After our
shenanigans with vocalists, we've been lucky enough to find a tremendous female singer. As a result, the rest of us are going to be attempting to chip in with some BVs, which means that we need some way to hear ourselves.
Currently, we have one of these...
...together with a couple of passive 12" Peavey tops, and a couple of active wedge monitors. We're using the PA for vocals (and occasionally kick drum) only. The amp has a single monitor out, and we can daisy-chain the wedges together, so that the singer and drummer can hear the vocals. But I'm thinking we're going to need something a bit more sophisticated from a BV perspective.
We're now a five-piece, with a single lead singer, and potentially three of us doing BVs. So I think we'll want five separate monitor mixes (possibly get away with four if the drummer is OK with lead vox only).
My initial thought was to get some Behringer 105Ds or similar which we can mount on our mic stands - the idea being that we could plug the mic into the 105D, then out to FOH. But if I'm understanding the 105D instructions correctly, the 'Thru' output on the back is affected by the volume of the monitor - so if we want to turn ourselves up or down, it will affect the FOH mix. Unless i'm missing a better way to hook them up...
The alternative is to start again from scratch. While I think I'd prefer the simplicity of an analogue desk with knobs to twiddle, most of them seem to have only a couple of aux outs, so that then leads to a digital desk, which are obviously pricey, and more complex to use. But they might be the only way to get enough aux outs.
And then there's the question of the monitors themselves. Again, the 105Ds would be an option - just ignore the mixer bit and treat them as powered speakers. The bassist has suggested in-ears, which might be a possibility - but (decent) wireless ones are expensive, and wired ones would defeat the object of the wireless guitar systems that two of us already use.
Bearing in mind that we're just an amateur pub band, maybe gigging once a month or so - what's the answer?
Comments
I don't think that's the case. The 'Thru' is quite literally a 'through' (a duplicate of the input). The only thing that you can do is switch between mic and line level via a switch.
Where it says 'final mix', I infer that adjusting the volume of the monitor will change what's going to FOH.
As for "when am I ready?" You'll never be ready. It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it. - pmbomb
The next question is how you’re going to get the monitor signals to your ears. Once you’ve got individual mixes then it’s either IEMs or buying powered monitors. Either way it’s more money. From personal experience I’d go for IEMs. It’s a big step, but the costs and benefits are commensurate.
Then I’d share the actual single monitor out with its level control for each input for a BVs mix you share… possibly by chaining a couple of cheaper active wedge monitors together. You can then feature the BVs louder on stage but the mains mix remains the same.
The small stand mounted in-line monitors are OK but I find them quite boxy sounding and weak with a loud drummer in a small space.
learn where to position the wedges in relation to the mics for best feedback rejection and make everybody kiss the grill whenever uttering vocal parts. If you can have all the backing vocals on the same make/model of quality mic since you only have the one eq option.
Good luck.
Ah, useful to know, thanks.
@stratavarious @ESBlonde those both sound promising, and are tricks I had missed! That might be a good starting point - a couple of small monitors, which would still be useful if we decided to splash the cash later and go for something more sophisticated.
As for "when am I ready?" You'll never be ready. It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it. - pmbomb
As for "when am I ready?" You'll never be ready. It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it. - pmbomb
I’d not consider IEMs for more than lead singer and drummer unless upgrading the mixer to one with a bunch of Auxes.