IF you get a monitor mix at all, and it's far from a given that you will, and you've got a good soundperson you can have anything you want in the monitors. It'll depend on what you can hear on stage.

Usually I have vocals and the kick drum in the monitor. Since I'm standing in front of my amp that's often loud enough that I don't need it in the monitors. Sometimes I'll have the other guitar, keyboard or bass also. But it really depends on what I can hear on stage. Vocals and kick give me enough to follow the song and from there it's about knowing the song.

It's not uncommon to not hear everything perfectly.

The ''magic'' in monitoring , lies in the mixing console/desk/sound-engineer. He/she will feed your monitor on your command (at soundcheck, usually) That means : Lower the drums - more gain to guitar and drums , etc. Your own wishes decides that
About playing louder: Move to a farm , or at least , to your own separate house. OR - form a band , and get a proper place for rehearsals. Or buy yourself a set of headphones , use a practicing amp - or something that gives you the opportunity to use your headphone whilst the music (cd etc) feeds into it. Good luck

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A-man

they hear the roar of the crowd when they break into a solo

on a serious note.
as the others said, its up to you what comes out of the monitor.
the few times I played live I had only drums and vocals coming from the monitor.
drums for timing and vocals to help me remember when to play what and never need myself in the monitor mix because I always faced the amp to my back.

but in the end a crappy sound man can make it useless

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every live situation is different. I've had some great monitors and some terrible.

At times I could just barely hear the vocals, which can make it difficult keep track of where you are in the song. Sometimes I use the lyrics as a point of reference in a song, especially songs that are kind of the same thing repeated over and over. But if you can't hear the vocals you can't hear the lyrics.

I would say it's actually very rare that you can have that granular control over what you hear, and the sound tech is actually able to deliver it, just the way you want it. You have to accept the mix for what it is and work with it.




lol, there have been times I've played when the audience was louder than the monitors for a few seconds, it's VERY nerve racking!

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Way back when the earth was flat we couldn't afford expensive monitors and such , so we just got used to not hearing ourselves singing
The bass was penetrating enough and my amp (a fender tweed bassman top, with a 4x12 cab)could be heard over everything, so no probs there
We were using a 100 watt valve amp for vocals and the two columns we used for it were always placed as far forward as possible to stop any feedback
The drummer complained that he couldn't hear the vocals at all, so we connected a line out from the pa amp to my old watkins dominator and placed that behind him
It worked great, we could get the mikes sound all over the stage without feeding back
Used it like that for just over 2 years
Ted

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Ted

"All right, guys, uh, listen. This is a blues riff in "B", watch me for the changes, and try and keep up, okay?"

As far as hearing your own playing goes I use my own amp as my monitor. I place it facing forward right behind me and pointing right at me but as far back from me as I can get it so that my ears are as close as possible to the amp's focal point. Sometimes the amp is too close to you and that can make it hard to hear above the mix as well, especially if you're using a small combo. If it has to be really close I'll use an amp stand to angle it up to me. With my Rivera rig that's not an issue because it's 3½ feet tall. The room I played last weekend had a tiny stage and I was using a rented DRRI with no tiltback legs and no stand and I had issues hearing myself but that is sometimes the case when you are using someone else's gear.

The floor monitors are typically mostly for the vocalist(s) in my experience and that's what I really want to hear in the monitors anyway, the vox, mine included. There's usually enough stage-spill on the other instruments that I can hear them all well enough. I don't think any stage musician ever hears the whole mix in the same way the crowd hears it. It really depends on the room sometimes as there are certain rooms I've played where no matter how I tweak it I still can't hear everything the way I want. As I have the best meter of any musician I've ever played with, (not bragging, just a fact) I will also try to place my amp such that the drummer and/or bassist is hearing at least some of my stage spill if possible.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

BMW-KTM said pretty much what's been my experience. Every band I've been in had only vocals coming through the monitors. I prefer the monitor vocals to be dry (no effects) and crisp for better clarity and less chance of feedback. If the vocals sound good dry through the monitors, they'll sound that much better with effects through the mains.

Stage volume (instument monitors) is what amps are for.

I try to wear my Tunz Trio B's and keep the level down so that it is comfortable and clear.

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Thomas Jefferson

I usually have all vocals in my monitor with a slightly higher volume on my own vocals. That's one thing I have to be constantly aware of when doing backup vocals. If I blend my backup vocals with the others, I may not be loud enough in the mains.
Being a bass player I usually have a little kick drum added as well. My amp and speakers are my bass monitor. Fortunately, the guys I play with are pretty good at keeping the stage volume as low as possible.
If for some reason I have any problems hearing anyone else's vocals or instrument, I just have the sound man adjust it in my monitor.
I practice at home playing along with CD's, especially when learning new songs. You just have to be sure to blend your guitar volume and tone with the CD. But then, I'm able to turn it up. I guess it would be harder to blend at a low volume. Just keep at it. that's the main thing.

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2012 American Standard Precision V - Candy Cola Red
2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V - Surf Green
2011 FCS Custom Classic Special Jazz Bass V - Violin Burst
1996 MIM Stratocaster HSS - Black
1975 Precision Bass - 3 Tone Sunburst

the only use i have for monitors is propping my leg up on them and doing the old classic steve harris move. and yes, that is still a great move.

Did someone say back in the old days? So to speak? Here's a 1966 shot of my band before the days of mixers, monitors, etc.



In 1966, we were ahead of the game. Most bands sang through an extra guitar amp. In the pic above, the stack on the far left is what my guitar was going through. Larry was sitting on his Fender head on a no-name cabinet. I was sitting on an 8 x12" cabinet powered by a Heathkit amp (right next to me) and that's what all of our vocals were coming through. Doug, the bassman, was playing through two Ampeg amps, one on each side of the stage. Tucker was our lead singer and Steve was our drummer.

Ah, those were indeed The Days!

I think the first time I played with real monitors and a real PA system was in the 80s, but I bought a really nice PA system in the 90s and I still have it today. Yeah, when it comes to a PA, I am a firm believer in Peavey.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Great photo CR. Now we know who invented the "wall of sound".

Cheers,

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In my opinion Leo Fender had essentially perfected the guitar amplifier by 1964.