Members New Trail Posted December 16, 2009 Members Share Posted December 16, 2009 I don't mean the in-ear monitor, I mean the little powered speaker that fits on a mic stand. I have a lot of trouble hearing my vocals (I must have a weak voice) and wondered if a personal monitor would be the solution. The one I'm looking at has a mic input so you can plug your mic into it FIRST and THEN into the mixer. It also has 3 band EQ. Sounds good to me...any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 16, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 If it sounds good to you, then it's good. If you haven't actually tried it in a live situation, that's what you need to do. There are so many personal differences that define "good" and "bad" in monitoring that nothing else really matters but whether it works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted December 16, 2009 Members Share Posted December 16, 2009 One of our singers uses one (TC Helicon) and she likes it a lot. But beware of feedback; she's caused me some grief by turning the thing up too much, or getting the mic pointed at it while she's moving around (which is quite a bit). Otherwise, it works quite well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted December 16, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 sailorman alludes to a very important point; if it's a personal system, that means YOU control it, and the sound person (if any) can't help you if things go wonky during a performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sailorman Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Yeah, since I run sound from the stage, I put a dbx 224 feedback suppressor on the spot monitor; played a gig with it Sat night and not a peep from the thing. Before that, sheesh...:mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boomerweps Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Finally spotted for sale on ebay some of the new behringer powered 8 & 10 2-way speakers. Might be worth it for your purposes for about $205-$265 shipped. They claim 220 watts on the amps and each has a mic/line in and an XLR pass through. While there are many reasons to bash the brand, they do make some adaquate products if you search a little. The powered 212s are a surprising value so I expect the smaller ones are adaquate for your purposes. I'm inerested in getting a couple myself when I can justify the spending ;>) A fairly small powered monitor is a quick way to add more monitor mixes for me. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190358521836&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250518802141&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT Boomerweps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Preacher Will Posted December 17, 2009 Members Share Posted December 17, 2009 Years ago we used Galaxy Hot Spots. At that time my opinion was that they were better than no monitors at all. That may be true but, they were still pretty bad. Very tinny sounding, no bass at all, sort of like listening to an old battery powered AM radio. If I had it to do over again, I'd save my money and get a decent powered monitor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surferbeto Posted December 18, 2009 Members Share Posted December 18, 2009 One of our singers uses one (TC Helicon) and she likes it a lot. But beware of feedback; she's caused me some grief by turning the thing up too much, or getting the mic pointed at it while she's moving around (which is quite a bit). Otherwise, it works quite well. We have two of TC Helicon VSM300's deployed in a mostly church band that has to keep things really quiet on stage and mix its own sound onstage. The drummer plays electronic drums, so he is quieter than he'd be on an acoustic kit, but the monitor he bought is not really loud enough for him to use, so now our singer uses it. She likes it OK. Bassplayer likes his. We are fairly disciplined about not turning up during a performance, so we haven't created any feedback problems yet. I think the VSM300 is kind of expensive for what it is. If you are playing acoustic music in coffee houses or similar small, quiet venues, then near-field monitors might be OK. For most clubs or bars or similarly loud venues, they are probably not loud enough to use effectively. We have discussed going to in ear monitors eventually (though that would be a lot of money for us). Myself, I could do with a good powered wedge monitor. Folks seem to love their in ear monitors, but I can't shake the notion that powered wedges are really what I want. I know I should make decisions purely on the basis of function and not appearance, but wedges just look more rock n roll to me. And they can clearly get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted December 18, 2009 Members Share Posted December 18, 2009 Of all of them the TC-Helicon is the best. More options, great design, and built like a freakin' tank. Our lead guitar player actually uses one as his "amp" (with a Bose GT-10). I'll use on small stages or as a side fill coupled to the mains so I can check the general mix from stage by just walking over to it (less noticeable than walking in front of the stacks). I've also used it to play music during cocktail hour in a bar area of a wedding reception or as an extention speaker in a country club wedding where guests were actually in different rooms (ran an IEM system to it to make a wireless speaker). Handy for practices too. They're very handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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