Studio monitors for live sound?

[f8andbethere]

I'm looking to set up our church praise band with a monitoring solution. It's a relatively small space up front, so standard sized monitor wedges would be too big for the floor space we have. We've got your usual assortment of keyboard, bass, guitar, drums plus a couple of vocalists. The performers are spread in various nooks and crannies around the sanctuary.

 

I could use Hotspots. But, they have no bass response at all and they're pretty darn pricey

[GZsound]

For a low powered solution, the studio monitors might work.

 

I don't think you are going to hear the bass much better in studio monitors than you would in decent "hot spot" type's, especially in a live stage environment.

 

I would get passive "hot spot" monitors and a decent amp. They are designed for close stage monitoring, built for the task, and are not that expensive.

[agedhorse]

They might work until you have a brief accident and need to replace them.

 

Hot spots would be the best place to start IMO.

[Craig Vecchione]

 

I'm looking to set up our church praise band with a monitoring solution. It's a relatively small space up front, so standard sized monitor wedges would be too big for the floor space we have. We've got your usual assortment of keyboard, bass, guitar, drums plus a couple of vocalists. The performers are spread in various nooks and crannies around the sanctuary.   I could use Hotspots. But, they have no bass response at all and they're pretty darn pricey

[f8andbethere]

Ouch!

Couple of points;

1. These monitors wouldn't be going on the road. They'll be sitting in a sanctuary in fixed positions.

2. Yeah, they're five inch drivers, so bass response isn't killer. But, if you've ever been in the keyboard room at any Guitar Center, they use the BX5's as the keyboard sound for each rack of keyboards. Not killer bass, but way more than you get out of a Hotspot (I own a Hotspot and generally relegate to the use strickly for emergencies for my own band)

 

Surely, someone thinks this idea completely bad?

[Al Poulin]

 

Ouch! Couple of points; 1. These monitors wouldn't be going on the road. They'll be sitting in a sanctuary in fixed positions. 2. Yeah, they're five inch drivers, so bass response isn't killer. But, if you've ever been in the keyboard room at any Guitar Center, they use the BX5's as the keyboard sound for each rack of keyboards. Not killer bass, but way more than you get out of a Hotspot (I own a Hotspot and generally relegate to the use strickly for emergencies for my own band) Surely, someone thinks this idea completely bad?

 

 

 

PA speakers are designed to handle the peaks and transients present in live music. Studio monitors, not so much.... (rarely any overload protection and the components - especially tweeters are very sensitive to distortion etc...)

[f8andbethere]

Al,

 

Good point on the distortion and transient peaks. Several of the players pull their instrument cables while still dialed up on the mixing board. Probably would blow those so-called studio monitors in a flash.

[agedhorse]

 

Al, Good point on the distortion and transient peaks. Several of the players pull their instrument cables while still dialed up on the mixing board. Probably would blow those so-called studio monitors in a flash.

 

 

Hence my "accidents" comment.

[kevinnem]

 

Ouch! Couple of points; Surely, someone thinks this idea completely bad?

 

 

... that would be me, .....

 

 

Don't do it dude! they are fragile they will not last, they are goign to break, and things wil happen, they are made to sit for years, on top of a desk in and air conditioned studio, NOT on a band room floor (if you get my drift).

 

you can get some monitors that are fairly small loo in to ones that are a ten/ horn, or better yet you can do left and right fills. take a pa speakers of reasonable quility, and mount them left and right, faceing back to the band to "wash" them with a little extra vocal-keys, and what ever they *need*. I think that would work way better.

 

considser a set of yorkville u15's if you want to go passive and high end,

consider yorkville 500p's for mid of the road,(and powered).

 

don't conisder crap - it is a waste of everyones money.

 

 

Kev.

 

 

 

Ps Lastly in the compleate other direction, have you considered head phones/ in ear monitors?

[timmcallister]

We did a private party last Halloween where the guy wanted us to use his high end fancy schmancy home system to play through. He was real proud of it, I guess. I said no way. no way in hell would we play through it. almost lost the gig, till i talked sense into him.

 

Home theatre/studio monitors are intended for music reproduction, not sound reinforcement.

 

be very very careful. or better yet, don't do it.

[f8andbethere]

Just to get back to the original theme: looking for a very small monitor system for people tucked into different small spots in a church sanctuary for a praise band.

 

There is an existing main FOH speaker system in place; we just don't have any monitors.

 

We need small monitors; so it looks like Hotspots or the powered version of the Hotspot would be the answer.

 

Then of course; these look like a quality alternative; TC-Helicon's VoiceSolo monitor system.

 

http://www.tc-helicon.com/VoiceSolo.asp

http://www.tc-helicon.com/Default.asp?Id=9258

 

Anybody have any advice on powered Hotspots or the VoiceSolo units?

[tlbonehead]

I'm pretty sure you would tear up the studio monitors in a hurry even with what seems like low volume levels. Maybe Hotspots and some of the carry-over from the main system is the best solution.