Installs Installing backstage audio monitors

[lovellc083]

I'm currently preparing for the next semester of performances in the campus theatre and was looking to do a few upgrades. The main one that I want to focus on is adding audio monitors to a few locations in the theatre. The theatre is quite small, so we do not mic the actors, the only sound we use is prerecorded background tracks and sfx. These go through an old board and a few home theatre speakers.

Going back to previous experiences, I was thinking of using a couple of hanging mics to pick up the audio for the backstage monitors and wanted to put speakers in the booth, green room and bathroom.

Looking for suggestions on how to set this up, and possibly suggestions on an inexpensive new mixer (only would need it for sfx input from laptop/cd player, house announcement mic and hanging mics) and speakers to use as monitors.

If there are any clarifications you need, plead let me know.

 

[jkluch95]

What kind of mixer do you have now? How many seats is your theater? Budget?

I personally use backstage monitors in both the theaters I work in (one professional, one high school), but our difference is that we mic the actors.
Backstage monitors really help a lot, it lets the actors listen to the performance and listen for their lines without having them trying to sneak in to see what line/scene they are on.

As for hanging mics, they can be tricky, but useful if done right. They can either pick up ALL of the audio in the room or none at all (at least with my experience with them). I've found that floor mics can be effective as well if you want to hear the stuff on stage.

There's my 2 cents

 

[sk8rsdad]

We use a shotgun microphone located over the audience and pointed at the stage to drive our assistive listening system and backstage monitors. It's a good option for a proscenium style stage in a smaller venue.

 

[lovellc083]

The theatre is an 86 seat with a semi-permanent stage. As to what brand our current mixer is, I am not sure. I have attached a picture of it... I think it would probably be best to purchase a new one (we have a little extra in the theatre budget this year...)

 

[jkluch95]

The theatre is an 86 seat with a semi-permanent stage. As to what brand our current mixer is, I am not sure. I have attached a picture of it... I think it would probably be best to purchase a new one (we have a little extra in the theatre budget this year...) View attachment 8465

With the attached image, I would say that a simple Mackie 14 Channel mixer would be fine for your situation.

As for speakers for monitors, I would suggest simple wedges to use

 

[lovellc083]

Thanks for all the advice...something I forgot to mention though. I have some experience with pre existing setups, but need some assistance in how I go about setting up a monitor system... I should have mentioned that a little earlier.

 

[sk8rsdad]

Thanks for all the advice...something I forgot to mention though. I have some experience with pre existing setups, but need some assistance in how I go about setting up a monitor system... I should have mentioned that a little earlier.

That's a broad question.

Like any audio system, you're going to need a source (microphone), amplifier, and speaker and a signal path between those components. In this day and age there are a lot of options since the application is not particularly sensitive to timing and is not mission-critical.

Our system consists of a shotgun microphone, a low-end 4-input mixer, and outputs to the ClearCom, CCTV, and hearing assist system. The ClearCom and video systems deal with distributing the audio to backstage wallstations and TVs, respectively. Theoretically, we could connect directly to an amplifier and run speaker wire all over the place, or connect to a web streaming server so wireless IP devices could listen in.

 

[museav]

First, remember that we are talking about audio systems and you may have to consider how anything you look at affects and is affected by the rest of the system.

It looks like EMX2200 - Powered Mixers - Mixers - Live Sound - Products - Yamaha United States is what you have for a mixer. This could be impoertant to know because that is a powered mixer where the mixer, EQ and amp are all in one box. So it may be serving as more than just the mixer. However, the EMX2200 also has a pre-EQ LINE OUT and a post-equalizer GEQ OUT that could be used with external processors and amplifiers. So replacing that unit with a new mixer might be easy or could result in a completely non-functional system and more information is needed to be able to tell which it would be.

That mixer also has two aux sends, one of which feeds both the AUX 2 output and the mixer's internal effects DSP. If Aux 1 is not currently used or if Aux 2 is available and not used for effects then you may already have a way to generate a mix. If both are in use then you may still be able to use the LINE OUT or GEQ OUT outputs provided you can work with the same mix going to the house and they are not being used for something else.

Does the mixer have any available microphone inputs?

In simple terms, the mixer may or may not need to be replaced in order to provide a mix for monitors and if it does need to be replaced then that may or may not take more than a standard mixer.


As far as the monitors and speakers, I would start out with defining what you want and what is practical. What do you mean by "backstage monitors"? How many monitors and speakers would be involved? Do any of them need local volume control? What paths do you have to get wiring to the monitor and speaker locations as well as from the microphone to the mixer? Where you want speakers are you thinking wall mount, ceiling mount or what? Are powered speakers a practical option? What is the purpose of the booth speakers and do those need a different mix or signal than the other destinations? Who is going to be installing this and what is their experience with installing systems?


On the microphone, you may want to consider what you are trying to do. Is the purpose to pickup the stage sound or is it to primarily pick up the audience or a bit of both?