[Hamm Guitars]

Hi David,

3 8ohm monitors will give you a 3.3Ohm load. If your amp states that it will only handle 4 Ohms bridged, you might run into problems if you bridge the amp at this load.

The through connection is usually a low level line signal that is buffered to allow you to drive a second amp's input - but you should check your manual on that one since it is not that common of a feature.

 

[Hamm Guitars]

Hi again David,

You will want to connect 2 monitors to one side of the amp and one to the other - forget about bridging the amp alltogether unless you know for sure that it will handle a 3.3ohm load.

You get more power out of the side that will have 2 monitors on it, but that power is distributed between the two monitors. The other side will put out less power, but it is only into one monitor. In the end, all three monitors will have similar volume levels, but the single monitor will not be driving the amp as hot. If there is a slight difference in volume between the two sides of the amp and it is not working for you, just attenuate the louder side untill everything is matched.

The only thing left to consider is how many monitor sends you have from your console, and if you need two seperate or just one mix.

 

[Hamm Guitars]

...thanks, bro'!

there's only one monitor out, so i'll have to fashion some sort of "Y" adaptor.

but i'm curious...why wouldn't i run everything mono?

-dh

You will be, you just need a way to get your single monitor send input into both sides of the amp. The switch on the back of your amp switches from stereo (dual mono) and bridged mono (2 sides of the amp working as one amp in a push-pull configuration), but does not have a mono input option (according to the manual on the manufacturer's site). You need some way to get the signal into the second channel, and the "Y" cable is the simplest means to accomplish this.

You could also use an XLR input and jumper both sides together with a ¼" cable. If your monitor EQ (or whatever you are feeding the monitor send from) has an XLR output, this may actually be easier as you won't have to solder any cables.

 

[Hamm Guitars]

...i read the manual carefully last night. it says clearly that i should NOT send a signal to the second channel when the amp is in bridged mono.

just waiting to get the final word from justin taro at alesis.

the only concern i have now is power: will the 300 hundred watt alesis amp (solid state) have sufficient power for three large vocal monitors, each rated at 250-500 watts program?

-dh

-dh

Hi David,

You don't want to bridge the amp mono. You will be running a 3.3Ohm load if you do, and the amp won't take it. You should have 2 monitors on one side of the amp and one on the other and the switch should be set to stereo mode.

It will run your monitors, but you won't have allot of volume or headroom, so try not to be clipping the amp all of the time as it is bad for the speakers and the amp.

 

[Hamm Guitars]

...i have been wondering if this amp will have enough clean headroom. i have it on a 30-day trial.

-dh

Hi David,

300 Watts is not really that much power to be honest with you. If you are looking at used gear that is going rather cheap, I would say you shoud grab an AudioPro AP3000 or something along those lines. They are cheap power and allthough allot of pro audio guys may shudder at the mear mention of the name, are quite reliable. It is always better to have more power than you need as you will have the headroom and clarity that you are after.

In my experience, more speakers are damaged from being under powered and driving the snot out of the amp (we are talking transistor amps here) to get the volume you are after than are blown from simply having too much power (unless of course you like the sound of over-excurting speakers).

Headroom is where it's at with solid state audio amps, you don't want distortion and you want dynamic range. Underpowered monitors, have the tendancy to loose their dynamic range and kind of have an on/off effect - you'll get the "I can hear them sometimes" comments.

When I do sound, I always let the band play at what ever level they are comfortable with (within reason of course - this is not the norm though, as most of my peers like a real quiet stage), as long as the monitors can keep up and the stage volumes are proportionate (ie not one really loud guitar player and everyone else is quite). This usually translates into a better 'vibe' and the band allways seems to have more fun, which translates well to the audience. Low powered monitors means lower stage volumes, if you are comfortable with that then you may not have a problem with a 300 watt monitoring system.

But, 300 watts of monitoring could easily be drowned out with a 15 watt tube amp, or a heavy hitting drummer. Don't forget that your vocal mics will be picking up the stage sound as well, and the monitors are amplifiying this as along with your vocals.