The other side of the looking glass: an earbuds review

[PianoMan51]

Six months ago I started a recurring piano gig. Once a month a bass player and I play jazz standards for a senior living facility for their Sunday brunch. Here comes the kink: we're always too loud for some of our customers. And we play really really quietly. And then we get the complaints. Oy! The piano sounds tinny, like it's coming from an AM radio.

 

Well, this sucks. One Sunday for a lark, I brought a pair of FBT 6" powered monitors and placed them on stands, either side of my head, maybe 18" away from my ears. Oh, this was okay!. I could hear everything nicely, as though I was playing a real piano, but for the audience it was quiet enough to please those with their hearing aids jacked to the max. But of course I'm sure it looked completely weird, and was time consuming to set up and adjust.

 

Here's the solution: earbuds. I'm talking about the kind that sit in socket of your ear. You can hear everything around you quite clearly, but you don't get the kind of bass response you can get from good in-ears. But this is just fine for piano only. And, the added bonus is that for soft gigs where I sing, I can hear myself better than ever.

 

Here's my setup:

- CP-4, running stereo outs.

- Small 4-channel Mackie Mixer, with separate Mains output level and Headphone level.

- One set of reasonably good earbuds, with extension cable so I can snake it under the piano.

- Powered speaker suitable for the room, running off the Right hand output only.

 

The earbuds allow me to hear the stereo piano at a level I would hear when I play an acoustic grand, so it's engaging. I can also hear my vocals very well (although the bass response is attenuated). And I hear the bass player at stage volume. Then when I set the powered speaker up, I can adjust the position and the level (in mono) to suit the band and the audience.

 

I've played two gigs this way and I really like how I can hear myself just a little bit louder than anybody else, with as good or better fidelity as any PA speakers. One gig was the above mentioned bass-piano duo. I've also done this with a quartet with me singing. Both were a sonic delight, at least for me.

 

The audience gets a mono piano (which has been hashed to death here, and I agree that nobody on the audience side is going to hear or care.) But I (with a big capital I) get the stereo surround sound that makes me feel like I'm playing a non-faux-piano. The volume of the earbuds I'm going to guess is no more than 6dB hotter than the stage volume for the rest of the band and the audience. And, I can easily adjust one volume without affecting the other.

 

Anyway, that's my story until somebody smarter than me shows me the error of my ways.

 

Submitted for your approval...

[DulceLabs.com]

Anyway, that's my story until somebody smarter than me shows me the error of my ways.

 

You may get some push back, but my stance is: if it works for you, go for it.

[Lindaru]

Can you possibly point me in the direction of wired ear buds that have a very long cord and still maintain quality without having to add extensions?

 

I am currently using a pair of cheap Sansa right now and they work okay, but are just too short. Mind you, I am not a professional, so cost is important.

 

I find them convenient, too, for the head-phones out on my MicroKORG, but darn it, trying to move very far while playing has been a pain.

 

I like, too, that you can still hear what is going on around you and hear yourself the way you wish to.

 

 

[Dave Ferris]

Hi. You can't find a happy medium,volume wise, with the powered speakers, to please you and the more sensitive to noise, older audience ?

 

I've been in these situations quite a few times in the past and it can be tricky for sure. If the room is real small, or has hard, reflecting surfaces where things bounce around, it makes matters even more challenging. To add, when the people are sitting right on top of you , it is yet another consideration.

 

I have zero experience with buds but have always been able to walk the volume tightrope with the seniors using the RCF TT08As on stands behind me. I am super sensitive to volume levels and how the entire vibe/volume is effecting everyone around me, as it sounds like you are as well.

 

However I've found that no matter what you do and how accommodating you try to be, there will always be one, or a couple of people who complain. Usually when this happens, I take a break from the vocals for few tunes and just play some ballads. It usually chills them out and I pick up the energy level after a few tunes.

 

Of course if you throw drums and/or sax into the mix, aside from just solo piano, or piano and Ac. bass, the more chance for it being too much, volume wise, for them.

 

Those gigs can be gratifying in that the audiences that recognize and appreciate great tunes like "Skylark", "Stardust", "Walkin' my baby back home", "Stars fell on Alabama", etc, etc. - are disappearing altogether. Those tunes comprise a large part of my preferred repertoire when I have to gig.

 

Sounds like you've found a plan that works for you though. Good luck with it and have fun.

[PianoMan51]

Can you possibly point me in the direction of wired ear buds that have a very long cord and still maintain quality without having to add extensions?

This is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S1R7F2U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[PianoMan51]

Hi. You can't find a happy medium, volume wise , with the powered speakers, to please you and the more sensitive to noise, older audience ?

Yes, by placing the speakers 18" from my ears! Hard to believe, but there it is. My bass player doesn't use an amp, and still plays quietly.

 

The plus side is that this is the only gig (other than concerts) where I can really play with lots and lots of space, because the ambient noise is so low. The bass player and I play together in other groups, but we like doing this gig because it's so relaxed that we get to channel those rare musical impulses that come with silence. (And there are folks in the audience who are listening, so it's a warm environment.)

[Dave Ferris]

I hear you. I remember also taking the speakers off the stands and putting them in a wedge position behind me so the sound is more diffused and less focused or direct. Again, sometimes no matter what you do, you end up throwing your hands into the air. :idk

[Lindaru]

Thank you, PianoMan!

 

Decent price for that, too.

 

 

[J_tour]

Interesting topic. I've been experimenting at home with some consumer audio (in my case, a home-theater-style subwoofer and some of those tiny little speakers) with better results than my usual just use my 1202 Mackie into the JBL Eon 15 on a stand.

 

Maybe slightly relevant, about a month ago or so I was house-sitting for a weekend for my parents, who have an OK Kimball smallish grand, and grandpa (dad to me), had some active-electronics shooting ear protection, for some reason.

 

Kind of trippy to use those while playing the acoustic piano, which is far too loud for the small room they have it in, and experiment with dialing in the filter via the rotary knob on the shooting muffs.

[Lindaru]

Something I never would have dreamed of trying . . . so do tell! What did it do to the piano sound? I am sure those muffs are not designed for quality musical dynamics? How trippy was it?

 

Since I have no readily available access to either an acoustic piano nor the firing range muffs, I will live vicariously through your experience.

 

 

[BluesKeys]

I solved this problem by setting my powered EON on the floor facing me from the side. I can hear and because it isn't directly facing the audience I can set the volume higher with zero complaints. I also watch the crowd, and if they start leaning in to talk to each other I turn down or as others do a few without vocals.

[RABid]

This...

Anyway, that's my story until somebody smarter than me shows me the error of my ways.

 

You may get some push back, but my stance is: if it works for you, go for it.

 

And this...

 

I solved this problem by setting my powered EON on the floor facing me from the side. I can hear and because it isn't directly facing the audience I can set the volume higher with zero complaints. I also watch the crowd, and if they start leaning in to talk to each other I turn down or as others do a few without vocals.

 

I cannot use ear buds. They are all defective and will not stay in my ears. When biking or riding I use the clip over the ear headphones.

 

This would probably be an ever better tip for bass players. I've been in concrete block shotgun rooms where the bass player honestly could not hear himself on stage standing right in front of the amp, but bass was drowning out the band in the seating area.

[Stokely]

I would make sure you aren't putting more volume into your ears this way...doesn't sound like it but that was the primary reason I went to IEMs in the first place, to reduce volume. I get a bit of bleed (drums and bass, enough to hear by) but overall the stage volume is way less, 20-30 db.

 

Another benefit of the IEMs is that I don't need to bring a powered monitor, but in your case sounds like the audience and other band members need it. I was in a similar position, the other band members wanted me to bring it--oh what a happy day when they upgraded the wedges and said you don't need to bring it! (only two of us use IEMs).

[BluesKeys]

In the band I have molded IEM which cancel all outside noise. I could not wear them on a solo show. I would have no idea how loud I play or sing. And without th EON the audience would only hear me singing to a bunch of clicking keys. Lol