Marc Carolan on Touring with Telegrapher Fox Monitors
For front-of-house engineer Marc Carolan, consistency is everything.
Best known for his work with Muse, my bloody valentine, Snow Patrol, Cesare Cremonini, Carolan has spent years mixing concerts in vastly different venues around the world, where every room, every PA system, and every audience presents a new set of variables.
That reality is exactly what led him to begin using Telegrapher Fox monitors as a trusted reference while tuning PA systems before shows.
“When you walk into a new venue, there are always huge variables,” Carolan explains. “Obviously, every venue is acoustically unique, from the room shape, reflective surfaces, audience layout, and even details like ambient temperature and air handling.”
For Carolan, the challenge is not simply making a PA loud. It’s creating consistency from night to night under constantly changing conditions.
A Trusted Reference in Unpredictable Environments
Unlike a traditional studio workflow, touring environments rarely offer stability.
“My workflow, I do a lot of my work during musical rehearsals on near-field monitors,” says Carolan. “Having that reference point with me, no matter the environment I’m in, is incredibly useful, especially in the early days of the tour.”
That need for reliable translation eventually made the Fox monitors part of his touring process.
“When tuning a PA, I’m listening to everything happening in the environment,” Carolan explains. “The room itself, reflections, how the system is interacting with the space, and even how the audience changes the acoustics once people start filling the venue.”
Because those variables change from city to city and night to night, having a trusted reference becomes critical. The Fox monitors provide a consistent point of comparison, helping Carolan make confident decisions regardless of the venue he finds himself working in.
Why the Fox Became Essential
For Carolan, the decision wasn’t about hype or novelty. It was about trust.
“For me, the Foxes are very honest,” he says. “They don’t hype anything in my mix or try to flatter me. Also, during long listening sessions, especially in rehearsals, they don’t fatigue my ears, so I can hear as much detail in hour 10 as when I started.”
That balance—precision without fatigue—is a defining part of the Telegrapher philosophy.
In demanding touring environments, where engineers make critical decisions under pressure, trust matters more than exaggerated sound.
“What makes a monitor trustworthy?” Carolan reflects. “Again, not hyping anything. Musicality can be subjective, but an excellent reference shouldn’t lie to you.”
From Touring Reality to Carbon Fox
Carolan’s extensive real-world use of the Fox monitors ultimately helped inspire the development of the new Carbon Fox—the world’s first all-carbon fiber reference monitor designed for demanding touring and live production environments.
The Carbon Fox evolved directly from the realities of touring: lighter weight, increased rigidity, greater durability, and the same trusted analog reference Carolan had already relied on in arenas around the world.
It reflects Telegrapher’s broader philosophy: precision that travels.
Designed for Engineers Who Trust Their Ears
From world-class studios to global touring productions, Telegrapher speakers are built for professionals who demand honesty, clarity, and emotional connection from their monitoring systems.
For engineers like Marc Carolan, that trust becomes part of the workflow itself.
Because when every room changes, your reference cannot.
For more information on Marc Carolan, visit Black Shore Studio at http://blackmountainstudios.ie
Photo Credit: Erika Serio
