What do you ask for in your Monitor mix?

I honestly have never put much thought into it, and I may be missing some obvious choices that would help me.

so any of you TBrs who've tried a variety of monitor mixes and found things that work particularly well for you - let's hear it! (a note about genre/ensemble config might be helpful too:)

I play Pop/rock (bass, drums, 2x gtr and vox).I generally ask for lead vocals, my vocals and to a lesser level the guitars. I never have a problem hearing the drums.

What do you ask for in your Monitor mix?

Some guitars, keys, a little kick and LOTS of lead vocals and LOTS of my vocals.

As wer are basically a no backline band (save for my combo) I usually have lots of me, some keys, some guitar and lead vocals. The rest I hear from wash from the other guy's monitors - especially the keys as he is basically deaf and has everything cranked. I hear drums just fine.

I like a bunch of kick (enough to feel and preferable EQd up with a little 'click" so I know EXACTLY where it's hitting.) I like some hat to hear the subdivisions. Then enough of me to know what I'm doing relative to the kick (depending on the gig I also have either a bass cab behind me or my Line6 LowDown "kicked back" in front of me so I can fine-tune the level of bass in my immediate area that way).

If the guitarist(s) and/or keyboardist have good rhythm I have them in. If they don't, I have them taken out. I have enough of the vox in to know where we are in the song but apparently I like them a lot lower in my mix than a lot of people do. There is usually so much vocal coming out of the other monitors that I don't need much if any right in front of me. If I'm singing background I'll have them up higher than I do otherwise.

I know I have annoyed some sound techs by asking them to EQ my monitor mix but my ears are really sensitive to mids and mid-highs and since those are the frequencies a lot of keyboardists and guitarists seem to crank on their amps I will ask to have those freqs "scooped" out of my monitor if they're too extreme.

Kick, snare, and rhythm guitar. Everything else is distracting.


When I use in-ears, it's just the click track and the sequencer. Nothing else.

My bass, a very little bit of my vocals, a bit more of the singers vocals and a medium amount of the guitar. Usually no kickdrum, except for when the monitors are nice and big and have plenty of power.

kick drum, hi-hat and snare.

a little of the other instruments.

bass (if i can't already hear it from my amp).

usually i just do the drums and that's it though.

Totally depends on the gig. Aside from myself, on sessions, I want everything, but a little more kick drum, hi-hat, and snare than the rest. For acoustic/church gigs, I need the vocals and acoustic guitar, because sometimes the leader will break off from the form and you have to be right there to follow him/her, but still want the drums heavy. I love hearing backup vocals and even when they're not relevant to my part, I always lwant them in my mix at least a little bit. For my band, really, everything - we're a power trio and we follow each other a lot - vocals aren't quite as up front, but I definitely want electric guitar, me, hi-hat, snare, and especially kick drum.

I'm more of a "live" monitor guy - I want to hear what the audience hears, if I can help it. The Bose L1 system or a simple unplugged mix is ideal for me.

First thing I always ask is: "turn it down!" then..

Lead vocals

Rhythm guitar

Backing vocals

Just a bit of lead guitar

We use IEM's on stage, and do not use amps, so I have pretty close to what the FOH mix is going through my IEM's, with the bass being just a bit louder.

We´re also go with IEM and I hear everyone in my Band on every Point of the Stage. Just wonderful. I put my Bass on my personal Mix a tiny little bit in Front so it sounds as I was playing to a CD.

That works fine for me.

lead vocal
lead vocalist's guitar (mostly plays rhythm)
hihat and ride cymbal
a little sax (to follow him when he's soloing)

the lead guitarist is next to me (and we set up relatively close even on big stages), so I don't need him in the mix . . . everything else (other horns, 'cello, Hammond and the other parts of the drums) just gets in the way

Generally I only want vocals in the monitors. Guitars and drums are too loud anyway, my bass rig is right behind me, and unless the monitor system is very high-end (as in having a totally separate mix for each musician AND the monitors are bi-amped with plenty of power) putting anything except vocals in the monitors only causes the vocals to get lost. So the singers cant' hear and they ask for more monitor. So the guitars and keyboards turn up because the monitors are louder. So the drummer hits harder and asks for even more kick drum. And the volume wars are going...

If I have the luxury of real monitors then I want vocals, high-hat, snare, some keys (but keep the low end clean and uncluttered!), and maybe the guitar. But the guitars are always too loud anyway so yank them out again...

jte

Vocals only. That's what monitors are for. Why would a bassist or guitarsist need anything else UNLESS you are playing a arena or Huge outdoor concert with a Big Stage? If you are in a club the only thing you need is vocals. If You have only one monitor mix and put other things in the monitors you are only ruining your vocalists ability to hear themselves and perform well.

Vocals only...Why would a bassist... need anything else UNLESS you are playing a arena or Huge outdoor concert with a Big Stage?...
FWIW, this weekend (24th of May) we're playing a "Huge outdoor concert with...(3)...Big Stage(s)"!

Vive Latino 2008

http://www.vivelatino.com.mx/reporte-vl/noticias/horarios_festival

What I said in post #12 is ONLY when I have my own, dedicated monitor mix . . . obviously (to me, at least) when playing large shows with separate FOH and Monitor mix consoles . . .

Vocals only. That's what monitors are for. Why would a bassist or guitarsist need anything else UNLESS you are playing a arena or Huge outdoor concert with a Big Stage? If you are in a club the only thing you need is vocals. If You have only one monitor mix and put other things in the monitors you are only ruining your vocalists ability to hear themselves and perform well.

One monitor mix? Blasphemy!

With one of my bands, I always NEED lead gtr in my monitor since his amp is on the other side of the stage and in a 6 piece band it often gets lost. It's pointed at him, not me. Same with keys most of the time. I'll take snare and kick because it can't hurt.

I like mostly vocals (everybody in the band sings, so a clean mix of all four of us) and a little bit of guitar. If I can't hear my drummer behind me banging away without monitor support I have a serious problem on my hands...

at my last show, I had basically 80% bass in the monitors and I had the best time ever. but our keyboarder wasn't too pleased to share the monitor way with me. he tried to discuss the mixing, but I'm quite dominant, so..:D

a very loud kik is all i need

at my last show, I had basically 80% bass in the monitors and I had the best time ever. but our keyboarder wasn't too pleased to share the monitor way with me. he tried to discuss the mixing, but I'm quite dominant, so..:D

LOL

Vocals

Like I need MORE guitar and drums on stage!

Vox and some guitar , if I need to here the drums better I can just back up for a minute.

Lead guitar/vocals/kick

vox only pls
boost mine a little

Vocals, and a lot of the guitar that's on the opposite side of the stage. I usually don't need any of the guitar that's closer to me.

Vocals only. That's what monitors are for. Why would a bassist or guitarsist need anything else UNLESS you are playing a arena or Huge outdoor concert with a Big Stage? If you are in a club the only thing you need is vocals. If You have only one monitor mix and put other things in the monitors you are only ruining your vocalists ability to hear themselves and perform well.
That's a very narrow way of looking at things...first off, very few stage setups have only one monitor mix these days. If that is the case, then you're right. But most of us have at least 4 available, 2 at the very least, so you can get pretty much whatever you want in the monitor and it doesn't affect anyone else's ability to hear themselves.

To answer the question, I only want my vocal and I want it loud and trebly, once in a while maybe I'll ask for other vocals about 40% of what I'm getting.

you mean you guys play with monitors? ;)

I have never thought that monitors for the instruments were worth the time and trouble that it takes for the set up. I prefer straight vocals and relying on the backline to hear the rest of the instruments. I can always hear the drums just fine. Never a need for them to be in the monitors.
Worse case is a church I play at....same setup for 10 years and no one's ever happy with the monitor mix.

Good idea for a thread. I'm going to have to start frequenting this forum more often.

Like some have already said, it really varies a lot depending on the band, venue, backline, number of available sub-mixes and the monitors themselves. One thing I've noted is that the bands with higher levels of musicianship naturally achieve a better on-stage balance/blend. Of course, the most important job of the monitoring system is to achieve a good level and balance between the vocals. I don't like to hear more of my vocals because I will tend to back off the mic to make it blend onstage, which will affect the level in the front house.

Four piece Modern Rock/Top 40 band (Lead Vocalist, Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Drum Kit, everyone does harmonies)

- Lead vocals at the least

- My vocals and everyone else's vocals if possible, but I usually don't ask if they're not there. I find myself relying on my head voice much more when doing backups than the monitors as of late. I played with a drummer who always asked for himself to be taken out of the monitors and now I understand why. I'm finding my head voice to be a more accurate representation of whether I'm hitting my parts than the monitor mix. :hmm: That's not to say we have bad monitor mixes, because we usually have excellent mixes.

- My guitarist and I side-wash the stage (seriously, why don't more bands do this if they have the room?). I've never had the need to have his guitar put in my monitor mix. There has never been a single time in my life of playing live that I felt I needed an acoustic drum kit put in the monitors.

With the band I'm in now,* what I really need to hear is is:

- Vocals (lead vocals, and my own backing vocals). Without them, I'm completely lost. If I can get some acoustic guitar added, and some keyboard/accordion, then that's a nice bonus, but not a neccesity.

Obviously, I need to hear the drums too, but on the small stages we've played thus far, I've had no need of having them in the monitors. Same thing with the bass - as long as I can hear the amp (or just a little bit of bass through the monitors, as when the bass amp died at our latest gig...), I'm fine.

* lineup: one singer who plays acoustic and electric guitars; one electric (lead-ish) guitarist; one keyboard/accordion player; a drummer; and me on bass guitar and backing vocals. We play some kind of singer/songwriter based rock.

Vocals

a very loud kik is all i need

KIAI! *Karate Kicks makaky!!!*

Sorry couldn't resist :hiding:

In a five piece Melodic Rock band with heavy bits. (2 x Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Drums and 3 Vocals)

I tend to end up sharing monitor with one of our guitarists and as they are doing the singing, it tends to be whatever I get, but we usually agree on all three vocals, the guitar from the other side of the stage and a light mix of bass and the guitar on our side of the stage.

We use Hearback (http://www.heartechnologies.com/hb/hearbackintro.htm) for our IEM's.

I have everything on my mixer. On a 1-10 level, I put everything but bass and drums on about 3. Bass and drums go to 5 or 6, then I mix the master volume to a full, comfortable but not loud level (usually about a 4 on the Master).

Otherwise it just depends on the gig and what I'm using. If I use a small amp as a bass a monitor, generally I can hear enough 'spill' for everything else and forego a wedge.

Some kick, some snare, and a lot of vocals and keys.

Little to no guitar.

I have never thought that monitors for the instruments were worth the time and trouble that it takes for the set up.
If that's the case, it's either an incompetent soundman or an anal entertainer. Instruments in a monitor mix shouldn't be any more difficult to set up than vocals, unless of course the monitor cabs are undersized for the job and/or monitor power is low.

In all the bands I've been in I've only wanted me and some snare. Now I sing a bit I want some vocals too. Everything else, I'd rather have less of, not more!

Quite a few people have said kick, and I can see why, but I've always integrated myself with the snare more, and the kick just follows.

Not to take over but, how does anyone else see it, Kick or Snare?

I have two issues, so I use a Sennheiser IEM. One is that my hearing is not as good as it was, the other is that I move around quite a bit while playing, so a stationary monitor is not as useful for me.

I have my bass in so I can hear what I am playing, and our lead guitarist, because he is always spot on . I could hear our drummer if I were dead in the next county, so that is not an issue. I catch our vocalist through the stage monitors and some through FOH.

This works pretty well. The actual stage monitor they assign to me, I usually ask for vocals only, including the backup singers.

Re: the argument to have or not to have instruments in the monitors:

It's almost a necessity to have instruments in the monitors on a large stage, and particularly necessary on a large outdoor stage. In those scenarios the norm is to have side-fill monitors, which are great for covering the stage. You're probably not always going to be standing in firing range of your onstage bass amp (if you like to move around on stage for showmanship purposes) so you need to have some bass (and other instruments) coming out of those side-fills.

We use in-ear monitors. My mix is general. Vocals (we have 4), All guitars (we have 3) Bass (just a touch to round it out) Kick and snare (just enough to hear it) and that is about it. I do add a little keys in the mix when we are on bigger stages, but that is it. It is a very good general mix.

at my last show, I had basically 80% bass in the monitors and I had the best time ever. but our keyboarder wasn't too pleased to share the monitor way with me. he tried to discuss the mixing, but I'm quite dominant, so..:Dhaha!


i wan't everything, not to much guitar or my own vocals though. The drums and my bass seems to be what helps me the most, especially on a larger stage.

you mean you guys play with monitors? ;)
\

Heh... sometimes...

For us it depends on the venue/stage setup.

If I can hear lead vox ok, I'll often use nothing.

If I can't hear the vox, and I'm feeling lazy (or there is no way to get everything into the board) I'll use one IEM in, one out with just vox in the IEM.

If I'm having problems hearing other instruments (generally rhythm gtr because lead players amp is next to, or sometime on top of, mine) and I'm not too lazy - I'll feed everything into my IEMs... and then I want pretty much everything in them.

...and that is just me... our drummer always has a monitor with at least vox, but sometimes bass/gtrs in it.

Singer/lead gtr uses IEMs, but like me often gets away with nothing (or nothing more than spill from the drummers monitor)...

...and the rhythm gtr pretty takes nothing but vox in his.

- My guitarist and I side-wash the stage (seriously, why don't more bands do this if they have the room?).

We don't because we only run vox through the mains, and the guitar sound needs to get to the audience somehow.

We're an instrumental band, so we've gotten pretty good at monitoring from each other's amps. On larger stages I usually ask for guitars and synth. My rig is loud, and the drummer's kit is a monster, so I never have trouble hearing either, which is all I really need.

I like Vodka and Tonic in my mix...



...but back when I did play venues with monitors, I would ask for vocals, guitar and a little, very little, keyboard. I would be right next to the drums always.

Invariably, I get enough from the vocalist's floor wedge, and whatever else happens to be on stage, that I dispense with my own monitor altogether.

Invariably, I get enough from the vocalist's floor wedge, and whatever else happens to be on stage, that I dispense with my own monitor altogether.

Wow, same deal for me!

That and in the very rare event (once in the past year) that I actually get a sound company - I'm usually so nervous that I doubt I'd remember what asked for ten minutes later.

Kick, and a lot of it. A good amount of my bass, small amounts of guitar, some lead vocal. Then I start asking for EQ changes. :D

Actually, since I used to be a touring sound engineer, I'm very quick and concise in my requests. I don't torture the poor sound engineer with "it sounds kind of boomy" comments, I'll say, "go to the strip for the rhythm guitar, set the low mids to 450, turn them down 4 dB, now go to the graph, bring down 250 by 5 dB", etc, etc. I'm picky, but at least I can be decisive that way. Comes in handy, and doesn't piss the sound engineer off. :cool:

-Mark

Kick drum
hi-hat
snare
lead vocals

Small stage, just lead vocals and my vocals - unless I'm not hearing the guitar that well, then I get a bit of that...

Big stage, pretty much the same, except I'll have a bit more guitar... I can always hear the drummer just fine - same thing with my bass rig...


I sort of agree with vocals only in the monitors making for a cleaner monitor mix - but on big stages, sometimes you need more than just vocals...



- georgestrings

I'm quite vain:P

everyone, but mainly ME :D

I play in an aggressive, loud post-hardcore band, and the only things I ever really want in my moniter are lead vocals, the guitarist across the stage, and as much freakin' kick drum as I can get. I make sure I can always hear myself through my amp, and the guitar I share one half of the stage with has a Mesa Triple Rectifier half stack, so I'm never at a loss to hear him.

lead vocals only, and in some clubs the lead guitar. other than that i usually ask to have it turned down - i'm the only member wearing earplugs so things get really freakin loud after soundcheck.

i play in a rock band:P

Lead Vocals, my vocals, my bass(very loud... so i can get in my groove :D), and then little guitar and keyboards.

My rig provides my bass and drums are acoustic, so I ask for lead vocals, my vocals and a hint of guitar(s).