I don't sound like me in the monitor...

Subject: I don't sound like me in the monitor...
From: Vixen
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 12:35 PM

This one's been an intermittent issue for some time, but mainly I can ignore it because we use a single-mic and no monitor for most gigs.

I know my voice sounds different to others than it does to me because of head resonance and such. Furthermore, I wear hearing aids in both ears, so the way I hear my voice is both "through the bones and voids of my skull" AND digitally processed through the hearing aids. Neither of those things cause me any trouble in performance.

What happens with a mic and monitor set up is that what I hear seems distorted and seriously off-pitch and atonal. Consequently I back off the mic to regain my bearings and pitch and so forth, AND I completely lose volume and confidence. I've had sound techs try to fix the situation by turning up my mic, but then I start to get feedback.

By which point, I've (temporarily!) lost track of the melody, harmony, chords, words, and my sanity, and want to run off and hide in a nice quiet hole somewhere far far away.

The only thing I've been able to come up with is to practice with a mic and monitor, but it sounds so awful! Reynaud tells me to "just sing as you usually do!" but since what I hear through the monitor doesn't match what I'm used to hearing, I seem to get worse and worse... He's even tried slowly incrementing the volume on the monitor while I'm not looking, but as soon as I hear myself, my voice goes way off.

It's getting critical, because we're going to be opening for another band, hence using someone else's sound, and sound tech, and I'm a nervous wreck about it.

Any suggestions?

V

Subject: RE: I don't sound like me in the monitor...
From: DonMeixner
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 12:56 PM

Hi Victoria,

See if you can find the thread I started awhile ago about in-ear monitors. Being partially deaf myself I have experienced exatly what you describe. I solved my problems with Shure in-ear monitors. This may not be a possibility for you because you wear two units if I am not mistaken. But there were many other suggestions from lots of folks who have dealt with the same issue and each solved it a different way.

First, What kind of microphones? Hi or low imp. ? Do you have to be real close to sing through them or do they pick you up best a ways away from them?

Is your monitor set with just you in it or is it the whole front end or house sound? Is your monitor on the floor or on a stand up in the air near your face?

More to come later, I'm on line a work and I can't be here long.

Don

Subject: RE: I don't sound like me in the monitor...
From: Vixen
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 01:46 PM

Hi Don!

The rings are working fine!!!

I can see I've got some thread research to do...I'll get on it tonight when I get home.

Thanks for the ideas...

V

Subject: RE: I don't sound like me in the monitor...
From: mg
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 03:52 PM

Do you have to use one? mg

Subject: RE: I don't sound like me in the monitor...
From: DonMeixner
Date: 10 Nov 04 - 05:52 PM

Hi Victoria,

I spoke with a sound tech here and he suggested two things. If you can skip the monitor entrely and go with house sound in the open. He thinks the problem may be your hearing aids are amplifying alreadly amplified sound. (I'm a little shakey on that theory myself so I am unsure of it's value as a solution. You are not amplifying the sound again so there is no closed loop, make sense?). Then he suggested going with in-ear monitors in place of you hearing aids.

He also suggested that your feedbsack may be an impedence problem.

Feed back is a viscious thing. The same settings will feed back in one room and not in another. I haven't had a feed back issue in ages. I almost have to eat my mic to be able to use it. As long as I am within an inch of it it is fine, step back as much as four and it drops off, step back a foot and forget it.


Don