Quote:
Originally Posted by garysjo  Joel, how do you monitor? Lug in a console?
Thanks |
I guess I take a dangerous approach with that, too.
I figure there's really only two things I
need to know when I'm monitoring--well, three. Is there a signal? How high do I set the gain on the mic pre? Where do I set the attack/release/etc on the compressor/limiter?
So, instead of any bulky "perfectly accurate" monitoring system which requires a quiet room, an amp, & speakers, I just rely on my trusty Sony 7506 headphones to clue me in on how it's all shaping up, sonics-wise. So I have the simplest, bare bones "boards" (a few Alesis Multimix's of various flavors) that give me a headphone out for however many channels are in play.
I just accept several things as given: what you're hearing through the 'phones is not really what's getting recorded, because you can't block out the sound from the room, not with 7506's. Also, in a live concert setting without any sound check, you set the levels based on what the murmuring crowd sounds like--you might have a few split seconds once the players start, in case your calculations were off. Also, your mic placement is already a done deal, you can't call a halt to everything and go change it-- you pray that you've judged this accurately, which is why you usually put up redundant sets of stereo mics to allow for all contingencies.
I guess I'm saying that to me, it's not a game of "test out the monitoring as though you were sitting there mixing and then jockey around the mics and players and EQ this or that until you're happy and then tell them to start," it's
much more like hanging from the undercarriage of a moving train, you just need to know your grip on the shock-absorbers is secure--everything else you worry about later.