stage monitor amplifier wattage

[kayak]

How much amplifier wattage should you need for a stage monitor in your standard rock band?

 

Now, I realize that this is dependent on how loud your stage volume is, but that is really my point. Assuming your monitor speakers are in the neighborhood of 98-101 db/SPL efficient, what would be a rule-of-thumb indicator that if you need more wattage than "x" watts per monitor speaker, that your stage volume is probably too loud, to the point of either affecting the front of house mix, or to the point of affecting the musician's hearing?

[BlackBelt]

I'm probably in the minority here on this issue, but I tend to overdo powering monitors, so I'm not pushing them so hard. I run 300+ watts to each monitor, even in smaller clubs. I don't crank up the volume that much, but the headroom is there if needed. I think a LOT of what you need depends on stage volume, individual artists tastes, musical style, etc.

Something funny about monitor volume...On more than one occasion I've been hired to do sound for bands that are loud. I crank the monitors up so the singer can hear himself. Usually for the first time. They get this look in their eye when they really, REALLY hear themselves for the first time. I had one guy ask me, "Dude, do I really sound that bad?"

The answer was yes, but I just changed the subject.

[dboomer]

Of course it depends on how efficient your monitor speakers are ... but ... It depends greatly on the material you are gonna push through them. It will take 4 to 10 times less power to do vocals as it will do do monitors that contain kick drum.

 

As little as 100 Watts per monitor can be blazing if you restrict your monitors to a mostly all vocal mix. YMMV

[agedhorse]

One good thing about limiting your wedge power is that if you do have one of those "unexpected accidents", the chances of the wedge's horn surviving is better with lower power... it will give you a bit more reaction time. Also, it will be a bit less painful for the "unfortunate".

 

I tend to suggest somewhere around 200 watts per box for non-professional applications. On our tourig rig, we use somewhere around 300 watts/box (on the LF but that's also bi-amped, so we get some added benefits)

[kayak]

I like to run bass guitar through the monitors; quite often our bass player goes ampless and just uses a DI. I've not had to run the kick through the monitors during the last two years that I've been running sound for these guys. The guitars don't run through the monitors, just because I don't have enough separate mixes. Instead, they each run two amps, the regular stage amp which I mic, and a small practice amp set right next to their stage monitor, and tilted up at them. I'll tell them to set the practice amp however they want, but to keep their hands off the volume of the stage amp! However, if/when I move up to a MixWiz, or some other mixer which will allow at least four monitor mixes, the guitars will probably be added to the mix.

 

Anyway, right now our power amps and stage monitors are kind of a heinz-57 conglomeration, but I am getting ready to put together something with a little more rhyme and reason to it. So, would you recommend shooting for the 200-300 watt target for stage monitor amplifiers?

[Unalaska]

+1 for 200-300w per wedge. I've found that when using passive boxes around 250w will get you to the point of feedback after it's been rung out on a vocals only mix. Putting bass and kick in will take a little more wattage wise but 250 is where I try to be at. RMX1450's are great for this, I'd like to even try the Crown XLS402a (cheap/light, 250w @ 8 or so).

 

I have friends higher up in the food chain that will put 700w (1/2 a PLX3402) on an EV QRX115/75 wedge and brag about it. I guess I would too, but still that's quite a bit.

 

pete

[Steve_B]

The set up I use is between 300 and 350W per cabinet. I use 6 monitors for bands and 2 when I

[GCDEF]

I use 200 into mine. We don't run bass into them, mostly just vocals and a little keys and sax, occasionally some guitar. Lack of monitor volume has never been an issue.

[Somerled]

 

Originally posted by BlackBelt On more than one occasion I've been hired to do sound for bands that are loud. I crank the monitors up so the singer can hear himself. Usually for the first time. They get this look in their eye when they really, REALLY hear themselves for the first time. I had one guy ask me, "Dude, do I really sound that bad?" The answer was yes, but I just changed the subject.

 

 

biggest problem there is they aren't used to hearing themselves dry. These guys go into practice and load on the reverb and chorus and whatnot, and eq the hell out of the channel, and think it sounds good. as soon as they hear themselves pre eq, pre fx, they panic.

 

I was playing guitar and trying to help manage the sound and they had been running the monitors by daisy chaining them off the mains. the feedback issues were awful. I reconfigured it to use the aux pre-fader, and they all complained because what they were hearing on stage wasn't the same thing the audience was hearing, the vocals sounded like {censored}, and they just couldn't get into the music if it was going to sound like that. I had to resist telling them we need to fire the singer and everything would sound better.... (at least a little better... they also had a tendency of reconfiguring our amps and using one of the subgroups to feed the sub. I checked the board once and they had the bass going direct to the board, routed to a subgroup, and out to only the subs. Crossover was set on the amps, so any bass signal above 120 was lost, and they wanted to know why the bass had not clarity or punch.)

[moody]

 

Originally posted by Steve_B On the other hand, one band I used to work with went from supper loud monitors to none and wearing earplugs on stage. I guess they had their hearing tested and decided to preserve what hearing they had left.

 

 

I do that personally while the rest of the band still uses monitors.

 

As long as I can hear the lead singer I'm fine - but he doesn't have to hear my backing vocals. Therefore I can run with none of myself in the monitors and have no feedback even though I sing softly and need a lot of gain.