Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 01 Oct 04 - 03:12 PM

Just in case.the above guest was me at school, I forgot to type in the EtV@work bit.(I don't want to get confused with any other guest!)

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 12:14 PM

We still have Tandy/Radio Shack here in Lancashire - try Lytham St.Annes much the same stock as they had before but prices are better at CPC/Maplins!

PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 10:29 AM

Oh gawd-there can't be two of him! Tell me it isn't so, please!Anyway, he also falls off.........the edge of the stage, causes riotous laughter. And you lot over the pond , are very lucky to stick have radio shack-Tandy died out over here a good few years ago, very useful sometime, now we have Maplins (holiday camp) they are also good suppliers of all things electrical.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST,Boab
Date: 30 Sep 04 - 03:07 AM

Guest---$275 is nearer 200lbs sterling,,so it's not so bad!
sKIPJACK K8---You must be my alter ego! I have EXACTLY the same problem as yourself, and tend to "fall off" the keyboard if the bass guitarist or bodhran player is anywhere near my right ear. Thanks a million for this thread---I've been scribbling like mad and "adding to favourotes" all the way down the list . Thanks to all; I'm not blessed with a great PA knowledge, and thus at a disadvantage when seeking solutions. I must have prayed last night or something!

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 09:36 PM

Just another thought... if you're using a wireless transmitter for the accordian why not pick up a radio scanner (they're quite small and cheap nowadays) tune it to your transmitter frequency and use it with an earphone?

You could also use the same idea but put a mic/guitar radio transmitter into one of the monitor outputs on the main mixer desk.

Re - earphones I've found sony Hi-Fi ones as good as any for monitoring (if it's good enough to listen to me CDs it's good enough to listen to me live!)

PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 08:35 PM

"£650 (that's $37,540,623 in proper money)."

Or $1,170.16 with a more conventional exchange rate.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:28 PM

Skip,

I have a major wonder about those in ear buds selling from Shure at $275.00, whats that around 350.00 lbs. Sterling? (Don't have the L thing on my computer.) I can't believe that a high end pair from Radio Shack won't do as well. I imagine its also true with the Sennheiser ear buds as well.

Short of money as well tend to be I can't imagine a Muddy hasn't researched this already.

Don

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 03:17 PM

Ah, Pete, finally something I already have, the Planet Waves circuit breaker, and very well it works too.

Right, how's about this? If I buy that transmitter gear for thirty odd quid, and upgrade the ear buds for foxtrot oscar Senneheiser in-ear speakers, would I be on the right track?

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 02:55 PM

Re "Spot Monitors" similar item available from Thomann:-INFO LINK

The box MA205 active monitor, 100 W, 2x 5" speaker, volumecontrol, XLR and jack input, link out xlr male,wall/ceiling mount included, monitor angle, dimensions:32x20x20cm, 5,5 kg, excellent as a personal monitor, canbe mounted on a mic stand (#104870, K&M 217, 5/8"-3/8"reduction thread required)

129.00 EUR
87.76 GBP

Postage the same however much you buy so worth looking in their store - lots of nice things to buy and some very cheap (stage boxes etc)

PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 02:43 PM

Silent Jack Plugs and Planet Wave CIRCUIT BREAKER Leads - nice


PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 02:24 PM

have a look here - UK


PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: PennyBlack
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 02:04 PM

We came across some used for hi-fi units consisting of a transmitter a small belt pack with a 3.5 socket and a cheap pair of in-ear phones for £30! They plug into MON 1/ Mon 2 of the deck and you can send whatever mix you desire to it (be it just your instrument / voice channels or your desired mix of the full band)

Worth changing the in-ears for better quality (or in my case I use a mono earphone in one ear and leave the other free for the "real sound".

The other handy point for use they are tunable across the same channels as The BBC use for O/S Broadcasts which has been great when involved in bradcasts, interviews etc.

I look up the model number and see if they're still available (we've had them about 5 years.

never had any problems with unplugging noises since we switched to silent jacks!

PB

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: open mike
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 12:19 PM

http://www.musiciansfriend.com has in-ear monitors...several types.
not sure on shipping to UK but they do have a wide selection.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 11:56 AM

Sorry Mick, I was really rushing when I spotted the thread, and wanted to get to him on the telephone. As Skip put the link up. This should work very well. It's an active monitor, can be driven from a sub mixer for your own or someone else's individual instrument or mic, or can come from auxilliary outputs on the desk or even (possibly) headphone socket or external speaker socket on an amp.Because it can be mic stand mounted, you can position it where ever you want if you wish, above, below, in front, left ear, right ear, even behind, which ever works best. If that's any good to any one as a cheaper, efficiient solution, you are most welcome.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 29 Sep 04 - 04:38 AM

I really appreciate you sharing your experience, Don, and I must admit I hadn't thought of the benefits of the whole band being wired for sound. Wish we hadn't bought those expensive monitors now! It is affirming to hear that, on this occasion, chucking a shedload of money at the problem was the answer.

I suppose what I feel is that I don't enjoy my own performance because I can't hear it, so if what is coming out of the main speakers is beautiful music, I'm completely unaware of it, and therefore unfulfilled as a performer. It probably isn't beautiful, but at least with ear monitors I'll know, and be able to contribute more fruitfully to instrument/voice settings in the sound mix, so your post affirms that if I want to really sort the problem out, I have to stump up for the right gear.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: DonMeixner
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 08:20 PM

All right Skip,

Here's my story.   I'm deaf in my right ear and about 10% down in the left. I can't hear in a crowd unless the hot spot monitors are deafening loud and aimed directly at my left side about ear level.

The solution for me was Shure in-ear monitors. Little 8-channel wireless systems that everyone in the band now has. $ 3,000.00 plus dollars spent largely to help me out. The result is no extraneous noise. I control my own volume and I can hear the entire front end mix. A bonus is tighter harmonies with the entire band and we are all aware of our own front end volumes and we are not trying to compete with each other. We are singing with each other.

The down side. The little ear phones from Shure are absurdly costly and easily tangled. They cost a 9 volt battery every four hours and they don't work in every venue. Like low roofed opensided gazebos or civic preformance semi trailer stages made entirely of old Buicks.

But on a big stage or in a small pub they are for me, underline for me, just the trick.

Don

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 03:47 PM

Well, Mick, I've just had that Viking on the electric telephone, and he told me about this

   

Active Spot Monitors. 100 watt powered spot monitors. Can be mounted on a mic stand £129 each


Here in the bottom right hand corner

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Big Mick
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 03:21 PM

So - Eric - why don't you share the solution with all of us??

Mick

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Eric the Viking
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 03:06 PM

You dozy bugger-why didn't ye natter to me?-There is a solution that I'll tell ye about

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 02:55 PM

Thanks for that Ralphie. It was genuinely something I hadn't considered, and I am wincer-in-chief when plugs are pulled before the rig is shut down.

I was talking to that nice Allan Gordon in Diss this afternoon, and he advised me that the ideal solution was available from Sennheiser at £650 (that's $37,540,623 in proper money). I assured him that I'd sooner the audiences' ears were bleeding if it cost that much.

I'm sure I can rig up something like what kind posters have suggested above, a Frankenstein rig of a mic preamp and some in-ear speakers, with some Complan to keep me regular, and still sort of hearing.

Ralphie, when are we going to hear some unplugged concertina on the JW show again? I kid you not that I listened to your last performance through earphones whilst cycling across the Humber Bridge one dark winter's night.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Ralphie
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 01:20 PM

Hi Skipjack...
The device you must have is a Compressor/Limiter on the Output of your Headphone/Earpiece amp....
Its job is to round off the transients/spikes, in the signal being fed to your ears. One day, someone will plug/unplug a lead or whatever, and you'll be picking your ears off the ceiling.!
Seriously though, be very careful what you stick in your ears. As you seem to have an impairment of some sort already, this is doubly important.
Behringer do some good Comp/Lims, and the added advantage is that the overall level of your Aux mix that you are listening to will be generally levelled out...No more fiddling during a gig. (Well, not much, anyway!)
Good Luck, But my advice is to have Comp/Lim in your chain.
Ralph (BBC Sound Engineer)

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST,Ghirotondo still (sigh) at work...
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 08:50 AM

Hi again, Skipjack.
Take a look HERE , the price for these earphones is acceptable. Moreover, in the square field on the right you will find the Behringer HA4700 headphone amp, which will supply more than enough power for you to listen at your instrument, and can easily mix another line (monitor from the main deck) to listen to the complete mixdown. And yes, Jess is right, you have to take care to spikes, pops and feedbacks... well, this is a start. Things can be improved.

Ciao.
Ghirotondo

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 08:49 AM

Right, I've been and had a look at the Shure in-ear monitors, and they seem the very fellows for me, but I shan't jump in until I get more feedback (sorry!) here.

Jess, I'm in two minds about what I want in the earpiece. I solely want the sound from my squeezebox in my ear when I'm playing dance tunes, as I'm sure I'll hear enough peripheral sound from the band's monitor. However, when I sing, I only want my own voice in-ear, as I only vamp the tunes on the box during singing bits.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST,Jess A
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 08:10 AM

I've done a bit of research into this myself, due to dissatisfaction with playing an electric fiddle (as yet unresolved...!!) and the advice I've been given is that if you are wanting to put anything into a headphone which could have volume spikes (either feedback or clicks from things getting unplugged by mistake, for example) then you need to have some protection to cut off the sound over a certain level otherwise you risk damaging your hearing. Not being technically minded I've never worked out if this would be something you'd need to worry about if it's just your own instrument running through a small pre-amp...

presumably in your situation though you might need the whole mix into an ear phone, not just yourself, otherwise hearing the rest of the band over the sound of yourself in an earpiece might be tricky if your hearing is a bit restricted in the first place? And if you were running a whole monitor mix into your ear piece it is more likely you'd need some of the protection I mentioned...?

Good luck though, I'll be very interested to hear if you come up with a workable solution!

Jess

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: DonMeixner
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 08:05 AM

I knew a man who played his Fender electric throught a device on the floor and then had a small cable with mini-plugs that attached to a hearing aid. He said it was a Frankenstein put together by his audiologist. My friend controlled the volume and it never was loud enough to hurt the little hearing he had.

Don

PS: "He said it was a Frankenstein put together by his audiologist."

I think this is the most important part of this post.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 07:17 AM

Thanks very much, Ghirotondo, I will research both those things. Do Behringer (of whose kit I am a big fan) the earpiece? I have used both Sennheiser and Shure over the years, with very good results, but I have set my hat at a 'Buy Behringer First' policy of late.

Subject: RE: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: GUEST,Ghirotondo at work
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 07:06 AM

Hi, Skipjack.
I think that you can get the signal via an AUX out on your mixer (as usually done for the monitors) and feed a headphone preamplifier (Behringer makes at least two models) which powers an in-ear monitor (a lot of stuff on the market, Sennheiser, Shure etc.)
Not the cheapest solutions, but it works...
ciao
Ghirotondo

Subject: Tech: Ear piece monitor/foldback
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 28 Sep 04 - 06:24 AM

It's probably better to be honest and admit I haven't researched this subject at all, but knowledge gathered here is distilled wisdom and experience, and much more use than blundering round the internet looking for something I don't even know the name of.

I'll also admit to being everyone's nightmare, a semi-deaf accordionist! I only have one operational ear, having dropped myself on the head as a youngster, and I can't hear diddly coming though the monitor until either the feedback starts howling, or fellow musicians' ears bleed. This leads to erring on the side of caution whilst playing, which leads to just chord vamping.

Is there an ear-piece monitor on the market that can play back my own instrument? I do occasionally use my small Behringer mixer desk, prior to feeding the PA desk, so presumably I can pull my own sound off there. I've also already got a wireless transmitter for untethered instrumental use, if that makes any difference.