I’ve been running the Left output of my Motif Classic to the Left PA speaker, and the Right output to the right speaker. I don’t use a lot of “traveling” voices, just pretty much straight out of the box.

Someone in another forum suggested that the audience might get a better sound if it went out in mono, depending on where on the dance floor they are standing.

How do you live gurus do it? And if you do mono, do you just send it out the L/Mono Motif output? I thought I remembered reading something in the old forum (but couldn’t find it in the archives) that the Motif Classic had phase cancellation issues using the “L/Mono” output, and it sounded thin as a result.

Thanks!

I remember reading that other forum on the topic also.  I believe one of the gurus said that if you Y’ed the L and R together it would cancel phases.  I go out through the L/R Mono output and it sounds good out front.  I’m sure stereo would be better but we don’t have that capability..... yet.

afterhours - 22 May 2009 11:21 PM

I remember reading that other forum on the topic also.  I believe one of the gurus said that if you Y’ed the L and R together it would cancel phases.  I go out through the L/R Mono output and it sounds good out front.  I’m sure stereo would be better but we don’t have that capability..... yet.

Hi afterhours -

I wonder if “Y-ing” the outputs together (which they said cancels phase) is any different than using the L/Mono output ... presumably they “Y” it together internally? ...

I’ve got 2 PA cabs, so I am going out in stereo. Good to hear that your L/Mono sounds good! By any chance have you compared the sound of L/Mono output with externally “Y"-ing together the L and the R outputs?

Stereo to the front of house system is only a problem when the left and right speakers are a good distance from each other.  If you’re using your cabs, then this is probably not the case, so you’re fine.  Frankly, I don’t think the audience can tell if you’re mono or stereo if you are in the context of a band setting. If you are by yourself in a solo gig, then it might be noticed, but only if you can A/B for them.

Stereo is more about us, the player. Especially with the piano and EP voices. When we hear it well, we play better. The problem is that once you decide to go stereo, the whole signal chain has to be stereo, or your signal will be getting summed together somewhere - usually at the FOH if you are self-monitoring in stereo. In this case you have to judge for yourself, and the only way to do that is to hear what it sounds like in both settings: as the player and as the audience. Set a sequence up for yourself and fire that off during sound check and walk out there to hear what it sounds like.

As far as the proper connection goes, if you run mono, then only use the L/Mono output. Make sure nothing is plugged into the Motif’s Right output, or the circuitry will assume you want stereo output. Using both outputs for a stereo self-monitoring situation thru a mixer, and then only connecting one of the outputs from there to the FOH system, Left or Right, will result in an improperly summed signal and less than desired sound quality at the audience end of the chain.

I don’t play large venues, so speaker placement has never been a problem. I make the decision to monitor in stereo only if the FOH system can properly process a stereo signal, otherwise I run mono. I do a few solo’s where I bring my own powered speakers, so in this case there is no need to monitor, and for these I always run stereo.

I saw Michael McDonald a few years back at a big concert venue in my area. He played a Motif ES and I could see it was connected mono. He played a piano sound the most, and it sounded great.

Best of luck!

Bob

SpongeBob - 23 May 2009 02:49 PM

Stereo to the front of house system is only a problem when the left and right speakers are a good distance from each other.  If you’re using your cabs, then this is probably not the case, so you’re fine.  Frankly, I don’t think the audience can tell if you’re mono or stereo if you are in the context of a band setting. If you are by yourself in a solo gig, then it might be noticed, but only if you can A/B for them.

Stereo is more about us, the player. Especially with the piano and EP voices. When we hear it well, we play better. The problem is that once you decide to go stereo, the whole signal chain has to be stereo, or your signal will be getting summed together somewhere - usually at the FOH if you are self-monitoring in stereo. In this case you have to judge for yourself, and the only way to do that is to hear what it sounds like in both settings: as the player and as the audience. Set a sequence up for yourself and fire that off during sound check and walk out there to hear what it sounds like.

As far as the proper connection goes, if you run mono, then only use the L/Mono output. Make sure nothing is plugged into the Motif’s Right output, or the circuitry will assume you want stereo output. Using both outputs for a stereo self-monitoring situation thru a mixer, and then only connecting one of the outputs from there to the FOH system, Left or Right, will result in an improperly summed signal and less than desired sound quality at the audience end of the chain.

I don’t play large venues, so speaker placement has never been a problem. I make the decision to monitor in stereo only if the FOH system can properly process a stereo signal, otherwise I run mono. I do a few solo’s where I bring my own powered speakers, so in this case there is no need to monitor, and for these I always run stereo.

I saw Michael McDonald a few years back at a big concert venue in my area. He played a Motif ES and I could see it was connected mono. He played a piano sound the most, and it sounded great.

Best of luck!

Bob

Thanks for the perspective, Sponge Bob - very interesting!

Louder_Than_Good - I can definitely say that using a single line out of the L/R Mono output is acceptable sound quality while using a Y to connec the L/R Mono and R outputs is not!  The sound is bad with the external Y.  I don’t know enough to know the reason but I sure know what sounds good and bad.