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The value of rear monitoring

The traditional method of amplification that uses floor monitors facing away from an audience derived from the need to avoid feedback from hand held or stand mounted microphones. But, the high feedback resistance of the2mic is changing how monitors can be positioned so that, for classical & acoustic guitarists, the overall sound quality is improved & the process of mixing live sound with an audio engineer is greatly simplified.

The traditional arrangement of monitor speakers placed at the foot of the stage and pointing towards the performers, with main speakers pointed towards the audience and placed to the side and in front of the stage, works reasonably well….. for the audience. This is because the engineer mixing the sound is always located in the audience, and can easily adjust the main speakers as needed to provide the audience with good sound quality.

The problem is that the engineer, sitting in the hall, has no idea about the sound quality that the performers are hearing onstage during their performance. While professional performers are careful to do a sound check before the performance, the reality is that the sound of a performance venue can significantly change when that venue is filled with people, and this can radically change the ability of the performers to hear themselves onstage during their performance. Sadly, a performing artist often “has the worst seat in the house” due to the engineer, seated in the house, being unable to hear & properly adjust sound onstage during the performance.

Fortunately, this scenario is changing for the better due to the incredible feedback resistance of the2mic, which permits monitors to be placed behind guitarist. which projects the sound energy of these monitors toward the audience and the sound engineer. This allows the engineer to better hear what is the sound quality and levels onstage, and make adjustments as needed.

The traditional format of forward facing mains and rear facing monitors creates two opposing fields of sound, which can sometimes clash and create distortions. Using rear monitors creates a unified field of sound energy where both the monitors and main speakers are working together in unison.

New generations of powered digital speakers are also “opening the door” for guitarists to be in better control of their own sound onstage. Small digital mixers are now capable of operating on a cell phone or for their rear monitor onstage in real time. Since the sound engineer can now hear such changes from the rear mounted monitors, the engineer can then adjust the sound from the main speakers to match the tone qualities desired by the performing guitarist.

The end result of using rear mounted monitors is that the whole process of live sound amplification become easier for everyone, delivers an overall much higher quality of amplified sound, and creates a more relaxed atmosphere where the performing artist can achieve the highest levels of their artistry, and the mixing engineer can accurately reproduce that exquisite sound quality to every seat in the audience.

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