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

[Bradford Trainham <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Same here on the embarrassment...  If I can't hear what I'm
playing/singing, I tend to (unconsciously, I guess) scale all of what
I'm doing down. 
When listening to it later, the result sounds like someone...
somewhere... was having a bad night!!
Brad Trainham
On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 09:06:34 -0600, you 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, 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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>>
>>
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