I’m hoping Bad_Mister can comment on this one but would appreciate any and all comments!

I’ve read all that i can on all the forums about mono vs. stereo and our mo keyboards.  I totally agree and buy into the fact that stereo is better.  At home i use Studio Monitors and the MOX sounds great.

I agree with Bad_Mister when he claims that using a pair of MSR100’s as stage monitors would be a great way to listen to yourself live.  I plan on buying a pair soon but i have 2 questions that i can’t find an answer to on this forum.

1. If i’m using a stereo rig to monitor myself then how do i get a mono signal (that is correctly mixed) to the FOH mixer?  The only way i know how is to buy a small mixer that can mix my two stereo MOX outputs into one mono output to send to the FOH board wherever i’m performing.  Not sure that’s as good a mono mix as the MOX does when just using a single wire from the L(mono) output.
If that works, then GREAT!  But that means more stuff to lug around.

2.  So this is the question i really need an answer to:  When i’m playing at locations that only have a mono FOH would it be beneficial to create copies of my performances and change the voices to mono voices to use at those locations?  Does every voice have a mono element counterpart that i can just switch to?  Is that as easy as dropping into voice edit from Mix Mode and swapping out all the elements?  I know there is a mono grand piano but do all the piano voices have mono counterparts?
And most importantly… is all this not even worth talking about?  Is taking the MOX L(mono) out to my MSR400 monitor and to FOH just as good as swapping to mono elements?  I must say.. the mono grand piano sounds much better then my other patches when i’m using a single monitor.

And what about the effects?  I like the Aggressive Grand Patch.  Is making this a mono patch even possible?

I need some guidance here.  Thanks a lot!

drod267, here is some info you might find useful:  Most popular keyboard amps these days have stereo inputs and mixers, that are summed to a mono amplifier output, because you only have a single speaker configuration per unit.  However, they also have a “Stereo Link” patch option that allows you to link (2) units to get stereo output, (1) channel per unit.  These linked units obviously have stereo output capability, but they ALSO have MONO(L) output capability to the FOH mixer, which will re-sum the signal to MONO for the main PA.  This MONO sum will be the same sum that comes directly out of the MOX, no outside mixing necessary (You obviously on inputting to your first keyboard amp unit to (2) separate channels).  Thus, you would have stereo monitoring capability for yourself onstage, but would be able to send either a STEREO or MONO signal to the FOH.  The keyboard amp in effect has the mixer capabilities, so you don’t need a separate mixer.

I can’t think of any reason you would want or need to re-save your VOICES to MONO.

EDIT:  Here is another nifty little tidbit:  Many keyboard amps have one of the input channels with an output selector switch (I have the Roland KC, but others are similar) that allows you to dis-engage that output from the Main output (The line to FOH) of the unit.  This allows you to bus a MONITOR feed from the FOH mixer back into your keyboard amp and use that amp as your personal onstage PA monitor (Without re-looping the PA signal back into the PA mixer) in addition to your keyboard monitor.  Thus, you would no longer have to have separate PA monitors for yourself, your keyboard speakers do the job.

Thanks for the reply.

I’ve seen the keyboard amps that have the mixers and line-outs… and you’re right, that would probably work.  But i’ve found that keyboard amps sound like crap compared to the yamaha MSR line.
So my ideal situation would be to have 2 MSR100’s on stage as monitors.  Which then leaves me with the problem that i need another device to send to FOH.

The reason i mention re-saving all my voices to mono is because stereo voices seem to sound like crap through a mono PA or monitor.  I’m wondering if changing to mono voices for whenever i HAVE to use a mono rig or whenever i want my sound to be best as possible over a mono FOH would help or not?  Or is even doable?

Thanks for the help.

If you want to stay with the MSR100’s, perhaps a small aux. mixer is the best way to go.  I STILL can’t think of any reason to re-save your VOICES to MONO output.  To the degree that stereo VOICES don’t sound that good in mono tells you that stereo sounds better.  Changing the VOICE to mono really doesn’t address that.

Thanks again.
You could be totally right.  That’s why i decided to ask… because i’m pretty sure i’ve read somewhere in the many posts i’ve been reading that if you HAVE to play over a mono FOH then it would be best to use mono voices.

I know Bad_Mister says playing voices with stereo effects over a mono system is a big no-no.

Here says that here along with a lot of other good things related to this stuff:
http://www.motifator.com/index.php/forum/viewthread/449514/

People say that (use mono voices with a mono amp) for common sense reasons. If you have stereo effects, you will only hear half of them in a mono setup. eg, listen to the song “I wear my Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Heart.. the intro is a stereo pingpong effect.. now turn off 1 speaker.... its just not the same!

using a voice that was designed to be mono always, means avoiding the issues… however if u want a stereo voice and dont mind how it sounds in mono, just use it. this isnt a criminal offence, it just doesnt sound as good as it could

It seems to me (And I could certainly be wrong) that you either need to run mono or run stereo, and not try to do both.  If you run stereo, you know how to do that.  If you run mono, you know how to do that (Use the MONO(L) jack on the MOX) and the machine will properly sum to mono for you.  But I have not heard of re-saving Voices to MONO as a method of getting a better sounding mono output.  We’ll see what others have to add.

cmayhle,

Correct… i agree with your first 2 sentences.

I guess all i need to know now is if i’m better off using mono voices when i have to play over a mono sound system vs. just playing stereo sounds with stereo effects coming out of the L(mono) output with a single wire.  When i do this, things sounds bad fast.. i want to make things sound better and less muddy as much as possible in a mono environment even though I KNOW it will never sound like the original stereo sound.

When i say “better” i mean will things tend to sound cleaner when you stick with mono sounds and effects in a mono sound system?
I’ve read that they do… although i’m no expert.  I’ve read in different places that sound guys hate us keyboard guys because we bring stereo instruments into their mono mixes and muddy up the sound.

What i do know is that when i have my single MSR400 monitor in front of me and that’s all i have.... i would much rather listen and play the “mono grand piano” voice over the “concert grand piano” voice in this scenario.  It just “sounds” better.  So i’m wondering if i should take that concept a step further into all my performances?

Thanks guys!

I’ll be interested to hear what some of the more “sound system” oriented folks here have to say.  I don’t like the quality of sound I get with mono either, and I have been using stereo keyboards for 13 or 14 years now.  I just ended up making the sound guy run stereo!

@ drod267

if you think it sounds better, then do it. technically speaking, stereo is going to sound as good or better than mono. at the very least, you are dupilicating a mono signal, but in the case of a proper stereo signal, you arent trying to combine them etc.

There is not much logic that will support mono sounding better, unless u havent set up stereo properly, and are getting dead zones due to interference with 2 speakers etc.

@cmayhle sound guys are a hastle! yes, mono is just what you use when you cannot use stereo.

there is probably going to be two branches to this discussion: the ppl that are all for stereo, and the ppl that think it doesnt make any difference/much difference/enough to bother. if you are using a stereo intensive effect like an auto pan, then u really will want stereo. if u are just using a normal sound with no significant stereo effect, the benifit will decrease from going stereo. but where possible, use stereo