For music directors, artists, and engineers looking for seamless, private comms during performances, Radial’s HotShot Mic Switchers are the ideal solution to help you lead, direct, and perfect your show on the fly.
Whether you’re trying to improve/streamline your performance, deal with a potential problem before it becomes problematic, or fix an issue in real time, the general rule of live performance is: ‘Never let the audience see you sweat.’
That’s where Radial’s HotShot Microphone Switchers come into play – providing fluent, instant, and easy communication when you need it and with exactly who you need to talk to. But Radial’s HotShot devices also have applications before you start working the room – for sound checks, rehearsals, and wherever and whenever fluid communication can help keep things on track.
Meet the HotShot Family
Offering a pristine signal path and ultra-high fidelity, Radial HotShot mic switchers eliminate the need for separate talkback mics on stage, providing a compact, user-friendly means of muting your vocal mic in the PA so you can have private conversations with your band, crew, or both.
HotShot DM1 Stage Mic Toggle
Momentary mute—perfect for quick, hands-on control
Completely passive, the HotShot DM-1 provides a discrete1 channel of communication to a single destination of your choice via a single momentary footswitch, allowing music directors, artists, or anyone with a dynamic mic to reroute mic signal to a second output – the band’s in-ears, your tech crew, or everyone simultaneously.
HotShot 48V Condenser Microphone Splitter
Ideal for condenser mics or powered systems
Powered by an external 9V power supply, the HotShot 48V provides its own source of 48V for condenser mics. Like the DM-1, it offers up a second channel for discrete communications, but with the added flexibility of a footswitch that can be configured for momentary or latching operation.
It also features an isolation transformer on the XLR input, a time delay microcontroller for noise-free switching, and an LED indicator to display which output is in use. Although intended primarily to allow users to utilize and power condenser mics, it can also be used for dynamic mics, making it a well-rounded, compact solution for onstage communication.
HotShot MD: Multi-output dynamic mic switcher
3 Channels of Onstage Communication in a single box
Created in response to customer demand for a more powerful means of onstage communication, the newest addition to Radial’s Hotshot line is a one-touch, full-contact solution designed to simplify stage communication further.
Passive, plug and play, and built specifically for dynamic microphones, the HotShot MD features two momentary switches, allowing for communication to two separate destinations or (by pressing both footswitches together), both destinations simultaneously – thereby enabling seamless transitions between singing, cueing the band, and coordinating with techs – all without disrupting the audience experience.
Why Onstage Communication Matters
If you’ve ever struggled to get the attention of stage techs and/or other players when everyone’s isolated in IEMs, you know that constant communication makes for more seamless shows.
Consequently, whether you’re a relatively new act or a tight, highly experienced unit, chances are you’ll welcome a device that facilitates onstage communication and allows you to address issues that might otherwise pull your focus away from performing without letting the audience in on the conversation.
While there’s no shame in asking for help from a tech, an alteration in your monitors, or telling a bandmate to get their act together (if necessary) from an open mic, sometimes private conversations are critical.
“My first impression when I got the HotShot MD was, ‘This is what I didn’t know I needed for so long,’” says Will Wells (songwriter/producer/performer – Imagine Dragons, Hamilton, Cynthia Erivo). “I work in many environments (as an MD) where discretion is required. Whether it’s a large recording session with an artist and/or individual players, where we need to discuss some things with discretion, or, on a broadcast like the Heisman Trophy Ceremony, (where) I want to be sensitive to what’s sent down the talkback for my assistant director versus what I want to say to the band directly. In the past, we’ve either had to use two separate setups or just say everything down the main line.”
It’s also good for the other player’s focus,” Wells adds, “so they don’t have to hear me talking to my AD in their ears. When the AD is counting me or giving cues in their ears the whole time, the HotShot MD is extremely helpful, because it helps streamline things and makes the process more natural.”
Longtime Radial user, Tariqh Akoni (Guitarist, Educator, Producer, Composer – Josh Groban, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder) agrees. “It’s a pet peeve of mine, when I’m focused on playing a passage or a part, to hear somebody in my ears saying something mundane. I have to be so focused on what I’m doing, and I want to same thing for the band. If I have to tell the crew something, I don’t want the band to get distracted from what they’re doing, and vice versa.”
Having previously used earlier HotShot iterations, Akoni was asked to test out the HotShot MD. His take: “I’ve been musical director for Josh Groban for 25 years. Typically, we have regular talkback mics for the band, and something jerry rigged for me – literally three or four custom things put together to solve the problem that the Hotshot MD is solving.”
Sometimes I need to speak to the just the artist,” Akoni continues. “If there’s an issue they need me to mitigate, or just to say we’re all set.
But another way the HotShot MD is super helpful is for working with conductors. Sometimes with Josh, we bring a conductor and a 20 to 50-person orchestra out with us. So, imagine I’m downstage, and Josh says ‘I need to switch to a different song.” To get that information to the five people in the band and the whole orchestra, I need to be able to communicate really quickly with the conductor.”
With the HotShot MD, I can do that with in-ears and not distract everybody at the same time. So, I’ve literally thought about getting one for everyone in the band, or at least having one for the conductor and one for myself, so we can have internal discussions. But I could see everyone in the band having a HotShot MD, so they can talk directly to their tech, and everyone else, separately.”
Real-World Use Cases
Beyond offering swift, clear, and seamless communication during business as usual gigs – or when things go south on a show for technical reasons or a security issue – the HotShot DM-1, 48V, and MD have additional uses.
If, for example, you sing and play blues harp, and/or a wind or brass instrument, simply deploy the HotShot and set up each channel for that source, and you eliminate the need for multiple mics, stands, and cables.
Ultimately, allowing players to communicate with the audience, musically, while streamlining/de-cluttering their performance space.
Which MD you use for this application depends on what works best for your performance – specifically, whether you prefer a to hold down a momentary switch during the time you’re playing a second instrument, or the HotShot 48V’s latching switch for as a ‘set it and forget it’ (at least until it’s time to switch back to vocals) option.
Or maybe you’re a singer who wants to add different ‘voices’ into their gig, by leveraging vocal effects. With the HotShot DM-1, you can set the first set channel to normal and run a vocal effect on the second. Simply hold the footswitch when you need effects and release to switch back to normal.
The same goes for the 48V (which, again, provides the added benefit of choosing between latching or momentary operation), offering more freedom of movement and alternate microphone choices.
The HotShot MD also allows you to up your game further, letting you apply two separate or two combined effects by holding the corresponding foot switch down to engage a single effect or both to use a pair of effects in tandem.
Not sure which HotShot is right for you?
Explore all Radial’s mic switching options at http://www.RadialEng.com, including our HotShot ABo Balanced Output Selector and HotShot ABi Balanced Input Selector.
