While I use both Bard and Monk if I had to get rid of one it would be the monk. With the bard you get slows, CC, group dps enhancement, mana/health regen, Selos, etc. As stated though, a plate class bard doesnt take hits nearly as well as a leather class monk, and the monks do very nice sustained and burst dps. I personally prefer the added safety/utility that the bard provides over the raw dps from the monk.