? No! But here's the thing that people so frequently aren’t aware of. The way you all sound out in the house is largely dependent on the monitor mixes. Frequently when I am out in front of house mix position doing a sound check, I'll shut down the main P.A. so I can just hear what's coming off the stage. I'll tell you that more often than not the amount of sound from the stage (monitors, amps, drums, etc.) is enough to really screw up the way the whole mix sounds. Out in the house, all of that sound coming off the stage is not a musical mix. It's just a hodgepodge of what each person wants to hear that has to be louder than every other persons mix on stage.

What I always try to do is talk with everyone on stage and remind them of all of this. Most of the time everyone agrees that they can live with a little less overall stage volume. A very significant thing usually happens after such an agreement has been reached. Everyone starts to listen to each other resulting in a much more interesting and musically satisfying performance. Anxiety and self-consciousness fade away because the emphasis is now back where it should be -