EBS_freak

I have a friend who glues sandpaper onto either side of his picks... just remember to alllow for the change in thickness when choosing picks.

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1483617074' post='3208670'] I don't have the technical knowledge to comment on this but I was thinking that if Mariah Carey could have performed she would have as she has been doing just that for a long time now. The fact that she had to abort the performance would suggest to me that things were well out of her control. She would surely know that there would be no point in continuing and producing a performance that she would later regret. An unfortunate set of circumstances here which led to her doing the only sensible thing. [/quote] ^ not a numbskull.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1483616788' post='3208662'] not always [url="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=NASA+staff+scandal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gfe_rd=cr&ei=jTFuWIziD87O8gfDl7e4Aw#q=nasa+staff+mistakes"]https://www.google.c...+staff+mistakes[/url] [/quote] I think my point went over your head. NASA, like everybody else make mistakes... like sound engineers... [quote] and excuse me for being obvious, but putting on a gig is not rocket science! [/quote] Again, of course it isn't. It was a comparison between doing a job and getting it right. I bet you're fun at parties.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1483611606' post='3208615'] I've yet to view his personal custom bass but, even in his absence, I'm very excited about seeing it. I just wish he could have been there so I could hear him play it through his beloved Monique [/quote] I would like to see his personal bass - I know he was excited about it all, only got the tease shot of the packaging.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1483612229' post='3208621'] The suggestion is that she complained her ears weren't working just before going live, but she was assured all would be OK. That's only her side of the story, mind. [/quote] Until somebody in the audience with a radio pack that was recording the IEM feed releases the recorded audio.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1483611816' post='3208619'] numbskull here! No idea about the technicalities, but an educated guess concerning the money and companies involved would suggest the people involved are professionals at the top of their game, performer included, who would have planned; rehearsed; dress rehearsed; and sorted out any problems prior to going live? [/quote] NASA are professionals at the top of their game... but they still lost shuttles. Some times, sh1t just happens... but I am guessing there are a few engineers that are going to find it difficult finding work for a while. Mind you, having said that, I read last night that everybody involved had to sign NDAs (probably spurred on by the monitor recording leak she had) prior to work on the performance... so perhaps that may work in their favour.

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1483607898' post='3208570'] Oh, and EBS-Freak - I thought I read Mr Packer had sent her packing (badum-tish) so she might not be so comforted after all..... [/quote] It would appear you are right - I don't tend to keep up on Mariah activity! Although interestingly enough, I see that she gets to keep the $10million diamond ring and is looking for a $50million settlement agreement as she had to uproot to LA for him or something... So maybe there is still a bit of money in it for the old gal yet.

Ha! Yeah, it'll settle down soon for sure. I don't think her bank balance (and soon to be billionaire James Packer's wife) will be worrying too much, regardless.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1483574385' post='3208479'] I feel sympathy for her that her ears failed - that's a nightmare, and if it was only that, I'm sure Joe Public would be understanding. But...miming to the high bits? So long, sympathy. Only her & her management are to blame for getting her into that position. [/quote] For sure - miming is nothing new - that's kinda expected by any pop act nowadays, right or wrong. Madonna, Beyonce, Britney or <insert name>, they've all been caught doing it. Most of the time they get away with it. Even when they don't it's yesterday's news. What you have to remember, is that outside of the studio, these guys are primarily entertainers as opposed to singers... so it's as much about the clothes, the dancing, the stage, the lights... the singing is almost last on the list! (until it goes wrong that is!)

[quote name='roonjuice' timestamp='1483572954' post='3208470'] All very true, and again only playing devils, but rf licenses for frequencies in NYC [b]should[/b] be arranged and paid for in advance. We shall never know! [/quote] ^ Even with all the licenses, you can't ignore stray RF that is beyond your control. Of course, I'm not saying this happened... just trying to say what *could* have happened... and why Mariah doesn't deserve the panning that she seems to be unjustifiably getting. Hell, I'm not even particularly a Mariah fan... but theres too many numbskulls with no idea about the technicalities of such a show to judge her on that performance. It's clear that her performance is dogged with technical issues, not her ability to sing or not.

[quote name='OmeDunk' timestamp='1483560496' post='3208308'] Thx, I cancelled the order, removed the link and going to order the HD's. [/quote] Cool - would be very interested to hear your thoughts on them... as they could prove to be a very good introductory unit that would challenge the 215s and MEE M6s that people seem to go for.

After reading this - [url="http://ew.com/tv/2017/01/02/mariah-carey-nye-what-really-happened/"]http://ew.com/tv/201...eally-happened/[/url] It does suggest that the monitor engineer/RF technician (radio) are defo to blame. With all the TV crews and the like in the area, it wouldn't surprise me if it was damn near impossible to get a reliable RF stood up for even two channels (the ears and the mic - let alone what other RF was in use). Without having a RF scan for that area at that time, we will never know for sure... but I would wager that the environment was pretty savage. If it's a case that the packs where changed over (and not rerouted), I would wager that they were transmitting on the wrong frequencies...

[quote name='roonjuice' timestamp='1483571614' post='3208452'] Just playing devils here guys, but i counted at least 6 monitors. (the dancers would need them). To think that the monitor engineer wouldn't have vocals routed to the wedges in case of IEM failure would be absurd! [attachment=235277:mariah.jpg] [/quote] This is true - who knows if the vocal was coming out of there or not. If the monitor engineer hasn't got the IEM situ under control (misrouted vocal mic maybe - maybe the channels were changed from the rehearsal?), it's a valid hypothesis that the wedge monitors could be exhibiting the same lack of vocal. Again, if the IEMs were the only source for MC to use, which could be a fair assumption given the environment she was singing in, she would still be fked.

[quote name='spencer.b' timestamp='1483570788' post='3208444'] But she couldn't hear the track , Mariah's from a gospel background I'm sure she can belt it out but if you can't hear the track what can you do, why all the hate [/quote] He has a boner for the Beatles it would seem.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1483569679' post='3208436'] So played around with different size buds - the overall size of the solid bit are a bit wider than the ear phones I've been using so took a while to work out what was best. Two different sizes of the foam buds seemed best. Only tried them with recorded music so far. Played around with music off my iPhone and our Bluesound hifi. it sounded good... not amazing, but not too different to how the track sounded through the hifi. Nice sound - to be honest wasn't blown away. Sound proofness was pretty good. Was putting the hi-fi playing one song through the speakers then playing a different song through the iPhone on the lowest possible setting. so got out the ear buds I had been using - and stuck them in to compare... and suddenly the difference was MASSIVE. The bottom end just went, the mids got all lumpy and bits of the music were just not audible. Massive difference. Went back the the ue900s and the music came back! Looking forward to using them as iem at practice next week. Need to get used to the pre-formed ear loop and how they sit in my ears. So they seem awesome- esp at the price I got them at! (and also show how our hifi is pretty decent and i've got used to music sounding fairly well reproduced) [/quote] I lost heart as I read the beginning of your reply! It just didn't make sense - but yes, when you compared to your "average" headphones, your findings are as I would expect. What you have to remember, is that the price to performance ratio is a lot less in your favour when you go portable... even more so when you go from over the ear to in-ear. You really are asking a lot out of all those tiny devices when compared to what you can get in full size speakers! The bass, as I've said numerous times, is critical in IEMs. You need as much as you can get and as good a seal as you can get. The seal on an IEM can make or break them in terms or performance. Moulds can really help you there - especially if you have odd shaped lugs like me. Having said that, it perfectly possible to get a good seal with some tips that really suit you. It's quite surprising to see how people react when coming from something like Apple buds, which they perceive to be great, to go to something with a lot more oomph. Looking forward to your next update!

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483568090' post='3208421'] Thanks for that measured response. Back in the 60s and 70s most semi pro bands had no monitors, and poor PA systems compared to now. There was nothing special about putting out decent vocals without monitors, it was the norm. [/quote] I'm not doubting that - but comparing your average gig for "semi pro" bands in the 60s and 70s to that of a "pro" band with a modern PA rig, in a far less than ideal acoustic environment, with far higher spls, is an equally ridiculous comparison for you to make.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483561547' post='3208320']I am only a harmony vocalist but even I know by the pressure in my throat and ears when I am in tune. [/quote] Ridiculous. If you are singing by muscle memory, you are requiring everybody and the accompanying instruments to be exactly in tune - the law of averages will mean that this is completely unlikely. You need to listen with your ears and adjust appropriately to be in tune with those around you.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483561547' post='3208320'] Well the Beatles managed when they couldnt even hear there instruments, and had no monitors, but there again, they had talent. Most of the bands I was in during the 60s and 70s had no monitors but we managed to play and produce 3 part harmonies of quality. She is supposed to be a pro singer and entertainer, If she cant overcome a monitor problem without spitting her dummy out she needs to find another career. [/quote] You are forgetting one of the key points. She is singing against an echo. Have you ever tried to talk down a telephone with an echo of your voice coming back at you? To say Mariah has no talent is just foolish. The Beatles, weren't performing with anywhere near the volume of modern PA systems. Yes, they couldn't hear what they were singing - but crucially they weren't singing against reflections from the front of house. If you were that good in the 60s and 70s presumably I have heard of you, or at least your bands...?

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1483558665' post='3208279'] Is that the sound engineer who probably said 'Whatever you do Mariah, don't take your IEM's out?' [/quote] Yes - because -26dB of attenuation combined with no monitor feed is exactly what she needs in such a situation.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1483553155' post='3208200'] Yes, those pesky rehearsals usually iron out these problems. [/quote] They do - but in this case, Mariah wasn't at fault... but it won't be the sound engineers that are getting the bad press will it?

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1483549817' post='3208157'] Talk about lack of professionalism. We play pub gigs and wouldnt dream of pulling a stunt like that. [/quote]

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1483299556' post='3206043'] Oh dear, Ms Carey will no doubt be blaming someone else and vastly shortening their career prospects after her lip-syncing gig went pear shaped last night. [/quote] Damn right too. The monitoring engineer should be in a whole world of pain. Taking out her IEMs sealed her fate. With the amount of reflection going on from the surrounding buildings, she stood no chance of hearing anything to sing against without IEMs. It's reported that there was nothing going into her IEMs... which certainly appears to be the case. On a big stage, with minimal reflection, you can't hear whats going on the other side of the stage to where you are. Put that stage in a place where FOH reflections (yes, buildings reflect sound like nothing else) are going to be omnipresent and you're...well... fked. There doesn't appear to be any floor wedges to help... but they wouldn't have helped much either... because the foh reflection would still be very much present. With regard to lip syncing, it wasn't the whole of the vocal... yes... the tricky high vocals... but that's the one bit you know that everybody expects her to get right and one bit that everybody is going to criticise if she doesn't get right... so she can't win either way. You've got to remember she's a couple of decades older than when her voice was in her prime. She's paid to be an entertainer and that what she did... maybe just in a different manner to what everybody expected.

Its a shame there's a lack of single 12 EADs out there. Always thought the tilted cabs made complete sense to the guy using backline as monitoring and foh.

Exhibit A. Nicky Wire. Somebody that could give less sh1ts about dispersion. Don't think it's held him back.

I have 4 2x10s. Stack them how you like and what works for you. In reality, 2 cabs stacked on their sides allows for better dispersion as noted... but if you can hear and everybody that needs to hear, can it really matter? Besides, your PA should be doing all the real work anyway.