What in your view are the biggest differences between monitors and front of house?
Each night, front of house works for an audience that usually only sees the show once, are consumers, and music lovers. Of course, front of house has to deal with a different room every night, as well as tune the PA, focus on coverage, and consistently do their best to deliver a great-sounding show.
Most people who attend don’t criticize the sound because they’re excited just to be there, although a handful who do understand what it takes may be inclined to say something if it’s not sounding right to them.
With monitors, we mix for the same artist each night, and the demands are high. How consistent do you have to be? Or do you make fairly significant changes night to night? It all depends on the artist and the specific situation.
How many times have we seen a show with the artist constantly walking over to the monitor console or making signs to have something turned up or down. That affects the performance and what the audience is there to experience.
When the artist can’t concentrate and is uncomfortable in trying to make things right, the performance is affected. When that happens, front of house is affected and the audience doesn’t get the show that they wanted. It’s a domino effect.
What are some things that aspiring monitor engineers should know as they consider getting into the business?
As a monitor engineer you’re often considered to be “that guy at the other end of the snake,” not as important as a front of house engineer. You’re kind of just there. You don’t have to tune the PA, time-align it, consider the room you’re in, reflections, and so on. You usually don’t have all of the cool toys because you’re “just mixing monitors.”
Well, I believe that’s changed, with more and more artists wanting true clarity, consistency, and an in-ear mix that is as close to the record as possible. Add in the need to manage everyone else on stage, and the monitor position is just as important as front of house, and in some ways more so.
It all depends on the artist you’re with and what they want to hear. Not only do you have to pay attention to what they ask for, you also have to figure out how to interpret what they’re actually asking for. I’ve been in situations where an artist will ask for the same thing as other artists, but they actually want something completely different. It’s up to us to figure it out.
Pretty much everyone knows what “can you warm it up?” means, but how about “make it more red, or blue, or sparkly, or whatever”? It’s up to us to find out, and without offending anyone. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but you just can’t throw your arms up in the air and walk away. We need to develop trust with the artist, and after that, everything gets better and usually easier.
For anyone that is considering becoming a monitor engineer, I say go for it! Have confidence in yourself, but remain open minded to the way things may or may not work. If you really, truly want it, you can become great at it. And think of it this way: if you can consistently deliver a mix that a major artist likes, you’re probably pretty damn good.
Karl Winkler is director of business development at Lectrosonics and has worked in professional audio for more than 20 years.