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David's Tip of the Day: Personal Monitoring for Harp Players

Posted Wed, 08/07/2013 - 08:19 by David Barrett Admin
David Barrett Admin's picture

Our greatest challenge as performing harmonica players is to be able to hear ourselves well on the bandstand. With the help of MegaTone Amplifiers (http://megatoneamps.com/Speaker_Cabinets.html) we designed a monitor for harp players, but a powered speaker out from your amplifier is needed to power it.

If you don't have a powered speaker out, but you do have a line out, try the Behringer EUROLIVE B210D Active PA Speaker (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/behringer-eurolive-b210d-active...). At $199 it's a very inexpensive way to ensure you can hear yourself.

Set the tone and volume of your amplifier to the optimal setting (what sounds best to you... not just as loud as you can get it). Run an instrument cable from the line out of your amplifier into the input of this powered speaker. Plug the powered speaker into a standard power outlet and place the speaker on its side (it's designed to do this) and in front of you to turn it into a floor monitor. Your volume is controlled right there on the monitor.

Problem solved... you can gig with any size of amplifier and with any stage setup and still ensure you can hear yourself well.