When I first started gigging it was ridiculously hard to
hear myself on stage. It’s something you
don’t think about until you find yourself in the situation, but imagine a bass
player who turns up his amp because the keyboard player turned up his because
the drummer is hitting hard….and we all know guitar player always kicks up his
amp! The noise on stage can get
deafening! In that environment the floor
monitors don’t do shit! They might as
well be unplugged sometimes as much good as they do….then came the invention of
in ear monitors! In ear monitors look
like ear bud headphones (except they are usually custom fit to the shape of your ear - mine are) and plug into a little box clipped discretely onto your
clothes. They work just like floor
monitors – mix the sound the way you want it to sound and control the volume from
the little box. Mere words cannot
express how much I appreciate my in ears.
The ones I own act as earplugs (which has saved quite a bit of my
hearing) and also allow me to hear the band and MYSELF! I know it comes as a surprise, but the lead
singer really can sing better when she can hear her own voice! I just have a middle of the road pair made by
Shure, but they have served me well and along with my wireless mic they are a
must when I do a gig! It’s pretty amazing to see all of the technological
advances in gear for musicians and since it advances so quickly it’s not
reserved for celebrity musicians anymore!
A montage of video clips in which I am using my in ear monitors from a Cruise gig in 2007. Beware: it's pretty cheesy!...okay, you've been warned, we can move on now.
I have no idea what the future will bring in the way of
gear, but I do know that I would get in a lot of trouble keeping up on it right
now because that’s one of my biggest temptations! Someday soon I hope to rebuild my home studio
with all new equipment, but until I am ready I will be happy to know the tech
keeps moving forward.
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