Different Monitor Setups

[slehman805]

Hello,

I have a group of 5 singers on stage each with their own microphone.  They are singing to pre-recorded tracks.  There are two mono monitor feeds to the stage going to wedge speakers (2 per feed).  There are a few problems with the setup which are mainly related to the monitors.

Problems arise when one person wants the monitors up so loud with no vocals in the mix while I'm trying to make a good balance of both the music and the vocals.  Even so, it is hard to make a good balance with both the track and the vocals coming out of the same monitors

I am thinking of trying an indirect monitor placement by using 2 wedges behind the singers pointing away from the singers toward the back wall which is only 5 feet away and 2 wedges in front of the singers pointing directly at them.  The two wedges behind would only have the track mix while the two wedges in front would contain mainly vocals with possibly a tiny bit of track mixed in.

 

Any thoughts or different placements to try are appreciated.

 

 

[UstadKhanAli]

Can you use headphones for that one person?

[slehman805]

 

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UstadKhanAli wrote:

 

 

Can you use headphones for that one person?

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That thought has occured to me and I'm still considering it although I doubt he would like it and there is still a problem of getting a good balance of vocals and track in the monitor mix where the singers can actually distinguish between the two.

[MikeRivers]

Perhaps a dumb question here, but are you making independent main and monitor mixes? Will your mixer allow you to do this? (most do) 

You could send the one singer who wants the odd mix off to one end of the line and send a separate mix to his monitor and use another mix in the other monitor (or get a third monitor). In-ear monitor systems (headphones that aren't easily visible) are becoming more affordable and accessable. You might try that for the odd-ball singer.

There's no way to keep everyone happy with what you have now. You'll have to spend some more money, replace the singer, or sit them all down for a chat about what can and can't be done until they get some better paying gigs. 

[slehman805]

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MikeRivers wrote:

Perhaps a dumb question here, but are you making independent main and monitor mixes? Will your mixer allow you to do this? (most do) 

You could send the one singer who wants the odd mix off to one end of the line and send a separate mix to his monitor and use another mix in the other monitor (or get a third monitor). In-ear monitor systems (headphones that aren't easily visible) are becoming more affordable and accessable. You might try that for the odd-ball singer.

There's no way to keep everyone happy with what you have now. You'll have to spend some more money, replace the singer, or sit them all down for a chat about what can and can't be done until they get some better paying gigs. 

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:-)

 

Yes there are independant Main and Monitor Mixes.  Only one amp feeds the stage thus the two monitor sends.  I do wish I had more.  I have tried making the monitor right next to him a separate mix all his own which is usually the same as the other monitors but with no vocals.  it doesn't seem to help much.  I think he is losing his hearing or possibly he has lost some low and high frequencies so that the vocals stand out more than the backing track to him whenever they are present

Part of the problem I guess is that he is my "boss" so to speak.  Since he IS the boss, none of the other singers say anything.  They just make painfull faces when the music gets so loud on stage that they can't hear themselves.  He insists that the music is not loud enough or the vocals are too loud that he can't hear the music (remember he doesn't want any vocals in the mix).  He feels everyone should hear it the same way that he does.

As a singer, I know that having the music cranked up so loud and not at least having some of your vocals in the monitors, you take a risk of straining your voice.  You also can't hear each other and blend.  So I'm trying my hardest to find a creative solution with what we have.