Re: [Harp-L] How much do you need to hear yourself while gigging?

[Special20 <special20harp@xxxxxxxxx>]

When I can't hear myself I start playing louder, which destroys both my tone
and my harps.  Not good.  I hate sitting in because it often happens in
those situations.

Amplified harp is a very tricky instrument acoustically.  I've played large
amps with no monitors and small amps mic'ed into the monitor system.  Either
way, it takes careful setup to get it just right and avoid feedback in each
venue.

You have to hear yourself play.  No, you can't do it by just knowing where
you are on the harp and knowing where the song is going; at least I can't.
I've heard many recordings of myself in those situations and I was
embarassed by the result.

Try different mics.  I have many mics and they all have different qualities
in tone and feedback rejection.  Sometimes I use a mic whose tone is not my
favorite because it feeds back less in certain venues.  Try a feedback
eliminator device, such as the Sabine or Kinder.  Try everything.  You gotta
hear yourself, or you're just going through the motions...

-Spec20



On 10/28/07, Special20 <special20harp@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> When I can't hear myself I start playing louder, which destroys both my
> tone and my harps.  Not good.  I hate sitting in because it often happens in
> those situations.
>
> Amplified harp is a very tricky instrument acoustically.  I've played
> large amps with no monitors and small amps mic'ed into the monitor system.
> Either way, it takes careful setup to get it just right and avoid feedback
> in each venue.
>
> You have to hear yourself play.  No, you can't do it by just knowing where
> you are on the harp and knowing where the song is going; at least I can't.
> I've heard many recordings of myself in those situations and I was
> embarassed by the result.
>
> Try different mics.  I have many mics and they all have different
> qualities in tone and feedback rejection.  Sometimes I use a mic whose tone
> is not my favorite because it feeds back less in certain venues.  Try a
> feedback eliminator device, such as the Sabine or Kinder.  Try everything.
> You gotta hear yourself, or you're just going through the motions...
>
> -Spec20
>
>
>
>
>
> On 10/28/07, Cljdm@xxxxxxx <Cljdm@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > Hey all.
> >
> > I know this may sound dopey, and I realize it is important to have
> > moniters
> > or effectively placed amps, so one can hear themselves while playing.
> > But
> > what if you can hardley hear yourself  most of the gig for one reason or
> > another?
> > Or even not being able to hear oneself clearly.  I find it difficult to
> > play
> > what I can play if I can hear myself clearly. Even though I know where I
> > am
> > on the harp, and can tell where the tune is going, if i can't hear what
> > is
> > coming out of my amp I get very frustrated.
> >
> > Of course this sometimes has to do a lot with loud guitars and drums,
> > but
> > that is a whole other issue. I have  learned how to cut through that,
> > and I do
> > most of the time. I am thinking of placing my amp right behind me and
> > taking
> > my chances on occasional feedback on my next gig. At least I will hear
> > myself.
> > I am finding out the acoustics of the room among other factors determine
> > the
> > ability to hear myself. So I guess I would like to know,  is it common
> > for
> > players to not be able to hear themselves and yet still play
> > effectively? I mean
> > by just knowing where you  are at on their instrument, is that enough to
> > create
> > what you want.   I find this very difficult and get a real empty feeling
> > after a gig when I can barely  hear myself playing most of the night.
> > Probably
> > because I wonder how many mistakes I didn't hear.
> >
> > On the other hand when the sound is right and the levels are audible to
> > everyone, the creativity soars.
> >
> >                                    Best regards,
> >
> >                                              Chris Mastakas
> >
> >
> >
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