Posse

Every now and then an item comes along which revolutionises the way we make music. In-ear monitoring is now an accepted format even amongst artists playing smaller gigs, but the problem is that it's sometimes too complicated to get a decent mix or you may feel isolated because you're not hearing the room properly. What if you could quickly set up your own independent monitor mix, fine-tune it throughout the show, and even blend in some of that essential room sound? Well this is exactly what you can do with the POSSE, a personal in-ear monitoring system that includes, a Floor Box, Belt Box, and Stand Box that allows you to blend vocal, instrument, room, and aux inputs so you get a full, natural mix directly in-ears.

First up the Posse isn't limited to one sort of musician or one musical format, it can be tweaked and setup for just about any situation for singers, guitarists and beyond. The inbuilt room mics and an included condenser mic make it especially handy for horn players or acoustic musicians that don't have pickups and require clear signal to be fed to front of house. An easy to use onboard guitar tuner located on the stand box will also keep your axes in tune all night while being highly visible in the dark.

I set the Posse up in my studio with a mic and acoustic guitar and also sent some backing tracks out of my studio speakers to replicate the sound of a live band on a small scale. Jumping on the website (posseaudio.com) made setup especially easy for me, as it had a number different configurations and uses for different musical scenarios. I attached the floor box to the stand box, screwed the stand box onto my mic stand, plugged my vocal mic in, and finally hooked up the belt box to the floor box and was ready to go. I gave my acoustic a quick tune with the on-board tuner, which was fast and accurate and hit play on my backing tracks.

Setting up a mix was fast and easy and could be done on the fly, and it was possible to go really loud without any discernable distortion. The quality of tone was nothing short of stunning, and the real winner here was the ability to blend room sounds using the in-built stereo room mics allowing me hear the backing tracks clearly, my guitar and vocals, as well as traffic from the main road and even the birds chirping outside. Unplugging the direct line and using the Posse's condenser mic yielded even better tonal results for my acoustic for that classic close miked sound we all love, so I'd definitely encourage using the mic (or a blend) if you're able to stay clear of feedback at a show.

Sure you can buy in-ear monitors, but then you have to buy a belt pack and transmitter and even then you still might be relying on someone else for your mix. So why rely on your sound-guy when you can have your own Posse (pun intended)?