Live Sound Question.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark7
  • Start date Start date
Mark7

Mark7

Well-known member
Would I be right in assuming that when the aux sends on a passive mixer are used to provide a fold back mix for the performers one should use either active monitors or some kind of amplifier?
 
Yes! When the signal leaves the aux send it has to be amplified just as the main output does.

Consider as well wireless in-ear monitors. Here, no power amp is necessary. You have better control of the house mix since you don't hear the monitor bleed.

Chris
 
That's what I thought.

Is the typical front of stage wedge monitor normally passive or active?
 
They were all passive up until a couple years ago when JBL brought out the Eon, since then just about everyone is making at least one model of active monitors, as a very rough rule of thumb If it's 'plastic' it's probably active (although they make passive versions of all the 'plastic' active monitors), if its carpet covered or a normal wood type cabinet it's probably passive. All you really need to do is look at the back for an AC cord, heatsink, and power switch.
 
One more thing... You may not want to put all your eggs in one basket as you'd be doing with active speakers. The replacement cost for passive speakers or power amps will be cheaper than replacing a whole active speaker if it goes down.

Let me suggest going wth passive speakers and a power amp OR wireless in-ear monitoring.

Chris
 
active monitors can be really handy if there are few of them, and you use a consistent setup most of the time. As a live sound tech, my problem with them is that you have to run AC to each monitor, which adds time to a setup, especially if you are running say 4 or more monitors. also since each speaker has an amplifier in it you need to be aware of the current load on your AC circuits, otherwise you will blow fuses/circuit breakers. i do like the fact that you dont need to worry about the impedance of the speakers, meaning you can run as many active monitors on one mix as you'd like.
 
vox said:
They were all passive up until a couple years ago when JBL brought out the Eon,
Click to expand...

Many high end companies had active speakers out before the Eon.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Ok, I didn't think too hard about that answer, but the Eon was definately the product that broke active stage monitors in a BIG way.

What were the earlier ones, Meyers or something?
 
chris-from-ky said:
One more thing... You may not want to put all your eggs in one basket as you'd be doing with active speakers. The replacement cost for passive speakers or power amps will be cheaper than replacing a whole active speaker if it goes down.

Let me suggest going wth passive speakers and a power amp OR wireless in-ear monitoring.

Chris
Click to expand...

To this excellent suggestion I would add that wireless in ear monitors,
AND
passive speakers used as sidefill monitors can make it sound nice and full all over the stage.

More money though, but when musicians hear each other clearly, no matter what, we rock. Good monitoring encourages great performance, no?
 
at least how many watts should a stage monitor have to be clear enough for the performer?
 
hmm... and with what wattage would (no joke intended...) i be able to perform in a small-medium bar. i mean the PA speakers, not the monitors.
 
free_d20 said:
hmm... and with what wattage would (no joke intended...) i be able to perform in a small-medium bar. i mean the PA speakers, not the monitors.
Click to expand...

I play in small bars all the time with a QSC 2450 power amp. It pushes out 500 Watts on each channel. It's not how much power you have, it's how you use it.

Don't worry about buying a power amp that's too big- just worry about buying a good one. If it's too powerful for the venue, just turn down the volume at the mixer.

Hope this helps
 
well here's the deal: i can get a power amp of 1500w, 750 per channel, but i cant afford right now 750w pa speakers, so i was wondering what speakers to buy because something tells me that 100w speakers wont handle 750w... right? (i dont know much about live sound as you may tell)
 
What style of music? Nu-Metal? Acoustic Jazz?
What's gonna be put through the P.A. , Vocals only? whole band including drummer?
Do you want to be loud or just heard?
 
well, its kind of a alternative rock what we play, and we plan to put the whole band through the speakers. i guess loudness and clarity are both important.
 
free_d20 said:
well, its kind of a alternative rock what we play, and we plan to put the whole band through the speakers. i guess loudness and clarity are both important.
Click to expand...

You will need pretty hefty speakers (not to mention amplification to go with it) to reproduce the whole band, a biamped two-way system would be preferable. Some native English speaker can explain what that means...;)

I would suggest you get compact full range cabs (12" or 15" and horn) and use them only for vocals. Later you can add subwoofers and go for full-blown PA if you still feel the need.

BTW, I wouldn´t worry about the amp; its easier to damage speakers with too small amp. Just don´t crank it too much.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top