Well, it happened again last night on the job. I was reminded of just how important the in-my-face monitors are to me. I was working a very small restaurant, with loads of mirrors and no absorbing materials anywhere ... a nightmare for some, but the Bose handles this room very well. My current rig allows my vocals and keys to pump through the internal speakers, but NOT the tracks on my iPad or my guitar. They come right from the Bose .... they sound fantastic, but the perceived volume is different to my ears. I must have turned the guitar up to hit my "comfort zone" because the owner asked me to tone the volume down a bit as I was doing a guitar number. He almost NEVER says anything like that to me .. he LOVES the music, and is very gracious and polite when he does give me advice.

I was reminded that I only get these comments when the signal is not "in-my-face" first in these smaller venues. This means that I will go back to using the VLT2, so I can send the guitar, vocals and tracks all into the stereo INs on the PA900. It would have been SO easy if Korg had just kept the aux-in active, but they disconnected it with their first OS upgrade. Grrrrrrr.... what a bummer.

More to setup, but the new advantage is getting the harmonies back when I play the guitar. (YAY!) I am so hooked on the vocal group sound that I really miss it when it's just me singin' alone. Tunes like "We just disagree", "Teach your children", "Afternoon Delight" ... just don't cut it as a solo voice.

So, today - I rewire the rig. (again)
Looks like more freezing rain and snow tomorrow ... might just get an extended weekend from school AGAIN. Geeze ... I'm going to forget my kids' names!

P.S.
I should mention that many of my smaller venues require almost no sound reinforcement for the bulk of the night. It's a background situation (musical wallpaper, I call it - pretty, and appreciated, but stays out of the way) and all I REALLY need is a touch more bass to fill up the bottom end - the KB speakers are almost enough when coupled with my acoustic voice tone. In a bigger room, or a more noisy venue (like my summer spots) it's not an issue - the Bose fills the room and I can hear just fine. It's these TEENY places that are tricky to fill with the kind of sound that I am expected to provide.

I have played many small rooms with just the internal speakers and a small bass amp on the floor ... for fullness. Sounds great in the right setting.