Interested: FRFR in front of you or behind like traditional

S

sparkle

Inspired
Interested: FRFR in front of you or behind like traditional…
I guess also on the side which I have done…

So far it is usually traditional for me…
 
Depends a bit on which FRFR you have. A wedge is great up front because you can put your leg up on it and rock out. A more cab styled FRFR is better behind.
 
Been dealing with this question recently. Depends on how you want to mix FOH. Obviously with an amp behind you, the audience is going to get some of that sound. You'll have to compensate with FOH volume depending on how loud your FRFR is. If the FRFR is in front of you, the mix is simply a monitor that should have little impact on FOH. No right answer here, just different approaches.
 
I've used both, prefer in front when necessary as it is the best for monitoring and lowest stage volume. However the last few gigs I played with a wedding band I used to sub with, I was asked to use the traditional monitoring method so they could hear more guitar onstage.
 
As a monitor, I definitely prefer the FRFR in front of me, but I am playing in a band now that is used to having the guitar sound blaring from behind the guitarist, so...

I'd imagine some guitarist used to standing in front of an amp may prefer the FRFR behind them also.
 
My XiTone cab can be positioned either as a monitor or a backline cab. I generally put it behind me because I use IEMs onstage. The XiTone cab essentially is a backfill, and provides guitar localization for my bandmates onstage. I have used the XiTone in monitor configuration at times, and it's great for that purpose as well - provided that my bandmates can get guitar in their monitors on those stages. For me, it "feels" better (and more familiar) having the cab behind me.
 
One issue I ran into using a FRFR guitar wedge in front beside the vocal wedge was when the stage volume got high. Poor FRFRs tended to not be pleasant sounding at higher volumes, the tweeters would overwhelm the woofers at high volumes and would turn the tone into a screechy trebly mess. But this tended to be somewhat related to the quality of the guitar wedge, high quality ones did not do this. High quality usually equals expensive.

I found two magic bullets for loud stage wedge use; load a 1x12 wedge cab with either a standard guitar speaker (a broken in V30 or G12M-25 worked very well), or a Kemper Kone (was gigging back then with a Kemper). BTW, here's an indication of the stage volume of this band; I used to use a Marshall JMD:1 50w combo as a stage monitor, pointed at my head beside the vocal wedge, and that did not have enough volume to do the job well. LOUD stages with that band...

Another thing; if you are looking for a 1x12 unpowered wedge to put a speaker in, it would be good to consider an old used Peavey 112M unpowered monitor. Pick the one with a piezo tweeter and the metal grille across the entire front, I bought one for $60 at the local GC. The drivers in this cab are hideous cheap crap, but the cab is very nice 5/8" plywood and well worth the price. But be warned; if you are considering a Celestion F12-X200 to put in one of these, you have to make the cutout larger. The stock cutout fits all other Celestions I tried with it just fine though.
 
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Can't say as I've done a lot of stage work since going modeler and FRFR, but I put a pair of Alessis cheapies on poles behind me. Being on-axis means I'm hearing what's actually coming out of them, which is also what's going to the PA, seems like a righteous plan.
 
I've done both. I have a Xitone wedge and a powered f12 cab that's more in line with a traditional cab. If my goal is be able to hear myself and keep stage volume down, absolutely the wedge. I did a gig with the f12 cab set up behind me and guess what happened? Yup, the sound person asked me to turn down. So I ended up putting the speaker in front of me and angling it up. Like a wedge. I think it probably just depends on the gig and also if the sound person has delicate and fragile ears (do I sound bitter??).
 
Only behind me if the guitar isn’t going through FOH, or FOH sounds like a$$. Otherwise in front of me.

-Aaron
 
If I'm at a gig that isn't a "silent stage" and is super loud (think the big stages at Fremont Street in Vegas which is like being in concert)...then the ideal way is to have an FRFR behind me (I have the Line6 PowerCab) AND having my guitar fed back up to me in my wedge monitor mix as well. And that sounds GREAT! I can get the guitar loud-as-fuck.
BUT...the downfall of it is if I run over to the other side of a big stage then I have nothing. lol
And that's where IEM's have the advantage. On silent stages using IEM's I can go anywhere onstage and still have my guitar volume in my monitor mix exactly where I want it. The trade-off of course being that it doesn't sound as powerful as the FRFR behind me with wedge monitor in front.
 
If you need to control your guitar feedback you may find it easier behind you, or you could turn your back to the audience.
 
I've been setting up my CLR's for live use at the front of the stage on a stand off to the side at head height as a side fill (sometimes I angle it back towards the drummer). I find this is ideal for several reasons. I, and the rest of the band, can hear me very clearly without having to blast, and the cab isn't blowing into any vocal mics nor the crowd out front. A few soundguys have said they love how they can isolate the guitar better and mix it easier this way. It's very a very effective way for everyone to be able to hear the guitar without having to pump it through monitors, etc.
 
In front generally makes more sense as far as hearing your own sound. Only reason people had amps as a back line was either so audience could hear it, looks, or because it would look odd to have an amp cabinet in front of you on stage, block audience view etc.

With a wedge, just makes sense in front of you from a personal monitoring viewpoint, no?

Anyone set up their home stereo system front speakers behind them on the couch ?

Anyone set up their desktop monitor speakers on stands behind their chair ?

Probably not, most like sound facing them head on, so most would find front stereo wedges set up the same in most cases…

Not to say it won’t work as a back line position, but all things being equal, facing me
 
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