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I am shopping for new P.A. speakers and the column speakers made by Bose, JBL, just about everybody seem to be popular for their sound quality and portability. It's also often stated by owners that it improves (or eliminates entirely the need for) monitoring due to the "wrap around" sound quality and resistance to feedback.
I know these speakers are VERY popular with "singer-songwriters" that are playing solo and usually guitar only. The lesser weight and ease of set up is certainly attractive to someone like myself, doing a solo show of my own (playing live keyboard along with multi-channel backing tracks).
I've also read that keyboardists are NOT so fond of the column speakers because they muddy things up when using stereo and most experienced keyboardists insist that stereo is the ONLY way to go, especially for piano voices and Leslie-emulating voices.
I mix all my MOXf Song backing tracks in Stereo. That is, I like to pan certain parts to one side or the other to give some separation or isolation, and I DO use Leslie via the mod wheel (in conjunction with Expression pedal) on most anything using a B3 sound.
I should also add that I run my own sound for 90% of my gigs. So there is no sound engineer forcing me to go mono through the mains. That said, I run Mono on small gigs in smaller spaces. And I will, almost certainly, be transitioning from a solo act to live ensemble show in the coming years. Which begs the question what happens when there are multiple live instruments, all going throught he mixer to the mains?
Any opinions on this matter? Do column speakers dilute the effect of stereo mains? Feedback reduction? No or less need for monitor speakers?
Posted : 07/10/2023 7:50 am
I'm not sure. We practice with those kinds of speakers but we route the keys (2 keyboardists) through a Roland amp which, honestly, is not ideal either.
I'm not sure really how to best consult but muddy may be poor EQ and things may need to be adjusted to compensate,
As far as monitors go - if you're not competing with other instruments since your keyboard is doing all of the backing - then that's a little less of a requirement. Depends on how things sound to you and where the speakers are situated vs where you sit.
We haven't had any issue with the vocals feeding back and don't use monitors during practice - so I think it's doable.
Posted : 07/10/2023 2:11 pm
Any opinions on this matter?
You are doing the right thing by trying to gather all of the info you can. That should narrow it down for you.
Once you have only one or two in mind you should prepare for, and conduct an actual test in an environment that you know reflects your concerns.
Most retailers have short-term return policies and those would allow you to actually try the speakers and see if get the results you need.
Which begs the question what happens when there are multiple live instruments, all going throught he mixer to the mains?
That is a good example of why you need to run your own test in just that environment. It won't do much good to test in a garage if the live gig has a different sound environment.
Yes - I know this isn't a definitive answer like a 'choose A' or 'choose B' would be. But there is just no better way to get the answer you want without actually doing your own tests.
Posted : 07/10/2023 3:21 pm
Yes, I understand that this isn't a clear answer like "choose A" or "choose B." There is, however, no better way to get the information you need than to do your own tests. doodle jump
Posted : 07/11/2023 2:56 am
