Hearing Yourself OnStage - In-the-Ear Monitor

Hey everyone,

I hear Dave talking a lot about having your amp tilted up on stage or up on a chair, or even using a stage monitor, so that you can hear yourself.  These are all tried and true methods.

Out of necessity though, I use a different technique, a wireless in-the-ear monitor.  I'm the singer in my band, so I originally got the monitor to improve my singing and prevent me from blowing out my voice.  I've found it's also a GREAT way though to hear your harp playing on stage as well.

My only amp is a 1976 Fender Princeton Reverb whose preamp tubes have been derated to make it harp friendly.  There's no way I could compete with the volume of the rest of my band with just that amp, so out of necessity, I mic the amp through my PA mixing board.  What do you know?  My board is outputting to my ear monitor through one of the monitor channels, so now I get the added benefit of hearing my harp playing as loud as I want it, right in my ear.

The only caution I would give is to make sure you step out into the audience every now and then and pull the monitors out of your ears to make sure your harp is loud enough in the audience mix.  Or have someone in the audience giving you signals as to whether your harp is too loud or soft in the house mix.  I can't tell you how many times I've been blowing a great solo, and in my ear I'm saying, "wow, I'm really kicking ass".  Then when I get off stage someone tells me, "I couldn't hear you..."