Members fastboy Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Just a quick question as per the title. I need a powered foldback monitor for my singer. We're running a 600 watt Yamaha EMX660 powered mixer (2 X 300 watts) into 2 front of house speakers which is a good loud setup that's more then adequate for our needs. We're a 4 piece band, reasonably but not overly loud and play everywhere from smallish pubs to mid sized clubs of up to say 400 people. Unfortunately, we're on a bit of a budget for this and I wanted to check in the eyes of bigger PA experts then me, is a 150 watt powered monitor enough for general foldback for the band? I've seen this which seems exceptionally cheap for what it is and just wanted to check if A, it has enough power and B if it's likely to be any good? http://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Lighting/150W-Active-Floor-Monitor-by-Gear4music/8LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 The monitor isn't competing with the PA system, it just has to be as loud as what is on the stage. If you are a low volume band with a reasonable drummer, then a 150 watt monitor will work fine to help your singer hear himself. The band probably won't hear much from it, but the band can probably hear enough of the vocals bouncing back from the house to know where they are in a song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 150 watts, most likely peak, into a 95dB speaker for the entire band will be disappointing. As burdizzos said, the main PA has nothing to do with it. The drummer and on stage instruments are what you have to worry about, and unless you play acoustic guitars and your drummer uses brushes, I don't see that monitor working for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crazyswede Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 I hate to say it but with a 600w FOH and a 150w no name monitor if you play for 400 people I would think something is gonna give. With 400 people in a bar talking you'll never get over that crowd noise. It may work right up front but go a few feet back and I am pretty sure you will not feel or hear much if anything. I would try to get more power to the FOH and have your singer work off the mains. If you have the vocals mixed properly and sitting on top of the mix he should be able to hear himself well. I work with a lead singer now that never had his vocals actually stand out in the mix till he met me. Now he never uses a monitor. Between the monitors on stage for everyone else and the mains he hears himself better than ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastboy Posted March 9, 2009 Author Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks guys. Drummer is a good solid drummer but wouldn't say he is particularly loud (well, certainly not compared to other drummers I have played with in the past). As for other kit on stage, I use an EVH 5150 III head and 4x12 (not run particularly hard at band volumes as it doesn't need to be - volume about 3 - 4 on each channel), bassist has a 300 watt behringer something amp but just drops into the right level to fall into the mix. Music style is hard rock. The PA is definately loud enough out front as our frontman (or front lady I should say!), has a very strong voice and has no problems cutting through FOH when playing live according to all our muso mates who keep an ear on everything throughout the night for us and let us know what needs to come up / go down etc. As for monitoring, we've been borrowing a monitor from the singer in my other band which is an old Peavey powered wedge. Absolutely no idea what type of wattage it was etc but it always did an adequate job (not amazing but we could hear the vocals on stage). Unfortunately, the said monitor is getting on now and it's been having some intermittent problems, hence, we don't think we can rely on it anymore and want to get our own. Can anyone make a rough guess on what type of wattage we'd need very approximately based on the above, or make any specific monitor recommendations that won't break the bank? EDIT - Alternatively, might I be better looking at an unpowered monitor with decent power handling ability and running it through a power amp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 It depends on a couple of things. Amps are rated different ways and speakers vary. It sounds like the primary need is for your singer to be able to hear himself. 150 W RMS into a reasonable monitor will produce a lot of volume. Based on your description of your sound, my guess is that will work just fine. You are only putting out about 300W per side now for FOH, and 150W is not much less loud (other things being equal). What brand/model of monitor amp did you have in mind and what monitor speaker? For reference, some years ago I played in a classic rock band in the DC area. We played small clubs with 150 or less folks. Our PA was a small Tapco one that was 75W a side. One side was monitors and the other one FOH. We used EV mains and never had a problem with volume on either side. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thanks guys.Drummer is a good solid drummer but wouldn't say he is particularly loud (well, certainly not compared to other drummers I have played with in the past). As for other kit on stage, I use an EVH 5150 III head and 4x12 (not run particularly hard at band volumes as it doesn't need to be - volume about 3 - 4 on each channel), bassist has a 300 watt behringer something amp but just drops into the right level to fall into the mix. Music style is hard rock. The PA is definately loud enough out front as our frontman (or front lady I should say!), has a very strong voice and has no problems cutting through FOH when playing live according to all our muso mates who keep an ear on everything throughout the night for us and let us know what needs to come up / go down etc.As for monitoring, we've been borrowing a monitor from the singer in my other band which is an old Peavey powered wedge. Absolutely no idea what type of wattage it was etc but it always did an adequate job (not amazing but we could hear the vocals on stage). Unfortunately, the said monitor is getting on now and it's been having some intermittent problems, hence, we don't think we can rely on it anymore and want to get our own.Can anyone make a rough guess on what type of wattage we'd need very approximately based on the above, or make any specific monitor recommendations that won't break the bank?EDIT - Alternatively, might I be better looking at an unpowered monitor with decent power handling ability and running it through a power amp? There's more to it than wattage. Efficiency has a lot to do with it. We run 4 monitors at 200 watts each. The other guitar play went cheap and got something with an efficiency of 90dB. It takes all of the 200 watts just to get anything he can hear. On the other hand, I use a Yorkville NX25P and that can easily get way too loud if I want it to. If you're planning on only running one monitor for the whole band, you'd want something pretty beefy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 9, 2009 Members Share Posted March 9, 2009 Also, have you considered going the in-ear route? Its usually way better for a vocalists and way less gear to haul. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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