ABSTRACT
PA systems are designed to be fairly directional, particularly at higher frequencies, so unless any artist-monitor speakers are provided, what's heard on the stage tends to be a rather indistinct sound dominated by low frequencies. Throughout the early years of amplified musical performances, right up to the early 1970s, on stage monitoring remained a rarity for all but top-line professional performers. This chapter discusses floor wedges, mini personal monitors, cross-stage side-fills, in-ear monitoring, personal monitor control, stage monitors and microphones. One of the earliest solutions was to use a number of individual speakers across the front of the stage pointing back at the performers. Another approach that works very well for smaller venues is to use small personal monitors. The simplest form of personal monitor control is essentially a small analogue mixer that allows the performer to control both their monitor level and the relative level of themselves as heard against the rest of the monitor mix.
