Singing Drummers - Monitors

whiteknightx

whiteknightx

Silver Member
Hi guys and gals. I'm a drummer in a bar band, and I sing quite a bit. I'm curious what you guys use for monitors. The issue I have, many bars we play have tiny stages, so I'd like something that takes much less space than a big floor wedge. Lot's of times just our vocals are through the PA, so the instruments aren't mic'd so I think that rules out in ears, but I don't know for sure.

What do you use out there, there must be some people who are in similar situations to myself?
 
You could always do this:

Buy something like a Behringer Xenyx 802, and a set of Shure 215's.

Use the headphone out for your IEM's.

Run a line out from the main board into a channel on your board for your IEM's.

You could also run an ambient mic if you wanted to as well.
 
actually I have both a set of Shure 215's and a small behringer mixer so that could be an option. I think I'd have trouble hearing the guys in some of our smaller venues when we aren't mic'd up, but it's certainly something to consider.

I was also thinking about snooping around at some of the Rolls personal iEM boxes of some sort.
 
I too use personal monitor amp and Shure 215s. I simply do not understand the idea of adding volume with a over air monitor to my already loud drums. When I wear my 215s gigging there is less volume in my ears than if I play my drums alone without ear protection, which I never do anymore.

This particular one has the added benefit of my vocal mic passing thru it so that I have direct control over my vocal mic in my in ears. Helps with a pitch challenged drummer like me.
 

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Quick and easy. Just connect an XLR from the mixers onyour vocal channel, or from a monitor output, or from a powered wedge. No power outlet needed since it's passive. Clips on your belt or stickbag.

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at the risk of being flamed, try experimenting with earplugs... in one, or both ears. they can help you hear yourself in small venues... sometimes monitors can add to the auditory chaos.
 
^^^
At the risk of violating forum rules

Singing on stage == IEM
Fuck absolutely everything else.
 
I have both IEM's and a tiny wedge monitor made by Custom with a 4" speaker in it. I can screw it onto a mic stand and it has an input volume knob.

Depending on what and where I am, I choose. I like IEM's, but unless there's a sound guy and everybody is on them, I'm not sure I like them otherwise. Especially in a small bar situation, I don't want to be so isolated from everybody else. So I'll go with the little wedge monitor - if I even need it. Sometimes the venue is small enough and you can hear yourself enough that it may not even be necessary. Depends on you.
 
hi everybody. Thanks for the input so far. The Rolls unit posted up above is one that I've thought about a few times and is likely my best solution. WE usually run a pair of powered wedges up front for the other two vocalists, and I get whatever sound sneaks past them bouncing around the room.

My big concern though is that many places we play aren't large enough to mic everything, so am I going to lose the guitar and keys if only vocals are being mic'd and I'm wearing the IEM's?
the larger places that isn't such a problem, we tend to mic everything then.

And I do a bit of lead singing, but much more harmonies on a given night, if that makes any difference.

Matt, your little monitor, does it work decently for your purposes? How much power and what kind is it?

And Brentcn, what an interesting little unit, but I'd be scared of getting a blast of unprotected feedback. If only my whole band would go IEM!
 
whiteknightx said:
hi everybody. Thanks for the input so far. The Rolls unit posted up above is one that I've thought about a few times and is likely my best solution. WE usually run a pair of powered wedges up front for the other two vocalists, and I get whatever sound sneaks past them bouncing around the room.

My big concern though is that many places we play aren't large enough to mic everything, so am I going to lose the guitar and keys if only vocals are being mic'd and I'm wearing the IEM's?
the larger places that isn't such a problem, we tend to mic everything then.

And I do a bit of lead singing, but much more harmonies on a given night, if that makes any difference.

Matt, your little monitor, does it work decently for your purposes? How much power and what kind is it?

And Brentcn, what an interesting little unit, but I'd be scared of getting a blast of unprotected feedback. If only my whole band would go IEM!
Click to expand...

In the smaller venues, explore putting an XLR out from the guitar amps to the PA but just routing the signal to your IEMs, or having a separate mixer that gets the vocals in a main out from the PA, plus the mikes on the amps. That way you still hear everything, but you aren't blasting the room. YMMV.
 
whiteknightx said:
hi everybody. Thanks for the input so far. The Rolls unit posted up above is one that I've thought about a few times and is likely my best solution. WE usually run a pair of powered wedges up front for the other two vocalists, and I get whatever sound sneaks past them bouncing around the room.

My big concern though is that many places we play aren't large enough to mic everything, so am I going to lose the guitar and keys if only vocals are being mic'd and I'm wearing the IEM's?
the larger places that isn't such a problem, we tend to mic everything then.

And I do a bit of lead singing, but much more harmonies on a given night, if that makes any difference.

Matt, your little monitor, does it work decently for your purposes? How much power and what kind is it?

And Brentcn, what an interesting little unit, but I'd be scared of getting a blast of unprotected feedback. If only my whole band would go IEM!
Click to expand...

I play some gigs where we don't mic everything and it can be a challenge at times. But my vocal mic and the other vocal mics pick up some of the amp sound. I try to get them to mic their amps anyway and then just turn the volume through the PA down and adjust monitor feed as needed. You may also love having control of the volume of your vocal to your IEMs. It helps me be less pitchy!
 
whiteknightx said:
Matt, your little monitor, does it work decently for your purposes? How much power and what kind is it?
Click to expand...


Mine is a Custom KPC4P 50W powered speaker. It looks like a tiny wedge monitor but there's hardware built into the base so you can screw it onto a mic stand. It's actually pretty loud, and of course, because you can put it on a mic stand, you can have it as close to your head as you can get it. I picked one up for $80 new.

Behringer makes a small monitor like this as well, as does Galaxy Audio, which is probably the best one on the market for hotspot monitors.
 
whiteknightx said:
My big concern though is that many places we play aren't large enough to mic everything, so am I going to lose the guitar and keys if only vocals are being mic'd and I'm wearing the IEM's?
the larger places that isn't such a problem, we tend to mic everything then.
Click to expand...

As others have said, IEMs! Save your hearing!

Since you have the ability to mic everything, why not mic everything all the time? The guitars, bass, and keys do not have to go through the mains in a small venue, but can go only to the monitor mix. Better still, if the mixer has two or more monitor feeds -- which, if you have enough inputs to mic everything at the larger venues, I'm guessing it does -- only send the guitars, bass, and keys to the IEM monitor mix (this way you keep them out of the wedges out front).
 
boltzmann's brain said:
at the risk of being flamed, try experimenting with earplugs... in one, or both ears. they can help you hear yourself in small venues... sometimes monitors can add to the auditory chaos.
Click to expand...

I was in the middle of posting this the other day until my web browser logged me out!
Playing pub gigs it's very rare that I've had a monitor to myself, on the occasions that we've played big events and I've been asked what I want in the monitor my first reaction is "a monitor for me?" Followed by "erm I don't know what I want in it thank you!".
However I've always worn ear plugs, ACS ER20s but it seems that a lot of the "Christmas Tree" shaped ones are similiar, and as a result I have no problem hearing myself. Perhaps on bigger stages where the backline volume is more spread out and there's a higher reliance on monitoring this might not work but I'm quite busy on backing vocals and ear plugs serve me well.
 
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