InEars
Once you have tried Inear's for monitoring there is no going back. I remember my first time was a struggle. I felt disconnected from the band and audience. This feeling made me want to go straight back to floor monitors, but I loved the sound quality. Suddenly everything had detail. I could change my pick thickness and clearly hear the difference. I could hear every instrument in the mix clearly. Now I try to always use InEar monitors. If the venue is big enough I will ask to floor monitors and InEar's. Having the air moving at you from a speaker feels great, give emotion to the sound, but the clarity and detail from InEars cannot be replaced.
My current InEar are 1964 V6 stage custom moulds. Before these I use Westone U3 for years. I must say there is nothing wrong with Westones, but the 1964 ears are incredible. You will never regret purchasing good quality Inear monitors, they are your livelyhood.
To connect the Inears is use Sennheiser EW300 radio systems. They work extremely well, sound great and have never let me down. I also prefer a good quality stereo preamp wired directly to my headphone. My preference is Presonas HP6.
Once you have tried Inear's for monitoring there is no going back. I remember my first time was a struggle. I felt disconnected from the band and audience. This feeling made me want to go straight back to floor monitors, but I loved the sound quality. Suddenly everything had detail. I could change my pick thickness and clearly hear the difference. I could hear every instrument in the mix clearly. Now I try to always use InEar monitors. If the venue is big enough I will ask to floor monitors and InEar's. Having the air moving at you from a speaker feels great, give emotion to the sound, but the clarity and detail from InEars cannot be replaced.
My current InEar are 1964 V6 stage custom moulds. Before these I use Westone U3 for years. I must say there is nothing wrong with Westones, but the 1964 ears are incredible. You will never regret purchasing good quality Inear monitors, they are your livelyhood.
To connect the Inears is use Sennheiser EW300 radio systems. They work extremely well, sound great and have never let me down. I also prefer a good quality stereo preamp wired directly to my headphone. My preference is Presonas HP6.
Accessories and other Equipment
Capos
Capos are almost an essential tool with a lot of the worship style of music I play. You never know what key a song will be in and the song may have an intricate riff that uses the open strings. I've lost count of how many times I have needed to transpose a song, so now I always have a capo in my kit (actually there are usually about three in there). My favourite brand is Kyser. They just work and don't let you down. I've had one of my Kyser capos for over 20 years and it still works like the day I bought it. The other ones I like are the Planet Waves variable tension capos. Sometimes in the studio they come out and work well for me.
Capos are almost an essential tool with a lot of the worship style of music I play. You never know what key a song will be in and the song may have an intricate riff that uses the open strings. I've lost count of how many times I have needed to transpose a song, so now I always have a capo in my kit (actually there are usually about three in there). My favourite brand is Kyser. They just work and don't let you down. I've had one of my Kyser capos for over 20 years and it still works like the day I bought it. The other ones I like are the Planet Waves variable tension capos. Sometimes in the studio they come out and work well for me.
Strings
My Favourite strings has to be D'addario. I have been using them forever and really don't have a desire to change. The quality is always there and they sound great. I have used Ernie Ball and they are great to, I just become used to D'addario. Most of my guitars are strung with 10-46 gauge, except the Ibanez Jem, Ibanez Satch's, the Parker Fly and the Music Man Steve Morse are strung with 9-42. My Music Man Petrucci and my Ibanez Petrucci have 9-46 gauge on them. The acoustics are all strung with 12-53 Phosphor bronze and the nylon strings are 28 to 43. The bass guitars are 45 105 for the 4 strings and 45 to 130 for the 5 strings and 35 to 130 for the 6 string. |