Members miden Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 Hi all,i did a search on this forum using the above term and couldn't really find the answer i was looking for...so i'll ask it....is there a definitive answer to which is best for a PA, run it in stereo, or in mono? some people i have spoken to say 80% of PA's are run in mono.i am running a small OMB keyboard based with some midis, and/or drum machine-arranger (rooms of about 150 people give or take)..can anyone help out with some suggestions as to the best method, mono or stereothanksdennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moody Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 Do you have two spare amp channels? That aren't better used for monitors or sidefill? Then run stereo. Me personally, I couldn't be bothered lugging an extra power amp around for a negligable difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sol-city Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 For me, I use to run mono all the time. Now, I have a 100% active rig and I run stereo. That being said, I dont hard pan anything. I'll run the left guitar about 65% left and right guitar 65% right and pan the toms to give more depth, but that's about it. It's no more gear for me to lug around, so I play with it. If you need to take another amp along or add more gear, than it may not be worth it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miden Posted October 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 hi moody and thanks for the reply...no i am just using one power amp, and i use an m-audio 10 as an iem from the headphones out of the desk... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 I'd definitely set the system up to be stereo capable. I use two amps each on subs and top cabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miden Posted October 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 thanks also tl and sol...yes that was my thinking as well, stereo just sounds, to me anyway, better, but i thought there may be an "industry" method for running PA's (i refer to my 80% comment in the OP) but as i like the sound better, and from the numbers of your posts (tl), i reckon you would know more than i ( loads more!!!) , so thats the way i will go..cheersdennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members miden Posted October 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 as a follow up question....i use a motif es rack as a sound module as well as my keyboard which also produces sound..i currently have these into the desk on the stereo channels, should i run them into mono channels so i can then pan hard left and right as suggested (ie use 2 mono channels for each sound source)? i cannot do any panning using the stereo inputs, so in that case the pan should just remain in the centre?thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 I've found that running stereo in most rooms just makes the mix sound different depending on what side of the room you're standing. Then I ended up with people constantly tyelling me they couldn't hear one thing or another. I'd end up running everything center to get it too sound even. OR, in most rooms you can't tell the difference between mono & stereo, so as said before, why buy all the extra stuff. I run everything in mono fashion even if the system is set up for stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rbts Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 Yes, I think that your earlier post is probably correct... that % 80 of live sound is done MONO... and for a good reason. Since everyone in the audience is going to be sitting ina differnt position relative to the stereo field... you don't really have any way to control what they are hearing because you have no way to have the left side of the stage sound the same as the right side of the stage. Probably you want it to sound "the same" on both sides? That is why people mostly run MONO. There are too many other things to worry about.. and keeping things simple makes for better odds of having a positive outcome perhaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 To sort of simplify what has already been stated. It depends on the room and your coverage of it. In some rooms it is easy to find a speaker placment where the majoriety of people can hear a reasonable amount of both speakers. If this is the case then by all means run stereo. However - In the majoriety of rooms (probably around 80% or better) most of the people will only get one side or the other. If you got the time to advance your job and get creative with speaker placement you can increase your odds. SR is always about tradeoffs and this is one that you just gotta judge per gig. This also depends on the sophistication of your clientel. If your doing a classy corporate gig then do your best to give everyone the best sound possible but if your playing to a bunch of drunks (although these two groups aren't necessarily mutualy exclusive) then it probably doesn't matter and the stereo thing is more your sweat and back to please yourself. have fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassred Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 I run stereo, but I only pan the guitar players to get them to fill the room more evenly (their amps cover the stage and front of the audience on their side, so I have them panned about 75/25 to the other side of the PA...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 Stereo sounds great out front....if you happen to be in the "sweet spot". We used to run stereo but there were just too many complaints about what can and cant be heard. Mono is the way to go. Running in stereo with everything panned middle was the only way we could stop the complaints. That is when we went back to mono. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6Imzadi Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 I find that some things panned to the center are fine: Lead vocal, snare, Kick, hat, and efx.Other than that, panning to "widen the field" to me is the best way to get my PA to sound 'larger' than it would normally. To the skeptics, "You have to hear it to undrstand what I mean." The only real place that you are not hearing the full effect is the outside 10% of each side (These aren't the money seats anyway) and the very front, right at the stage. (you are then at the 90 deg point of the speakers, so it doesn't really matter anyway. Also the stage volume is over the FOH there, too.) I am alright with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lifeloverwg Posted October 19, 2007 Members Share Posted October 19, 2007 I run stereo, but I only pan the guitar players to get them to fill the room more evenly (their amps cover the stage and front of the audience on their side, so I have them panned about 75/25 to the other side of the PA...) This is the same reason why I have stereo as the first option in my Driverack although most of the time things get left right down the middle since our lead player side washes her amp and the rythym player is DSC so she tends to have hers aimed straight ahead anyway. As for the extra amp channels, I figure that the stereo setup gives me a measure of redundancy which means I could get through a night switching to mono were I to lose an amp for some reason. Although if I lost the wrong one levels would have to come down considerably. Winston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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