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Alto 100 watt PAM-5A Personal Monitor
I've been fighting a two-headed monster when gigging upright bass over the last forty+ years —  the Feedback Monster along with the "Crap, am I playing out of tune?" Monster. When you're on stage, amplifier position can often be a challenge. Higher volumes usually result in creeping feedback, so you need to move it so it's pointing away from your position - making it harder to hear. If you put it on the floor near you, you can't really hear it unless you grow ears on your knees! But across the stage, your guitar player is complaining that you're way too loud.
All of this fun, and we also have to carry the largest instrument and (usually) the heaviest amp of everyone in the band!?!?! Sometimes life ain't fair.
Back in 1975 I built my own little monitor system to solve this problem. Using a separate amp head - run off my main rig - I hooked it up to my little homemade 2x5" speaker cab, which mounted on a mic stand alongside me near ear height. That way I could put my bass amp anywhere and still hear if I was in tune. And if I was going through the PA, I had my own personal monitor near my ears, so I could keep the bass out of the floor monitors, since that can often cause feedback.
My solution for the 70's has been updated for the 2000's. I found a really cool little powered Personal Monitor made by Alto. It was designed in Italy and has been on the market for a couple years now, so it has a track record. I've tried other similar monitors on the market in the past, but none seemed to have the right stuff to carry my URB all that well.
Since this solid little bugger is a powered monitor I no longer have to carry a second amp head. With two full range five-inch woofers and 100 watts, it can put out a decent amount of clean bass sound, and it's only twelve pounds. Of course, its five inch speakers don't do boom, but that's okay — it's that clear midrange that I need to hear; the lows from my onstage amp or the mains fills in the (largely omnidirectional) bottom end.
The PAM5A design is based on a large, heavy duty magnet and high power moving coil double woofer configuration, within lightweight injection-molded cabinets. The custom made 130mm (5+ inches) drivers, built in Alto's own factory, are full range. No, it's not a bass amp, and if you get too loud it will not react well to the lowest frequencies - but to me, it's perfect as a side stand monitor placed around two feet from your ear.
- Speaker components: Two five inch extended-range speakers
- Power Amplifier: 100W RMS ( 2 x 50W class AB ) / 200W Peak Power (Built-in amplifier is derived directly from Alto's high-end Studio Monitor M Series)
- Volume level control on the back panel
- LED Clipping indicator
- Equipped with a low noise microphone preamplifier as well as line input on a combination ¼ inch (instrument) or XLR (mic style) connector
- Mic/Line sensitivity switch -45/+4dB
- Inputs:
- MIC/LINE balanced with ¼ inch/XLR combination connector,
- CD player/Tape with RCA connectors
- Output: Balanced XLR output
- Frequency Response: 75Hz - 16kHz @ +/- 10dB
- Max SPL 1w@1m: 114dB; at 0.5mt 120dB (Note: These specs are measured at mid-range frequencies, not low bass)
- Power supply: 110-120V @ 60Hz
- Enclosure materials: High impact resistant plastic dark gray in color
- Can be mounted on a mic stand using the bracket supplied - it has two mounting positions so the monitor can be positioned vertically or horizontally. The mic stand is not included; use a strong, stable stand - 12 lbs. is considerably more than a microphone weighs!
- Dimensions (H×W×D): 12.4 × 7.7 × 7.7 inches (315 × 195 × 195mm)
- Weight: 12.1 lbs (5.5kg)
Note: We are advocating the use of this powered speaker primarily as a close position (nearfield, like about two feet from your ear or less), mic stand mounted monitor. It is not powerful or loud enough for use as a floor monitor. It is not designed for use as a bass amplifier; it is a full-range monitor that will help you hear onstage. If you overdrive it with bass it will not be useful.
 Despite the disclaimer above, this cool, small, powered speaker is a very versatile "mini amp" that could also be used for a number of assignments -- within reason -- besides being a bass monitor. I used it as a mini-PA with a standard dynamic mic once, and have also hooked it up to amplify an MP3 player for background music at a party.
Here's a diagram and explanation of the rear control panel:
- Two RCA jacks for use with an iPOD or other stereo input device (this input not affected by volume control, use the device's control to adjust the output volume)
- Combination input jack will take either a ¼ inch (instrument) or XLR (mic style) connection*
- Output XLR connection to daisy-chain the signal to a second PAM 5A or another device
- Volume control to adjust the monitor's volume level
- Clip light flashes the amp is being driven too hard and the limiter is automatically engaged (turn volume down to avoid saturated and distorted sound)
- Sensitivity switch to adjust to the input level of the device plugged into the input
*How to hook up the powered speaker to your amplifier
IMPORTANT: It is necessary to check your amplifier or other device to confirm it will be compatible with this powered speaker. Look at your amplifier to see if it has any of the following output jacks:
- Line Out: This is an ideal connection; it is usually a ¼ inch or XLR jack.
- DI/DIrect Out: Also often a good method, usually an XLR or ¼ inch TRS (balanced) jack.
- Effects Send: As long as your effects loop is a parallel loop (you'll know it is series, and therefore not usable, if you plug a cable into the effects send (out) plug and your amp goes silent) you can run a cable from the Effects Send to the Personal Monitor input.
Remember you will also need a shielded cable with the appropriate connectors that will reach from your amp to the monitor. In most cables an instrument (not speaker) cable will do for the ¼ inch and an XLR microphone cable will do for XLR connections. You will also need a mic stand with a sufficently firm floor base and shaft to support the twelve pound speaker.
If you are using a special preamp or effects box, this may present additional options to connect to the Powered Personal Monitor. For example, the Fishman Pro EQ Platinum Bass DI and the DTAR Solstice (see RELATED PRODUCTS, below) have both XLR and ¼" outputs; if you are using one for your amp and the other is free, it could be used to supply the input signal to the Alto monitor. Another example could be the multiple outputs from some of the Sansamp Bass and Acoustic pedals.
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