London Calling:
Ettore Dedivitiis, FOH Man for Natalie Cole, on In-ear Personal Monitors

Born on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls to a family newly emigrated from Italy, it wasn't surprising that we'd be connecting with this Los Angeles resident and FOH production manager par excellence in London. Taking a few moments from the beginning of a three-week European tour with Natalie Cole, the pro who is known in the industry simply as "E.T" (his name is pronounced: Eh-Torreh Dee-Duh-Vee-Tiss, a challenge for those of us not fluent in Italian) was kind enough to share his time, his experience and his counsel.

How long have you been at this?
I started out in the music business when I was about 15 up in a Canada. My high school friends were in a band that eventually became Honeymoon Suite and they asked me if I wanted to be on the crew. I started out just helping to set up and slowly started working sound.

I worked with a lot of Canadian bands, bands like Honeymoon Suite, Tom Cochrane and a several others. About ten years ago, I moved to Los Angeles. I started working with Natalie Cole as her monitor engineer and did that for about eight years. Now I handle her FOH production.

Other artists, too?
I also work with Babyface and Jason Mraz.

How did you learn?
I just learned by doing and learned by speaking to other engineers as I came into contact with more and more people. I've learned most of it 'hands-on'.

What about the physics of sound?
Fortunately, my sister is a professor of Physics – she became the Director of the Science Museum in Kuwait. So when I have questions, I call her. It's helpful.

What was your first experience with personal monitoring systems and how far back does that go?

It was with Tom Cochrane about 8 years ago. We were discussing them and he was a little hesitant at first. He thought he could hear himself too well. We kept experimenting and he ended up really liking them a lot.

One thing I notice is that personal monitoring really saves the voice – singers aren't pushing as hard.

Natalie Cole didn't start using her system until last year. She had never, ever, ever used personal monitors before. I talked her into it and we got a system just for her, and now she loves it.

Seems like for the uninitiated, it's a little bit of a shock to hear that well. And until they get the right mix, performers experience a sense of isolation. Anything you've learned?
You have to be careful about what you give them. Since they're wearing earphones that are really like stereo headphones, they're looking for a major CD mix, which is a little difficult to accomplish with all the open mics and ambient sound on stage.

You've got to pick and choose what you give them. I try to give them something in their ears that gives them a sense of timing – piano, kick, snare and hat. And some of the singers I work with prefer to wear just one – with the vocals and the piano in the mix for timing and tuning. Tom Cochrane wears both now. Natalie wears both.

What about the earphones?
I give them a few off-the-shelf Shure earphones to try. I ask them to take several different types and listen to them. I like the E1 single-drivers, but I also like the E5s. Everyone has a preference. For artists like these, it's best to get custom ear molds, but we generally start with a more generic approach.

How long does it take an artist to make the switch?
First of all, you start out in rehearsals. In Natalie's case, she saw the background singers using them. And here's something to remember: when you're on the road, consistency can be a real issue. You're not using the same equipment all the time, it's gear du jour. Sometimes the stage monitors are good. Sometimes they suck. But if you have your own personal monitoring system, it's always the same.

How many members of the band are on personal monitors?
I just finished a tour with Tom Cochrane in May. On that tour, the drummer, the bass player and Tom were all on 'in-ears'. The guitar player preferred to be on wedges, so his were the only ones onstage.

With Natalie, everyone's on 'ears' with the exception of the drummer. Another great benefit of personal monitoring is that they can be used by Natalie or the musical director to communicate with the band without the audience hearing.

The musical director loves it because if someone's falling behind in the beat, she can just talk to them directly. Or we can use it to let the band know we've got five minutes left.

"Even if you're with a band that's … on wedges, get a set of 'ears' for yourself so that you become the expert and the advocate."

Is it hard for a stage monitor engineer to learn to be a good in-ear personal monitor engineer?
It's really pretty easy. The most important thing to know is that you've got to be gentle with it. It's a good idea to play with it yourself at the board. Even if you're with a band that's all on wedges, get a set of 'ears' for yourself so that you become the expert and the advocate.

You're going to have to teach the band how to use them. Everyone has a pack with a volume control, so you have to show them how to adjust the volume … whether it's to boost their own mix or take it down. It's really amazing the difference it can make. It helps the FOH engineer because the stage volume is lower and you can get a better overall mix. It helps the singers because they're not pushing so hard. And if you use the technology correctly, it can save your hearing.

Final thoughts?
It's a great tool for everything. You can use it for click tracks. You can run ProTools. Instead of the drummer just having a click running in his head, he can have a full mix working for him.

I think if you're serious about going at this full bore, you need to start out with some good ready-made earphones like the ones Shure sells. You need to give everyone enough time to feel comfortable and hear the difference.

We want to thank Ettore for his generosity in granting us time to talk transatlantically.