Is this a thing or can it be done (Live Monitoring)

benmurray85

Im having some "issues" with the rhythm guitarist in my band who is insisting on messing with the volume levels of his amp so he can "hear himself." However this usually ends up with him being the loudest in the room (over everything!) and considerably louder than me (the lead)

Hes a nice guy and I dont for one second think hes doing it out of spite. However we are both new to being in two guitar bands, so I think its inexperience - possibly on both our parts. Anyways we dont have the cash or the PA to go to full in ear monitoring setup so thats out of the question.

Is there any way/any device that I could stick a mic in front of his amp which would feed directly into some basic in ear system for him to use specifically. I know I could potentially use a little mixer and a budget system but thats a lot of messing at gigs and more money.

Is there anything at all out there that can help?

Sporky

Is his amp on the floor?

If so then a stand (or beer crate or similar) will move it so that he hears more. Or tilt it back a bit.

ESBlonde

Point the cab at his ears, point your cab at your ears, turn everything down a notch or two.

vasselmeyer

@Danny1969 has built something that would help with this. However, the first thing is to get get amp up off the floor so he can hear more of it. If we play in pubs and I use a smaller amp than my usual 2x12 which is on casters, I try and get a beer crate or a table to stand my amp on. Amps are often quite directional close up so you don't want them just hitting your knees.

benmurray85

Sorry guys tried this first. Have used amp stands, leaning back against a wall, up on a chair and also brought volume levels right down (ridiculously low!)

Keep chipping in guys but I think this is going the way of just having an extremeley serious chat with said band member. Unfortunately his inexperience is showing

John_P

just tell him he's too loud. If I was in that position is rather know and deal with it than cause issues for other people in the band.

benmurray85

John_P;1124268" said:

just tell him he's too loud. If I was in that position is rather know and deal with it than cause issues for other people in the band.

Completely agree pal. We have been down this route already!

RedRabbit

How close does he stand to his amp? I've always found it easier to hear myself if I'm stood a little way away from the speakers.

maltingsaudio

What amp is it? May be able to do something with the line out or spur off a stereo pedal in his board

benmurray85

maltingsaudio said:

What amp is it? May be able to do something with the line out or spur off a stereo pedal in his board

you're making quite a lot of assumptions there! his amp is a mega budget marshall I've never seen the likes of that "cost him £30 off eBay" and his board consists of a crybaby wah. as i said we are dealing with someone with quite limited gigging experience.

maltingsaudio

Right mic n mixer it is or maybe USb mic lap and headphones

StageStruck

Stick a mic in front of his amp feeding a bog standard 15w practice amp (Fender Frontman or the likes) as a monitor in front of him so he can hear himself. Might not be an ideal solution, but it might work as a cheap, short term solution

steveb

Give him a long cable and get him to stand out front whilst playing. Presuming u all face the same way that way he'll hear himself in context and hopefully realise hes too loud

cj73

Most odd. Can he hear everything else ok?

ESBlonde

Record the band on a single out front mic. Then he can hear the problem. If he can't play IN the band, he can't play in the band!
The idea that you throw good money at a budiet amp setup is also a bit odd.

Danny1969

Some people have no perception of how loud they are, they don't seem to hear like normal people. You might find he has hearing loss of certain frequencies which mean he can't differentiate what he's hearing rather than can't hear it volume wise. 

The IEM combiner I build has ambient mic's and an input for directly piping guitar \ vocal into your IEM's without even needing a feed from the mixing desk if need be 

 

firepaulmusic

Mic him up and send loads back through a monitor to him. Then get him to turn down and let him set his monitor volume.

professorben

Could simply be that you are occupying the same sonic space, what gear are you using? I had this problem in a few 2 guitar line ups, I found by evaluating our respective a tones, we could better mesh together, meaning we could hear each other ( and ourselves) better.

ICBM

Make sure his amp is pointing right at his ears, preferably at an angle across the stage and not out into the audience, and make sure he has no other monitoring if you can. That way he should be able to hear himself and will be forced to turn down if he can't hear the rest of you.

What professorben says is also right - separating sounds by frequency content is much more effective than by level in creating a good mix where you can hear everything. The worst is two guitarists using the same type of guitars and amps, unless you're specifically going for the twin-guitar Thin Lizzy type of thing, which requires a lot of playing discipline anyway.

Cabicular

I agree. Turn his mid control up and point it at his coupon... If he still drowns you out then he's deaf

PolarityMan

The problem is always the drum level