Bassmonkey Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 My band use our own PA, a relatively simple set up, mixer amp, pair of bass bins, pair of tops plus 4 monitors daisy chained around. The drummer controls the mix but post soundcheck, it stays pretty much unchanged unless anything needs adjusting (often people complaining they cant hear the vocals) We soundcheck by one of the guitarists walking out front once we're set up then usually leave it there. The issue I have is with the monitors. Usually get a "can you hear yourself?" right at the end of the soundcheck then that's it. Invariably I suffer to hear well enough (I am the singer/bassist) Typically, we just have the vox (3 of us sing) in the monitors but one of the lads has now been told that we should have everything in there and the sound should exactly replicate what is out front. Anyone have a view? There is only a single output from the mixer but we can vary the amount of monitor inclusion by channel. Thx in advance. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Definitely not...... really you're only gonna need the vocals in the monitor.... unless you have a keys player or some backing tracks running which you may need to hear for time reference. A good lead vocal mix in the monitor should be your main concern.... if you are the singer and you are struggling to hear yourself... imagine what it's gonna sound like out FOH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roonjuice Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Hey andy! The monitors should be what you need to hear, and as the guitars and bass generally have amplifiers, the monitors should primarily used to amplify your voice in this situation I would have thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveK Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote]the sound should exactly replicate what is out front.[/quote] Nonsense! Sounds like a recipe for disaster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Depends how good the monitors are..and generally monitors are poor unless you pay very good money. This makes them tend to be Vox only....and especially if hearing vox is the issue. So, priority is to get the level and sound up to be able to hear the lead vocal... and if the mix is unattended, then the band needs very good discipline not to 'blow; the mix. Vol creep is almost a fact of life and gtrs and drums can't help themselves and turn up. Depending what your line up is and how many mixes you have, you will probably have to sacrifice everything for the lead Vox mon mix.... In this scenario, backline becomes the monitors for instruments and the drums get an acoustic mon....i,e you play to his level. You have to really be keen to keep the mix as with your line-up, there isn't anyone to compensate or adjust it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Bassmonkey' timestamp='1389716742' post='2337164']...we should have everything in there and the sound should exactly replicate what is out front...[/quote] Good evening, Andy... If this was so, why would the big venues bother with a separate monitor desk for the stage..? No, advice given perhaps with the best intentions, but erroneous, imo. One should have the minimum in the monitors for each person according to their needs (Guitar 1 may want a bit of Guitar 2 to 'lock in', for instance...), but certainly not go for a total replication of FOH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonkey Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Thx guys - kind of what I thought. Just wanted to canvas opinions. Roon - not surprised you have view ha ha ha (by the way, i love that Jazz, it's my first choice bass now, it sounds and plays like a dream) Thanks again Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonkey Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 Should have added, the person that gave that advice works in a local music shop and our guy was in looking at PA equipment. The shop guy was desperately trying to get us to change the whole lot ha ha. I am now using a Mackie SRM150 monitor on a stand which gives me the ability to squeak up a bit while playing if I should need to. Works better for me than the trad floor wedges I have used in the past Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1389718098' post='2337183'] Good evening, Andy... If this was so, why would the big venues bother with a separate monitor desk for the stage..? No, advice given perhaps with the best intentions, but erroneous, imo. One should have the minimum in the monitors for each person according to their needs (Guitar 1 may want a bit of Guitar 2 to 'lock in', for instance...), but certainly not go for a total replication of FOH. [/quote] I agree. Vocals is usually a given since there is no other stage presence for them but after that I'd say it depends on the stage layout. I don't need my bass in my monitor but the guitarist on the other side of the stage probably will. Likewise, I don't need the guitarist next to me in my monitor, but I like a bit of the guitarist on the other side of the stage. Similar for the guitars etc. So, no hard-and-fast rules as such but ideally you should get whatever you need in your monitor. Trouble is, many small PAs only have a single monitor output so people have to compromise. My desk has two pre-fade auxs that I use for monitoring and I tend to use them to make a left-right stage mix into the right-left stage monitors (if that makes sense) - though we rarely provide a full-on PA ourselves and end up in the hands of the venue soundguy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 Did a bit of work a few weeks back with our singer who was complaining he couldn't hear himself well enough in his monitors. We have had to push his foh level quite hard to get him heard out front too in the past. After just a few minutes of explaining how mic's work it was clear that he had never been shown about mic technique. He would regularly sing into the mic from the side and too far from the mic itself. Long story short we now have lots more vol out front and he can hear himself better in monitors even tho we actually have turned his level down a touch. May not be relevant to you but its a good idea to check technique every now and then as it could save spending any more cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) We use a similar set up to you and I've found the singer needs the vocals louder than the rest of the band would have them because when you're singing you can't hear yourself as well, sound stupid but that's what I've found, and if the singer can't hear himself very well he or she will start to shout so they don't sound as good and they knacker there voices up as well Edited January 14, 2014 by PaulWarning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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