[Callers] Caller's monitor question

[Jack Mitchell]

A number of years back, I was trying to make a decision between getting a
wireless mic and a monitor, and went with the monitor.  The monitor I ended
up with was the TC Helicon VoiceSolo 300XT, and it has served me well
(unfortunately, it's no longer made).  The Roland that you have is one I
have more often seen used by keyboard players as an aux monitor, and I
don't believe it has any way to place it on the floor or on a stand where
it is angled up towards you, which is a feature I would look for in any
callers monitor.  It's possible you could rig up a stand that would allow
you to tip the roland back, or possibly get or make an angled mount that
would let you tip it back on a mic stand.  I believe that it is capable of
all of the other things I would want to see in a monitor besides that.

Other features that I would be looking for:

   - a "thru" connection for XLR, allowing you to plug your mic into the
   monitor, and then send a feed to the board, and where the adjustments made
   on the monitor do not affect the signal sent to the board.
   - A way to mount the monitor on a mic stand, which gets it up closer to
   your ears
   - The possibility of taking a monitor feed from the board if you do want
   to be able to hear the band in the monitor (particularly nice for singing
   squares, or for larger bands where you can't hear the folks on the far side
   of the stage.


I really like having a monitor for the reasons John mentioned: it make it
easier to balance your volume with the band, and less likely to abuse your
voice because you can't hear yourself.  John is also correct that hearing
yourself in the monitor is no guarantee of good sound in the house.  So I
also have a wireless mic and if I am not confident in the skill of the
person running sound will generally go wander around a bit during an early
dance to see what it sounds like.

Jack

On Sat, May 12, 2018 at 12:55 PM JD Erskine via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hullo Jeremy,
>
> 1. Hit up the Contra Sound Forum for advice. Callers are nicely
> tolerated, actually welcomed. A great place to ask about such things as
> monitors, wireless mics, etc. from sound engineers whether pro or super
> experienced amateurs.
>
> https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/contrasf/info
>
> 2. Bob Mills book All Mixed Up is a fab resource for understanding many
> sound reinforcement tasks. It is, by design, comprehensive enough yet
> basic, so may not address every nuance one is interested in. Great place
> to start though.
>
> http://bobmills.org/amu/
>
> One might search it (or any other site) using https://duckduckgo.com/ by
> entering such as:
>
> monitors site:bobmills.org/amu/
>
> 3. My experience regarding monitors is the band does not wish to hear
> the caller. Not in _their_ monitor(s) at any rate (why you picked up
> your own no doubt.) So, even with a separate one why should they get
> blasted by that of the caller?
>
> So consider a position that directs it toward one, away from the bulk of
> the band. That may be sideways, up, or both. Elevated monitors generally
> work better than on the floor, esp. for the type of sound/information
> we're delivering and monitoring.
>
> 4. The biggest help I see a monitor for, is to keep the excitable caller
> from getting too loud, (you know, when trying to "drag" that one dancer
> or couple around the set. <grin>)
>
> It also can help keep one from unintentionally becoming too quiet. Other
> than for those purposes I can get by without one, at least for the sake
> of simplicity. They are nice.
>
> Pushed on the subject I'd rather have a wireless mic.
>
> I suppose as hearing myself in the monitor is no guarantee of what I
> sound like in the house.
>
> Cheers, John
> --
> J.D. Erskine
> Victoria, BC
>
> _______________________________________________
> List Name:  Callers mailing list
> List Address:  Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> Archives:  https://www.mail-archive.com/callers@lists.sharedweight.net/
>
-- 
Jack Mitchell
Durham, NC
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