Hitting The Road
While indie musicians in the studio may be going into the way-back machine in search of the best quality microphones, those hitting the road have their sights firmly set on the future. With road expenses like van rentals, gas and setup becoming ever more costly, artists are looking for smaller-size gear.
Enter the in-ear monitor, which is quickly replacing traditional, large monitors.
John Hoik, back line manager at Third Encore––which offers back line rentals, cartage and a storage facility, in addition to five fully equipped studios––says that, in the touring world, gear is going digital and becoming smaller, lighter and more affordable.
“What’s being phased out are actual physical wedges,” he says. “In-ear monitors are easier to travel with and are becoming more affordable. Five or six years ago, only Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake could afford them, but now everyone can.”
Beyond in-ear monitors, digital boards are also shrinking in size, getting so small that musicians can bring them on airplanes as carry-on luggage, Hoik says.
Drummers who perform live can use playback systems––often in the form of laptops with digital interfaces––for tracks that require instruments that can’t be re-created live, sending the feed to the front of the venue, according to Hoik.
“There might be a certain synth pad sound going on in the chorus of a track that you don’t want a keyboardist to play, so you’d play along to a click track instead,” he says. “Artists can’t always afford to take four singers on tour to sing backup on one song.”
Baker Lee, audio production coordinator of Studio Instrument Rentals US (which calls itself the biggest and best-equipped full-service music equipment rental and production facility in the industry), says that powered speakers have become popular across the board among touring artists, having taken off in use starting about five years ago.
“With powered speakers,” Lee explains, “[There’s] no need for power amps––plug and play.” While they can come in various sizes and capabilities, and can be used in a line array for live shows or for a studio as monitors, he points to the Behrenger X32 console––which costs about $2,300––as being one of the more inexpensive options.
“The consoles are not as large as some of the analog and also all the outboard gear is built into the console, making it so an engineer can mix without external racks,” Lee adds. “I’m not sure if things are more affordable now, but one can certainly get more for their money.”
Contacts For This Article
•Design FX: Gary Ladinsky, 818-843-6555, dfxaudio.com
•Audio Rents: Traci Bradford, 323-874-1000, audiorents.com
•LAFX: info@lafx.com, 818 769-5239, lafx.com
•SIR: Fred Rose, 323-967-5460, sirla.com
• Third Encore: 3rdencore.com, 818-753-0148
