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Tech Tip Of The Day: Sidefill Confusion

Can sidefills be used as a complete substitute for floor monitors?

Provided by Sweetwater.

Q: We’re starting to have some contemporary music at my church and I’m helping with the sound.

For our sound system we’re using a regular stage setup with speakers on stands.

Everything is working ok so far but I had a question about monitors.

Is it true that placing smaller PA speakers behind the main speakers facing the worship team a better solution than using floor monitors?

A: In the simplest terms, no.

Properly placed floor monitors (at the base of the mic stand) project sound at the null region of directional (cardioid) vocal mics, which increases gain before feedback.

If you tried to forego the floor monitors and depend solely on sidefills (the smaller speakers behind the mains you mentioned), you would probably wind up with feedback while trying to get the mix loud enough to satisfy all of the players.

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