What is a
Monitor Engineer?

from Women in Sound #5
released February 18, 2018
text by Karrie Keyes
portrait by Madeline Keyes Levine
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A monitor engineer mixes the sound the musicians listen to onstage during a performance. Typically the musicians will be provided an individual mix with either speaker monitors (also called wedges) or in-ear monitor systems (IEMS). The monitor engineer will tailor the mixes for each musician onstage, providing them with their desired amount of instruments and vocals. There is no template for the mix as each musician will have their preferences to what instruments they need to hear and the overall sound of the mix.

The monitor engineer is also responsible for maintenance and repair of the monitor system and microphones. They set up stage wiring and EQ (equalize) the monitor system, also called “ringing out” monitors, on a daily basis. On large tours, the monitor engineer will have a monitor tech that these responsibilities fall onto. Some artists tour with two monitor engineers that will divide up the mixing duties.

Ringing Out Monitors:
We ring out monitors to maximize volume before feedback occurs. This means pushing up the gain until feedback occurs, then using EQ to reduce the troublesome frequencies. We use a 31-band graphic equalizer for this. It’s important to consider the musician’s mic technique when ringing out monitors. Does the singer cup the mic with their hand? Does the singer point the microphone at the wedges? Does the singer eat the mic or hold the mic a foot from their mouth? Do they wear eyeglasses or baseball hats? Take these into account. 

Mixing monitors requires you to know your frequencies. Through a Google search, you will find a wealth of programs and tips to train your ears. Get a speaker, a microphone, a mixer, a one-third octave EQ, and an RTA (real-time analyzer). (There are several RTA apps available for your phone.) Set it up and talk into the mic while boosting one frequency at a time on the EQ until it feeds back. Repeat for each frequency until memorized.

The monitor engineer is typically located on the side of the stage, having an unobstructed view of the band. On larger productions, the monitor engineer is often hidden under the stage, in which case they communicate with the band by video monitor and/or the use of talkback mics to the artists.

The monitor engineer must pay attention to the musicians and maintain communication during the performance. Hand signals are often used to communicate. They must make sure each musician is comfortable and happy with their mix. They must also keep the stage feedback free.

What to Expect:
It’s called the Hot Seat for a reason. Musicians often get emotional during a performance. There is a lot of adrenaline happening onstage. These emotional outbursts are often (fairly or unfairly) directed at the monitor engineer. The monitor engineer needs to be able to anticipate the needs of the musicians. They are (unfairly) expected to read minds, watch and understand every artist onstage at the same time. Multitasking is a must, as well as being highly organized.

People/Musicians skills are a must. A thick skin and learning to not take things personally is a must. Good monitor engineers are highly sought after.

Skills and Education:
My job is about memorizing volume, EQ, tone, energy and the mix for each artist and then to sort out the sound-related issues each of those zones cause for the artist next to them. You must have a good ear, the ability to recognize frequencies instantly, and a firm grasp of the tools and technology used to mix monitors. It’s important to have hands-on experience with both analog and digital consoles, speakers, and amplifiers, microphones, processing, etc. An excellent starting position is as a stage tech responsible for wiring the stage and as a monitor tech. Education and training in electricity, physics of sound, and mathematics is also beneficial. 

Remembering your vocal mic pickup pattern is critical. Omnidirectional microphones accept sound from all directions, so in general we do not use these microphones on vocals. The pickup patterns used most often for vocal mics are cardioid, hypercardioid, and supercardioid. Learn which pattern each mic employs so that you can place the stage monitors accordingly.

To say sound is subjective is an understatement when it comes to mixing monitors. I have heard some crazy things. “This room sounds like glass breaking!” I have heard it all. It’s too clean, distorted, muddy, tubby, bright, squeaky, and yes, even purple. Sometimes navigating personalities and band politics is most of my job. On top of all this, you battle the elements everyday. That can include less-than-helpful FOH engineers, room acoustics, too loud guitar and bass rigs, drum kits two feet away from the singer, room temperature, physical space, weather, stage costumes, eyeglasses and baseball hats. I am warning you: watch out for sombreros. Mariachi bands rarely soundcheck wearing their sombreros.

But after all of this, knowing that you battled and won for the day is rewarding and being that close to the energy being created is priceless.

If you want to learn more about mixing monitors, please feel free to contact me at soundgirls@soundgirls.org.
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Karrie Keyes has been a monitor engineer for over 30 years. Her tour credits include Pearl Jam, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, The Jesus Lizard, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young and Soundgarden, among others. She is also the co-founder and Executive Director of SoundGirls, whose mission it is to inspire and empower the next generation of women in audio and create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers.