Members dbMontana Posted August 23, 2013 Members Share Posted August 23, 2013 This is so simple I have to assume it's used by some/many. Does anyone here use a dedicated mic on stage for the artists to talk directly to and only with FOH without exposing the entire audience to the old "Can I get a little more of my guitar in my monitor and the drummer needs more guitar and vocal in his and..."? To be honest I've always found that somewhat annoying as an audience member -- especially when they do it repeatedly and/or are a bit snarky about it. This (mildly snarky) happened several times the other night at the weekly outdoor city-hosted concert here. It just seems a simple fix to have a spare mic side stage that a performer could discretely pick up and talk -- just like FOH can talk-back to them. It just seems it would be more professional. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reson8tor Posted August 23, 2013 Members Share Posted August 23, 2013 ProCo Panic Button:http://www.procosound.com/cdpb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted August 23, 2013 Members Share Posted August 23, 2013 Yes, it's done but usually when there is a monitor engineer who is listening to a cue wedge or on IEMs with the on stage talkback into his cue mix plus whatever else he wants to listen to. At FOH, it's kind of hard since most FOH guys don't mix with phones or buds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted August 23, 2013 Author Members Share Posted August 23, 2013 Reson8tor wrote: ProCo Panic Button:http://www.procosound.com/cdpb That would be a more elegant solution woudn't it. Ever used or seen one in use? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted August 23, 2013 Author Members Share Posted August 23, 2013 agedhorse wrote: Yes, it's done but usually when there is a monitor engineer who is listening to a cue wedge or on IEMs with the on stage talkback into his cue mix plus whatever else he wants to listen to. At FOH, it's kind of hard since most FOH guys don't mix with phones or buds. Yea, I hear ya on most FOH not using phones or buds so it would require at least a small monitor/speaker at FOH. And yes the festival I was just at had a dedicated ME stage left and I noticed a fair bit of performers walking close and/or a combination of cupped hand near mouth and hand signals to get what they needed in their mix but otherwise no audible distraction to the several-thousand strong audience. The ME also had a phone-style handset and ringer connection to FOH which was obviously helpful setting up the sequence of acts most of which did not supply any stage plot nor even channel list beforehand -- hey, it was a bluegrass festival . The FOH guy was most accommodating by allowing me to observe for much of the day. His term was "Welcome to guerrilla audio!" as he finished the fifth "24+ channel switchover and sound check in 30 minutes" for the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted August 24, 2013 Members Share Posted August 24, 2013 agedhorse wrote: Yes, it's done but usually when there is a monitor engineer who is listening to a cue wedge or on IEMs with the on stage talkback into his cue mix plus whatever else he wants to listen to. At FOH, it's kind of hard since most FOH guys don't mix with phones or buds. I see them fairly often (especialy with IEMs). The generic name that I've heard them called is a B**ch mic :-).This actualy works well with a dedicated monitor engineer. It aleviates a lot of hand signals and mis-communication. I have a favorite saying. I usualy say to the musician across the stage from monitor world that they get the worst service. Whereas the SL guy can just walk over and ask for something, the SR guy must flag me down and hope I understand the sign language (I've gotten pretty good - although I DID mistake a rapper (doing the hand movments) for wanting more side fill :-). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted August 24, 2013 Members Share Posted August 24, 2013 Seems like it would be done more but the last time I saw it done was with my band, way back in 1979 or so.We used to play this place where the FOH guy was way, way back, and sometimes blocked by the crowd. He had a mic on a stand, right on stage, and we could just walk up and request what we needed. Of course being young and foolish we just wound up commenting on the babes in the club, or other silly things, so he stopped using it after that gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted August 25, 2013 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2013 Thanks you guys for the feedback on the original question. One thing I didn't catch at first read was that the reference to IEMs and monitor engineer was referring to the fact that some (many?) MEs mix while wearing IEMs themselves which makes sense given the ambient sound at their location is not what they're adjusting as it would be at FOH. I guess I never thought of that before -- IEMs would be a good alternative to wearing headphones -- though less easy to momentarily remove to talk to someone next to you? I guess next year at the festival I'll have to weasel my way into getting the ME to allow me to observe from that position as well. I learn something new every day here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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