To set up stage monitors, you place wedge speakers facing the performers, send each musician a monitor mix from the mixer, set levels so everyone hears what they need, and ring out the monitors to stop feedback. Done right, the band plays tighter because everyone can actually hear themselves. Here’s how.
What a stage monitor does
Stage monitors (often called wedges) face the performers, not the audience. They let each musician hear their own vocal or instrument and the rest of the band on stage, where the main speakers don’t reach well. Without them, players push too hard and timing falls apart. If you want the background on what a monitor mix is, read what is a monitor mix and how does it work. If you’re still choosing hardware, our roundup of the best stage monitors for live performance covers what to look for in a wedge.
Step 1: Position the wedges
- Place each wedge on the floor angled up toward the performer’s head, just in front of where they stand.
- Point the wedge so the back of any vocal mic faces it — this keeps the mic’s most sensitive side away from the speaker and reduces feedback.
- Give each key performer their own wedge where possible: lead vocal, other singers, and anyone who needs a specific mix.
- Keep wedges clear of the audience line so they don’t blast the front row.
Step 2: Route the monitor mixes
Each monitor mix comes from an output on your mixer, usually an aux send (sometimes labelled “aux” or “monitor send”). On each channel, the aux send knob controls how much of that channel goes into that monitor.
- Assign one aux send per monitor mix.
- Connect each aux output to the input of the corresponding powered wedge, or to amps feeding passive wedges.
- For one shared mix, a single aux can feed several wedges; for individual mixes, use one aux per performer.
If you’re unsure how outputs and channels map on your desk, our guide on gain staging a live mixer sets a clean foundation, and analog vs digital mixers explains how many monitor mixes each type can realistically handle.
Pre-fade vs post-fade aux sends
One detail trips up a lot of people building their first monitor rig: whether the aux send pulls signal before or after the channel fader. For monitors you almost always want the send set to pre-fade. A pre-fade send takes the signal before the channel fader, so when you move that fader for the front-of-house mix, the level in the performer’s monitor stays put. If the send is post-fade, every adjustment you make for the audience also changes what the band hears, which is a recipe for confusion mid-song. Most analogue desks have a switch or jumper per aux to choose pre or post; on a digital desk it’s a setting on the aux bus. Set your monitor auxes to pre-fade before soundcheck and leave them there.
Step 3: Build each mix to what the player needs
A monitor mix is not a copy of the main mix. Each musician wants more of certain things:
- Singers usually want their own voice loud, plus enough of the rhythm to stay in time.
- Drummers often want bass and a vocal reference.
- Guitarists may want vocals and kick to lock in.
Start with everything down, then bring up only what each person asks for. Less in the monitors usually means less feedback and a clearer stage. A good habit is to build the mix one element at a time and ask the player “more or less?” rather than guessing. Watch them on stage during the first song too: if a singer keeps drifting flat or a drummer rushes, it is often a sign that something they rely on is missing from their wedge.
Step 4: Set levels and ring out the monitors
Bring each wedge up to a useful level during your band soundcheck, then ring it out to remove feedback-prone frequencies before they cause trouble. The full method is in how to ring out monitors to prevent feedback, but in short: raise the level until it just rings, find the ringing frequency on the monitor EQ, cut it, and repeat. Keep overall monitor volume as low as the band can tolerate.
How to keep the stage manageable
The biggest mistake bands make is treating the monitors like a volume war. The drummer asks for more vocal, so you turn up the vocal; the singer can no longer hear themselves over the louder wedge, so they ask for more, and within a couple of songs every wedge is screaming and the stage is a wall of mush. Break the cycle by turning things down rather than up whenever a mix gets cluttered. If a player can’t hear one specific thing, cut the things competing with it instead of raising the one they want.
A few habits keep monitors under control over a whole set:
- Only put in each wedge what that performer genuinely needs. Empty space in a monitor mix is not a problem to be filled.
- Use the channel high-pass filter on vocals and any other source that doesn’t need low end — it cleans up rumble and reduces the low-frequency build-up that makes monitors muddy.
- Get the worst feedback frequencies out with the ring-out before the doors open, not while the band is playing.
- Aim for the lowest stage volume the band will accept. A quieter stage gives the front-of-house engineer a cleaner mix and protects everyone’s hearing.
Should you use wedges or in-ears?
Wedges are simple and shared, but they add stage volume and feedback risk. In-ear monitors give each player a clean, isolated mix and a quieter stage, at the cost of more setup. Compare the two in in-ear monitors vs wedges before committing your band to one approach, and if you decide to switch, our walkthrough on how to set up in-ear monitors covers the routing and gear.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Pointing a mic straight into a wedge. The most sensitive part of a typical vocal mic is the front, so a wedge firing into it almost guarantees feedback. Keep the back of the mic toward the speaker.
- Copying the main mix into the monitors. Performers need a different balance from the audience, so build each monitor mix from scratch.
- Forgetting to ring out. Skipping this step means you find the feedback live, in front of an audience, instead of in soundcheck.
- Letting monitor levels creep up all night. Set a sensible level and resist the urge to keep nudging it; small turn-ups add up to an unmanageable stage.
Frequently asked questions
How many stage monitors does a band need?
It depends on how many separate mixes you want. A small band can share one or two wedges on a single mix, while a fuller setup gives the lead vocalist and key players their own wedge and mix. Start with the singers, who benefit most.
Why do my stage monitors keep feeding back?
Usually because a microphone is pointed into the monitor, the monitor is too loud, or feedback-prone frequencies haven’t been removed. Position the mic so its back faces the wedge, keep monitor levels modest, and ring out the monitors during soundcheck.
Can I run stage monitors from the same mixer as the main sound?
Yes. Most mixers provide aux sends specifically for monitor mixes, separate from the main output. You use these aux sends to build each performer’s monitor mix independently of what the audience hears.
Should monitor aux sends be pre-fade or post-fade?
Pre-fade for monitors. A pre-fade send is unaffected by the channel fader, so adjusting the front-of-house balance won’t change what the band hears in their wedges. Post-fade sends are better suited to effects like reverb that should track the main mix.
