Roadies' tech delight

WIRELESS: ARTISTS GIVEN FREEDOM TO PERFORM UNBOUND, STAY IN TUNE

- Hein Kaiser

Every time a band plays a gig, roadies and musicians haul around flight cases of equipment and endless yards of cable to the stage. Then, they lay the stuff as best possible so that nobody trips and breaks an ankle or a toe on the throes of performance. It's not been like that for stadium and arena-sized bands for some time, but for up and coming artists, cabling remained a nightmare.

Setup, strike, you name it, it's a pain," said wedding band performer and sound engineer Jonathan Birrin.

"It's a haul, and large bulky monitors separate you from the audience to some extent. That is," he said, "if you can even hear yourself and remain in key among the noise."

Bluetooth technology, Birrin said, was changing gigging forever. Just like its advancement has made Android and Apple devices lock into everything from earphones to car sound systems, so too has tech advanced to take live music wireless. Even at one man-band pub level.

"Bluetooth technology has advanced so much that it doesn't drop out anymore," Birrin said.

Early wireless systems were unreliable and prone to interference, but recent developments have allowed performers to cut the cords without sacrificing sound quality. From mixing desks and speakers to in-ear monitors, musicians now have the freedom to perform unbound.

In-ear monitoring systems, once reserved for bands with big bucks, are now affordable and offer a vast improvement over traditional floor monitors.