Monitor Tales
Jaime Vendera relives some of his experiences with personal monitoring.
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Looking back to my teenage years of playing in garages and basements provides a lot of insight to me now. Just like every other kid who wants to be a rock, country or pop star, I ALWAYS had to fight for the right to party. Whoops, sorry, teenage flashbacks to the Beastie Boys. What I was trying to say is that I had to fight for the right to hear myself when every guitar player turned his or her amp as loud as possible, while the drummer banged on the skins until the heads would break. Arrrggggghhhhh, how frustrating it was. What was I to do???
We were all kids dying to have the best equipment we could scrounge up, which was usually not the best for practicing through. My first “ vocal monitor”, I would have to say, was my Peavey KB-100 keyboard amp, which really was my “Vocal” PA system for the time being; the only thing I had to sing through. So, I made sure to stand right in front of the amp just to hear myself. Funny thing is, lack of hearing one’s self in band practice usually makes you work harder on singing the song on your own just to develop the ability to get the right pitch when all you have to rely on is the sensation of each pitch. Or at least this was the case for me. I know of other singers who suffered from “poor PA” syndrome and unfortunately, most of them never had the chance to progress because a lot of times, lack of a decent monitor system forces the singer to over sing, which can ultimately lead to a failed voice, poor intonation or possibly, vocal nodules.
Luckily for me, the garage days didn’t last long. At 16 I got my first big gig in a local band called FLINT. I guess they thought FLINT was a cool way to let people know we played hard rock, haha. Basically, they needed a keyboard player, and I was the only one around. They were a bunch of great guys who had played the bar scene many years before I discovered music. The lead guitarist was 36, the rhythm guitarist and drummer were both 28, and the bass player was 42. I thought I had hit the big time. I got to play in bars and get served alcoholic beverages, all while under age. Man I thought I was cool ;) Hey kids, don’t drink and sing!
This was also the first time I was introduced to the concept of personal monitors for singers, and the concept changed my life. Never before had I heard myself so well until I was introduced to a decent monitoring system!!!
But before I got to use my monitor, I discovered that Drinking and setting up my equipment do NOT mix. (Remember, don’t drink and sing kids!) Let me tell you a story. I had been practicing with the band for three months and felt I was ready to join them on stage. So the night before the gig, we went together to set up our equipment. On the way to the bar, which was a little over an hour away, the rhythm guitarist decides to ‘break me in” to the band life. So together we chug down almost 30 wine coolers. Yeah, I was cool. I started on wine coolers. So we got to the venue and I guess I figured out what being drunk meant by the time I stepped inside the club or should I call it “a hole in the wall”. I could barely walk. Anyways I am really getting into this whole “playing the clubs” vibe and being my own roadie. So as I am setting up my keyboard stand, I drunkenly decided that I should set up the vocal monitors.
These were brand new personal monitors by Peavey, just out of the box. They attached to the top of a mic stand, much like the Voice Solo personal monitors made by TC Helicon. (We didn’t have TC around back then or I am sure we would’ve been using them;) Surprisingly enough, I couldn’t screw the monitor into the mic stand although the room was spinning (which should’ve helped me, right?) and ended up dropping it on the floor.
Talk about being a scared kid. So since no one saw what I had done, I put the monitor back in the box and went back to working on my own setup. Needless to say, the monitor didn’t work and had to be replaced. But, I learned that drinking and band business don’t mix. I’ve never told the band this story and now I feel bad. So, Donny, Dee Dee, Gordy, Rick and Billy, if you are reading this, I am truly sorry. Send me a bill why don’t ya.
I must say that those early gigs did make me realize just how important it is to have a personal monitor system. I always had a monitor pointing right at me, but at times I had to make sure to adjust the direction so that the microphone did not feed back, as it seemed to quite frequently with my personal Peavey monitor. If I was using a wireless microphone, I preferred a wedge type monitor, one that can lean back at a 45-degree angle. They can be mounted on a sturdy mic stand but I preferred the wedge on the floor. I eventually switched to using this type of monitor for when I was playing piano as opposed to a mic stand mountable type. I just sat it on a foldable chair and leaned it back at a 45-degree angle. This is because I find that I move the mic stand, that is attached to my keyboard stand, quite a bit more when I am using wireless. This is mostly because the freedom from the microphone cord allows me to feel like I have to move. That and I am also extremely hyper and always moving things around. Being able to lean the monitor back pretty much assured me that I didn’t have to worry about feedback. I also loved the thought of a wedge monitor out front, mainly because I thought I looked cool with my foot propped up against it. I’m such a dork.
I have to say now that if I decide to perform again, or when my busy schedule allows me to, I will go back to using mic stand mountable monitors. The reason being is that I have honestly fell in love with TC Helicon’s Voice Solo personal vocal monitors. I guess the wedge has died for me. I will remount a monitor on a stand and stick to the product. I use two Voice Solo units in my teaching studio and I am very surprised in their ruggedness, the amount of power they put out, how incredibly light they are for their size and the fact that they rarely feed back. If I had any pet peeves about the old Peavey personal monitors I use to use, it’s that they were a bit heavy, weren’t quite loud enough and would feed back easily.
So far the Voice Solo is batting three for three in my book. Now I’ll have to put them to the test and see if they can handle the levels I need to scream to shatter glass, haha.
I just had a guy call me about vocal lessons and he bought a Voice Solo after checking out this site and he is using it for recording. He likes the clarity of the speaker. It never really occurred to me to use a Voice Solo as a recording monitor. Maybe I’ll check it out. I’ve always used Monitor Ones by Alesis for my home studio setup. One thing I can say about the Alesis monitors though, is that although they are very clean and add no extra frequencies, such as bass, the tweeters DEFINITELY cannot handle any loud noises. I have destroyed two tweeters in the Monitor One speakers just by accidentally screaming when the recording room mic was on. So, I don’t advise singing through any type of recording monitors. Remember, recording room monitors are flat line monitors created for the sole purpose of listening to the mix. So if you think you can use one for practice, think again. However, the concept of using a Helicon Voice Solo for practice and for studio monitoring has peaked my interest…
Back to live performing and band rehearsals. Before, during, and after my Flint days, I had many a time come into a situation, either live or for rehearsal when there wasn’t a decent monitor system. Sometimes during a band rehearsal but more so when I was running around out in the crowd and singing live. So at one point I saved up my money and bought an In-Ears monitor system. For me, they never worked. I could never get the right mix. But I would say that the reason why is because I bought a cheap unit. A true in-ears monitor system should have the earpieces molded to fit your ears and they WILL make a huge difference. A good friend of mine is Tony Harnell, who was the original lead vocalist in the group TNT. You should hear this guy sing, he’s amazing. Check him out at http://www.tonyharnell.com/. Anyways, Tony swears by them. Another person who swears by in-ears is RA lead singer, Sahaj Ticotin. But remember, these two pros had the in-ears molded to their ears. I was hanging out with Sahaj a few months ago at a concert. I noticed during the middle of his set, he started going a little flat, barely but noticeable. It more or less vocally seemed like a struggle for a few songs. After the concert, he told me that his in-ears went out and he couldn’t hear a thing. Looks like someone’s roadie forgot to replace the batteries. No word on whether they got fired or not, haha ;) Sahaj is another awesome singer I suggest you check out- http://www.raband.net/
So what if you are a singer who is in a band that does not have ANY type of monitoring system and are in desperate need of some help, but as of right now, you just can’t afford to purchase a personal monitoring system or and in-ears system? What do you do? Well, when I was in this exact same situation when I first started singing in bands at around 15 years old. So I had to become very innovative in order to save my singing voice.
I developed this habit of cupping my ear to hear what my guitar player or drummer was trying to say when the music was so loud that the windows were shaking.
What I discovered was that I could cup my ear and bend my hand forward towards my mouth and this would actually seemed to amplify the sound of my voice enough to let me hear myself in these loud, live situations. Basically, by cupping your ear, you are partially capturing the sound in your hand as it leaves the mouth and redirecting the sound towards your ear. I’ve adopted and used this method for over 20 years now.
So if you are in a live situation and cannot hear yourself, just cup one of your ears with your hand while singing into the mic. This should lend a “hand” to helping you hear yourself, hehe;)
I am always searching to learn about new innovative products for the voice…Anything for vocal advancement. I remember back in the early-mid 90’s reading about a new product called Hearphones, that accomplished the same thing as cupping the ear, so I HAD to have a set. When they finally arrived, I was a bit disappointed.
Although the Hearphones worked almost as well as cupping my ear, they didn’t quite reach from the ear to the mouth as they claimed. The construction was also very flimsy and one of the earphones broke and fell off within the first few tries.
I taped them back together and tried to use them for practice but as much as I enjoyed the concept, I could never bring myself to wear such a dorky pair of headphones for any live performance, so I packed them away in the closet.
Funny enough, I dug them out for this article and the other side fell off. Cool concept but it wasn’t meant to be…Or was it???
I was recently contacted by a plastics engineer named Byron Cancelmo, who had the same enthusiasm for personal monitoring as I did. He told me he had created a new product that wasn’t out on the market yet, called the Vocal Acoustic Monitor. The VAM was similar in concept to cupping the ears and the Hearphones. As excited as I was at the possibility of a new professional grade product, I didn’t get my hopes up…
That was until Byron sent me three VAMs to try for myself. Let me tell you, these things are amazing and will become as common as the microphone clip. A simple yet innovative little device that is perfect for practicing and singing in choirs; helping you to hear yourself, stay in tune and minimize vocal stress by over singing.
This product is solid and uniquely shaped to reach from the ear all the way to the mouth. I could not believe the difference in sound. It was 10X better than just cupping my ears.
Best of all, you can either use it as a handheld device or mount it to your microphone. I was practicing some Zeppelin songs with some friends and could barely hear myself. So, I took out the removable center pise from my VAM and attached it to my wireless SM-58 and Ala Kazam, I could hear myself as plain as day.
The VAM also includes a detachable cover that functions as a bass enhancer. Although bass enhancement is not my thing, it does change the sound and make it richer before it reaches your ear. Out of the three different models he sent me, Woodgrain scratch resistant graphic film, Black Carbon Fiber, and clear polycarb I prefer the clear acrylic model.
The best thing about this product is that the price range is cheap for the quality of product you are receiving. The models range anywhere from 30-40 bucks. I am now using them as a staple to my teaching methods, because of the ability to improve intonation and I have dedicated a section to the VAM in the 2nd edition of my book, Raise Your Voice. I just had a singer come in for a week of lessons and the main thing we were working on was his intonation. He just seemed to fall flat a lot of times. Byron was kind enough to overnight a VAM as a gift for my student and he is now using it religiously for his practice sessions. Well, I think I rambled on long enough. I hope you learned something.
Peace,