GEAR REVIEWS
ULTIMATE EARS Sound Tap AC DI Box
I
ntegrating an in-ear setup to an existing PA/monitoring system has been problematic at best, especially on the road, with a venue’s already existing monitors. Ultimate Ears has a way to make using in-ear monitors feasible, even in small club settings, without the need for complicated wireless transmitters and bodypacks. It’s a fairly big box, with a volume control and gain setting, but ease-of-use is superb. Simply unplug the existing monitor and plug in the Sound Tap. You’ll need another cable to reconnect the existing monitor, if desired. There are combo jacks for XLR and line-level signals, so all the possible bases are covered. Plug in a set of in-ear monitors into the headphone jack, and now the headphones are getting a feed (or Tap, get it?) from the front-of-house system. 44 APRIL/MAY 2018 PERFORMER MAGAZINE
Boom, you’ve got an instant, personal in-ear setup with about 30 seconds of setup time. With the volume and gain controls, dialing in a comfortable level is super easy. There’s a small threaded insert on the bottom, and with an adapter it can be mounted on a mic stand. Overall it functions really well, and for performers who don’t move around a lot on stage (drummers, keyboard players), or for rehearsal situations where space and volume are at a premium, this is a great, inexpensive tool for personal monitoring. All in all, it’s a small price to pay to get that direct connection, and using these can make monitoring onstage a lot easier, meaning a much lower stage volume overall. Chris Devine
PROS
Well built, accepts linelevel and XLR signals. CONS
Only one output. PRICE
$250