Thinking of going mono

[gskip]

Hi, I've been doing gigs for years with a mixer, 2 or 3 mics, and the Genos in stereo to 2 good speakers and a sub woofer.
The sound is great, but now I'm thinking about cutting back on gear, due to setup time and energy (or lack of).
I know the Genos is best in stereo, but I'm willing to try something different.
There are some good new pa speakers that have built-in mixers with effects and xlr ins. Some even have remote/iPad mixer controls for the speaker.
I use registrations almost exclusively. If I do this, should I rework all my songs, or just use the l/mono out to the speaker or mixer? I would not change all my regs, just a few to see how it works.
Any thoughts or recommendations?
Thanks, Skip

[BogdanH]

hi Skip,
Just my opinion here, so don't take this as advice or recommendation 

If you're playing as one-man-band, then I would stay in stereo. The thing is, you're a band which consists of drummer, bass guitarist, pianist, maybe strings, etc. and you definitely don't wish that all musicians would sound from single spot on the stage.
But because you already have stereo setup, you can try by yourself: simply use one speaker (connected to L/mono) and subwoofer. In this case keyboard will automatically down-mix from stereo to mono and so all voices will be present in that single speaker (+subwoofer).
What I'm saying is, listening to music that is recorded in mono (60+ years ago) is already bad on stereo equipment.. but listening mono music on single speaker only is simply not acceptable nowadays.

However, if you're playing in a real band, then I think mono is not so much of a trouble.. especially if you're mostly playing single instruments (i.e. piano or organ only).

Just my 2c worth,
Bogdan

[Lee Batchelor]

Hi Skip,

I'm on the same page as Bogdan. For years, I've played my Genos (and all other arrangers) in stereo. I've tried the odd gig in mono but sadly, Yamaha doesn't process the stereo > mono signal well at all. Roland does. What are you using for speakers these days? If they're large and heavy cabinets, then I would scale them down. There's lots to choose from. I recently went from Yorkville NX-55p > Bose Compacts > Bose Pro 8. I used to use Yorkville 15" Pulse speakers with stands. The speakers were 65 pounds each. The Bose Pro 8 are about 39 pounds and have excellent bass - no sub needed!

For my band work, I set up my Bose Pro 8s in stereo in front and facing me like two giant headphones. I send a mono monitor signal from the right channel to the mains and hence to the monitors for my band mates. Do I need both speakers? No, but to me the stereo imaging makes me sound better at my stage position. The out front signal is mono but I don't think anyone notices or cares.

The moral If you sound good on stage, you play well. If you sound terrible, you play poorly. Stereo on stage is the way to go with all Yamaha keyboards.

[gskip]

I use 2 QSC 8.2 speakers on poles along with a Behringer sub. Not a bad sound. I work as a duo and sometimes need a full/large sound. It takes about 45 minutes to an hour for setup and sound check.
Just thing about cutting back; and I agree the keyboard sounds much better in stereo.

[Lee Batchelor]

QSC makes very good stuff. Those are smaller than my Bose Pro 8s. They roll off at 59 Hz, which is not bad but like the Bose Compacts, lack warm bass, hence the need for your sub. Depending on how big the sub is, you can't get a lot more compact than that. I too work in a duo and it takes us about the same amount of time for setup and sound check.

We tried running all our signals directly into the two Bose Pro 8 speakers once. Each speaker has a 3-channel mixer. It worked well but we had very little control on dynamics. I've always run everything into my 12 channel SoundCraft mixer. I like that extra control right beside me.

Not sure there's a better way than what you use now, unless you're willing to give up some quality. Great setup you have. I'd love to hear you guys!

- Lee

[Toril S]

I often use only one Bose L 1 compact. Works great.

[Lee Batchelor]

Agreed, Toril. It's a matter of how far you want to push the quality index. Obviously, Skip's system and mine will sound far superior to a single Compact BUT so much depends on the venue. We played a duet show in a family living room about two years before Covid, using a single Compact. It sounded great too 👍.

[tyrosrick]

Been married three times, and believe me, it's better going mono now!