Monitoring FM9 live

[Guilty Party]

New to the modeler scene, my FM9 is enroute after 13 month waitlist delay. I would like to see comments on monitoring for full band gigs. Classic/ hard rock. I have read some comments that FRFR is the only way to go while others ae saying a good quality PA monitor would be just fine. Some of the FRFR stuff (Friedman, Laney) are quite expensive while others (Line 6, Headrush) are questionable at louder volumes. We use Mackie SRM 350 for vocal monitors, our tech says that might be a good fit for my purpose whereas Mackie Thump/ Thrash may be too muddy. I would rather not have to eq patches to offset monitor coloring/ voicing or similar. My premise is that I would be using IR technology loaded into FM9 so various selectable speaker voicings in an active speaker system would seem like something I wouldn't require.

 

[Rick]

You can get something workable from any speaker system loud enough to keep up with your band’s noise floor with a little work on settings at band volume. “Workable” is the operative word there, because most monitors designed for vocals aren’t as pleasing to the ear as a speaker system made for guitar. How much cost equals too much is for each player to decide.

I use a single CLR or RCF NX12SMA for stage monitoring and send a separate feed to to mains/monitors. I hear fine on my side, and there is enough of my sound in the other wedges to hear myself around the stage. That’s my personal preference. Those using IEMs can eliminate or minimize stage instrument or wedge monitors for “silent stage” requirements, but that’s not your situation.

During some recent gigging down time, I also experimented with power amps and regular guitar cabs for monitoring. Great sound, very much like regular amp work, and loud. If you have a high stage volume, that’s a good option too.

Mainly, work out settings and EQ on whatever you use by playing with your band, playing at normal gig volume. The time it takes will be rewarded with much more pleasant on stage experience.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

I like the EV PXM-12MP, but they are more "monitor" like in appearance initially, but can easily be placed on their side to fire 90% forward, or set on one edge to fire about 15% upwards, so they can definitely act like backline gear. They sound very good and can get really loud. I like the fact that they're 12" with a coaxial tweeter, so you get a wide dispersion, and they have that EV sound, which I like.

RED SOUND makes the MF-10 FRFR system, which is a powered 10" cabinet with an optional passive cabinet for the left channel if you want to run stereo. I haven't had my hands on them, only the ELIS.8, which are the 8" version and are extremely good sounding. We're seeing more and more good reports about the MF-10 cabinets here, and I'm getting tempted to order a pair. @Marco Fanton helped design them and many others here can speak for them.

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Here's a little spreadsheet and chart to compare their dimensions and weight, because I was curious:

 

[Marco Fanton]

Thank you @Greg Ferguson
My english is bad, for this reason I prefer to speak with the sounds

 

[Greg Ferguson]

Thank you @Greg Ferguson
My english is bad, for this reason I prefer to speak with the sounds

You do very well either way.

 

[20West Studio]

I have an Atomic CLR Wedge I might be selling soon, if you're interested. I live in the Phoenix area.

 

[Hellbat]

I used to use a Yamaha DXR-10 for monitoring which is similar in spec to the Mackie. It served me well, but got too heavy for me to cart around so I changed it up for a pair of Bose S1 pros. If you already have someone carrying those around for you, I say give the Mackie a shot.

Definitely steer away from the Thumps though. I've used them in a band situation for small gigs and they are okay in a pinch but are certainly not flat. They are okay vocal PA's but not great music PAs.

I haven't had the opportunity to use the Bose setup in a band situation yet, so I can't say whether they would hang with a loud drummer or not. The DXR was plenty loud and could easily keep up with a hard hitting drummer, so I'd imagine the Mackie would as well.

 

[Henry]

I had a bunch of different FRFR solutions, nothing too high-end though, e.g. no CLR. I just got a Friedman ASC-10 and that sounds the best to me so far. Just needs a bit of EQ on the output channel you are running it through (e.g. Out2 on my FM9) (right now I'm doing +2 dB from 1kHz up) and it sounds pretty awesome! Very happy with it. Can't wait to play it live first time next Friday!

 

[curious]

I like the EV PXM-12MP, but they are more "monitor" like in appearance initially, but can easily be placed on their side to fire 90% forward, or set on one edge to fire about 15% upwards, so they can definitely act like backline gear. They sound very good and can get really loud. I like the fact that they're 12" with a coaxial tweeter, so you get a wide dispersion, and they have that EV sound, which I like.

RED SOUND makes the MF-10 FRFR system, which is a powered 10" cabinet with an optional passive cabinet for the left channel if you want to run stereo. I haven't had my hands on them, only the ELIS.8, which are the 8" version and are extremely good sounding. We're seeing more and more good reports about the MF-10 cabinets here, and I'm getting tempted to order a pair. @Marco Fanton helped design them and many others here can speak for them.

---

Here's a little spreadsheet and chart to compare their dimensions and weight, because I was curious:

View attachment 109502

I just bought an one active MF10 and gigged with it last night for the first time. I was very pleasantly surprised about how well it performed. I had no issue cutting through the mix with a loud drummer and keys player. All the presets sounded great and it’s only about 20 pounds and easy to carry. I give it a big thumbs up. I own a Mission Gemini II 2x12. It sounds amazing but at 85 pounds, it’s a burden to carry for small venue gigs.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

I just bought an one active MF10 and gigged with it last night for the first time. I was very pleasantly surprised about how well it performed. I had no issue cutting through the mix with a loud drummer and keys player. All the presets sounded great and it’s only about 20 pounds and easy to carry. I give it a big thumbs up. I own a Mission Gemini II 2x12. It sounds amazing but at 85 pounds, it’s a burden to carry for small venue gigs.

Actually, the MF10 is 26 lbs. But I definitely appreciate the difference a pound makes when trying to carry guitar(s), a modeler, and at least one cabinet.

In my perfect world, an FRFR would weigh one pound, and was rechargeable, had Bluetooth with immediate sync and no wires, and could act as a backline for the audience to hear if necessary. I can put together the Bluetooth aspect but the rest… unh-uh. But shaving off some weight from the gear, and reducing the footprint in the car and on stage gets my attention. I'm using the EV PXM-12MP cabs and they're smaller than most but I've had my eyes on the MF-10 for a while, so I might just eventually switch. I'm still trying to weigh the advantages of the two.

I own a Mission Gemini II 2x12. It sounds amazing but at 85 pounds, it’s a burden to carry for small venue gigs.

Yeah, that's like hauling around a Twin Reverb. Nope. Not gonna do it.

 

[Patzag]

I had a bunch of different FRFR solutions, nothing too high-end though, e.g. no CLR. I just got a Friedman ASC-10 and that sounds the best to me so far. Just needs a bit of EQ on the output channel you are running it through (e.g. Out2 on my FM9) (right now I'm doing +2 dB from 1kHz up) and it sounds pretty awesome! Very happy with it. Can't wait to play it live first time next Friday!

Totally off topic, but I’d recommend moving every fader down 2 dBs so that you cut, rather than boost. Less phase issues and generally better practice to cut when you eq rather than boost.

 

[NeoSound]

I used to use a Yamaha DXR-10 for monitoring which is similar in spec to the Mackie. It served me well, but got too heavy for me to cart around so I changed it up for a pair of Bose S1 pros. If you already have someone carrying those around for you, I say give the Mackie a shot.

Definitely steer away from the Thumps though. I've used them in a band situation for small gigs and they are okay in a pinch but are certainly not flat. They are okay vocal PA's but not great music PAs.

I haven't had the opportunity to use the Bose setup in a band situation yet, so I can't say whether they would hang with a loud drummer or not. The DXR was plenty loud and could easily keep up with a hard hitting drummer, so I'd imagine the Mackie would as well.

I have clrs that I love but got a pair of the s1pros also for portability. I've tried lot's of different things with the clrs as my favorite and the s1 pros as second favorite. The clrs are loud enough to hang with pretty much anything. The s1 pros are very loud for their size and work well in church and probably any other situation that I would need. Bluetooth and the extra channels are a plus also.