This thread has been great. My training is broadcast, where there is generally no monitoring in the same room as mics. The talent is cued when to start talking and when to finish. All my live performance training has been on the job, trial and error, with whatever common sense thrown in. It is just the last little while after getting a nicer vocal mic for my home recording set up (I hesitate to call it a "studio"), that I realized how bad the stage mics I have been using for years sound. This happens to coincide with rebuilding that will be happening where I play (a small church). There looks to be new sound equipment in the mix where I will likely have some say on what we get. I am going to try an omni I have sitting around for our KB player... no cost involved and I can switch it out if it doesn't work. I will look for the EQ by-pass switch as well :) -- Len Ovens www.OvenWerks.net