Compression onstage monitors

[stevegarris]

All the more reason for me to get the DL32!

[Weogo]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the clarification.

I work with a number of musicians who like their monitors 'exactly like they were set at sound check', and
if I was running their sends post-fade and changed their level in the house mix, and hence monitor mix, they would not appreciate this.

The DL32R really is a good fit for how I mix!

Good health,  Weogo

[shufflebeat]

One fiddle player I work with (Barcus Berry piezo) who likes to use a Boss GE-7 EQ pedal before the DI. I don't have to do an awful lot with EQ on his channel so his wedge is pre-DSP - normal (for me).

Another fiddler with the same pickup goes straight into DI, leaving me in sole control of his FOH sound. I have to do some radical surgery on the signal to make it musical but it works well. If I put a pre-EQ signal in.his wedge it would sound thin and scratchy so his aux is on post-DSP to ensure his sound is reasonable. I could, of course EQ the wedge at the master EQ but he shares it with a flute player who needs the hi-mids.

Horses for courses.

[ToH2002]

Just a comment from a keyboarder/singer who doubles as mix tech for most of our gigs:

I actually like having a bit of compression on my monitor signal. I use IEMs, so feedback is not an issue, and the bit of compression helps me with two aspects:

• on intimate, low and soft vocal parts, the raised level helps me enormously with intonation. Before, really hearing what I was doing against the rest of the band required a different vocal style (to create more edge / overtones). Now, with compression, my low levels are loud enough against the rest of my monitor sounds so I can use a more relaxed voicing
• as a keyboarder & vocalist, I can't fully concentrate on my mic technique, managing the distance to the mic, especially when doing backing vox duty. A bit of compression is a lot more forgiving when it comes to an "accidentally" varied distance to the mic

So, it's not all bad - when you know what you're doing, you can very well be successful against the established wisdom - but you DO need a singer who knows how to deal with compression on his/her monitors and is used to that. Otherwise, you can very well end up with someone with ruined vocal cords - not something you want to be guilty of!

Cheers,

Torsten

[shufflebeat]

+1

Some kind of limiting on IEMs is an absolute necessity and I'd much rather use the dl1608 compressor set wisely than the heavy-handed (but hit and miss) limiter on my fairly low-end dB tech unit.

[stevegarris]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the clarification.

I work with a number of musicians who like their monitors 'exactly like they were set at sound check', and
if I was running their sends post-fade and changed their level in the house mix, and hence monitor mix, they would not appreciate this.

The DL32R really is a good fit for how I mix!

Good health,  Weogo

The comments I typically hear from musicians regarding their monitors is that it started out great, and only got better as I mixed the show. Perfect EQing, and just the right amount of compression, along with a good overall mix, allows for excellent stage clarity and fidelity. YMMV

[shufflebeat]

I wish all the musos I worked with were all so considerate and polite. Sometimes I stand on a stage of beautifully balanced music, knowing this is a monitor mix I, as a musician, would love to have and when I ask, "how's that for you?" I get a silent gesture of "it'll do".

I find experienced musicians the most forthcoming because they know what a bad stage mix sounds like and they recognise good work when they see/hear it.

Sometimes you have to be your own worst critic but at other times you have to give yourself a hearty pat on the back when no-one else is switched on to the situation.