Great Rigs - Shitty Monitors

[1meanplexi]

Hey crew!!!!

Just did a show last night and the VH4 (as always) delivered. He is my issue, I have done a ton of shows and once the sound guys ask, how much guitar in the monitor? I give my response and boom this honk - nasty sound comes out. What are you guys doing to get by this???? I know the choice is, don't run it all through the monitors but most stages we get on require it. Thanks and on!

 

[se7en]

I bring my own monitor. No issues that way, but I'm using the Two Notes products.

 

[Badronald]

Most wedges do sound inadequate. It's unfortunate.

 

[JerEvil]

Most wedges do sound inadequate. It's unfortunate.

Yup. Whether it's modelers or Amos, it all sounds awful through wedges. That's why I HAVE to use s guitar cab/power amp live.

 

[Badronald]

Most wedges do sound inadequate. It's unfortunate.

Yup. Whether it's modelers or Amos, it all sounds awful through wedges. That's why I HAVE to use s guitar cab/power amp live.

I can't even imagine how many gig's I've played over the last 32 years, 1,000 maybe, and I can count on one hand how many times the sound coming out of the monitors was stunning.

I can remember one gig, at the Phoenix Zoo of all places, and I remember thinking the sound coming out of the monitors sounded like a mastered album. Incredible. Man those are nice gigs. Too far and in between.

 

[ewill52]

If I actually had good sound coming out of my monitor I'd be scared shitless as to what my actual sound in the house was

I usually don't even try and correct, I'm using monitors as a reference if I'm away from my amp on stage. When I'm about to take a solo or at a critical point I've usually migrated back towards my board anyway and can here my stage volume. Not really a good answer for those who mic off stage or turn their cabs around but I'm still lucky enough to have at least some stage volume (not loud by any stretch of the imagination).

 

[steve_k]

Hey crew!!!!

Just did a show last night and the VH4 (as always) delivered. He is my issue, I have done a ton of shows and once the sound guys ask, how much guitar in the monitor? I give my response and boom this honk - nasty sound comes out. What are you guys doing to get by this???? I know the choice is, don't run it all through the monitors but most stages we get on require it. Thanks and on!

You are sending a mic'd signal to FOH and they are feeding the monitors? Most soundmen wouldn't make a decent DJ at your kid's kindergarten party. Most likely he had some mics out of phase. Hopefully you didn't end up with that in the front of house. I got sick of that shit and just took matters into my own hands. Get a Torpedo live and a splitter and your own active monitor. Send the FOH the signal direct and to your monitor direct. If you don't want to spend that sort of money, get a Palmer DI and a splitter.

 

[d1469d]

No guitars or bass in monitors !!!!!! Those monitors were made for the singers when guitar amps started to sound good when you had to crank them. The singers started crying when it started getting louder.
"I cant hear myself sing BOO HOO". So they invented the monitor so the singer and drummer could hear the vocals. Now everyone has those in ear things. I was in a band that had those things and I refused to wear one. I tried. I am old school. So I bought my own monitor. 3/4 of the sound check was the lead singer crying about not having a good monitor mix. GEEEZ. My new band (got rid of the lead singer) sets the drums up a few extra feet and all the amps are set up on the side and behind him. There is just enough path for him to get in and out. We just crank the vocals through the monitors as soon as we get the stage volume set. Then everything gets set out front and the volume is adjusted accordingly.

 

[Blix]

I never have any guitar in the monitors. Ewwww!

 

[steve_k]

I never have any guitar in the monitors. Ewwww!

Really? Do you stand like a statue in front of your amp all night?

 

[Blix]

I never have any guitar in the monitors. Ewwww!

Really? Do you stand like a statue in front of your amp all night?

Of course not. I run a 2x12" and 2 1x12"'s in w/d/w and they give me decent spread, and if I wander off to the bass side I hear the guitar from his monitor.

 

[dpeterson]

IEMs, gave up on sound guys long time ago...

 

[SFW]

I never have any guitar in my monitor. In fact, the only thing I want in my monitor is vocals and kick drum. If I wander to the other side of the stage... I just trust that I've played the songs enough times to know where my fingers should be. Lol.

 

[jharpersj]

Hate to say it but many times that monitor sound is representative of your mix out front.

 

[1meanplexi]

Hate to say it but many times that monitor sound is representative of your mix out front.

The mix???? Totally disagree. How can a wedge represent what is coming out front???? I have gone to the back of halls (wireless of course) and the sound coming out front is NOTHING like what is coming out of the wedges.

 

[skoora]

Hate to say it but many times that monitor sound is representative of your mix out front.

The mix???? Totally disagree. How can a wedge represent what is coming out front???? I have gone to the back of halls (wireless of course) and the sound coming out front is NOTHING like what is coming out of the wedges.

Yeah, they're completely separate mixes. Even if you're just getting send feeds off the main board they'll probably be pre-fader and processed separately. A club doesn't have to get too big to have a separate monitor board. Wedges often have a horn for the top end which is an awful enclosure for a raw guitar and unless you have a monitor mixer who knows how to EQ accordingly, you're screwed. I only used to get the other guitar player (if there is one) in the monitor but never myself. I would investigate IEM's if I was gigging now.