Unless you are coming directly off your transmitter.. high volume should have no effect on wireless batteries...and absolutely nothing to do with FOH.
But then.. I don't know your setup..
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But then.. I don't know your setup..
If foh sends their signal back to your ears and it's terrible then you will fight the volume all night and volume eats my shure transmitters bad. That all has to do with using gain as volume on a channel at the mixer. I run bass signal before the mix now but again, sound guys sending funky signals throughout the night can really mess with your levels and have you constantly reaching for the body pack volume
Good point (thanks for sharing)..and if you are using ears, aren't those receivers? That issue is why we run our own monitors.. never have to worry about what FOH is doing !! I control my IEM mix thru my Android tablet..
My transmitter goes to receiver (G90) then amp, then Direct out to FOH or we mix on stage, then L/R to House. FOH mix is run via iPad out front.. connected via our own secure dual-band network router.
It's all digital now.. I never have to worry about crappy feeds from FOH..
I recently switched to running my pre into my ears before hitting a separate di and my power amp. Big difference.
That's cool..
I will always recommend decoupling your monitor system from FOH any time you can.. We used to deal with it with wedges, before we went digital console and IEM's.. I've done plenty of gigs where the wedge mix was a "fluster cluck"..
Now, I have sound I control, mix and like
We just bought an X32 Rack to completely separate our IEM mix from FOH.. our IEM channels will be the same [split] source as FOH, but we will be able to EQ, compress and effect those channels (and output busses) feeding those IEM's as we see fit - independently of FOH..
Going to be some funky wiring, but going to be so much better than it already is.. roll on CD sound!
Yeah, the only time I would have good ears is when we were responsible for our own monitors as a band. My guitarist would run the ears and typically the foh and it would be amazing. I asked him why and he said it had something to do with sound guys using gain for volume or something. Anyway, he recommended running direct into my own ears then mixing in the console. Huge difference.That's cool..
I will always recommend decoupling your monitor system from FOH any time you can.. We used to deal with it with wedges, before we went digital console and IEM's.. I've done plenty of gigs where the wedge mix was a "fluster cluck"..
Now, I have sound I control, mix and like
We just bought an X32 Rack to completely separate our IEM mix from FOH.. our IEM channels will be the same [split] source as FOH, but we will be able to EQ, compress and effect those channels (and output busses) feeding those IEM's as we see fit - independently of FOH..
Going to be some funky wiring, but going to be so much better than it already is.. roll on CD sound!
yes, some FOH guys mix using gain (trim) levels on channels.. very analog, very old school.. not the way I was taught. On a digital console, that is a bad way to mix as you lose any headroom... But.. it does give you a nice straight line of faders across the console, and I've watched folks do that with digital too..
If your IEM mix is running off an AUX (or other output buss) and FOH is mixing using gain/trims pots.. they are changing levels going to those busses and the levels going to your ears - assuming they are tapping the busses pre-fader (which is the correct way to do it). They must have to doctor effect busses to avoid messing with those.. On a digital console, I can't imagine what they are doing with compression and reverb/delay as those are based on input level signals being constant.. compression thresholds must be all over the place.. maybe they have auto-makeup gain to compensate.. idk..
Anyway, if that's happening, it's no wonder you're fighting volume all night.. I can't imagine playing like that.. I might be forced to "educate" them some
Yes, tapping it BEFORE it goes to FOH is the best way for that situation. With snake splitters, or going direct to our console (before going to FOH) we have managed to do that.. I have a great mix, that FOH CAN'T touch..
Wish you the best with your monitor challenges..
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awesome method when you're a big dog FOH guy, there's miles of headroom in every direction, and the board in question isn't also feeding the monitors
The Line6 wireless has a reputation of being brutal on batteries.
BTW speaking of brutal, that gig calculates out to 5.6 hours - hope it paid well.
I use a Line 6 X2-XDS95 digital wireless and it specifically says rechargeable batteries will last about 4.5 hours in it. Standard Alkaline batteries (Duracell, Eveready, RayOvac, & Radio Shack) all last about 6-hours Good news is I can look at the wireless transmitter I have attached to my guitar strap and see how many hours I have left on it. If I am within 30-minutes of no power, it flashes a red light on the transmitter. Funny thing is that it works great right until it runs out of power - then dead silence. I typically get two practices out of one battery, but I will always put in a fresh battery for a gig. If you've been getting more than 4½-hours on your rechargeable batteries, you've done well.
UPDATE: (Sept 25, 2016)
I junked my old set of Energizer AA 2300 mAh batts and replaced with 8 shiny new ones - which I ran a discharge/charge cycle on before use.. so no.. did NOT use them right out of the retail packaging.
Used one set on Fri gig and ANOTHER on Sat.. that's only 3 hrs playing per set..
I used to get TWO entire 4-hr gigs out of one set with the old ones..
So... I'm thinking that it might be the transmitter and NOT the batteries..
I don't mind the battery management aspects, but I used to be able to put in one set per gig.. now I have to check levels at every set !!
Not good..
Might be time for an upgrade..
Anyone using the newer Sennheiser EW D1-CI1 ??
I junked my old set of Energizer AA 2300 mAh batts and replaced with 8 shiny new ones - which I ran a discharge/charge cycle on before use.. so no.. did NOT use them right out of the retail packaging.
Used one set on Fri gig and ANOTHER on Sat.. that's only 3 hrs playing per set..
I used to get TWO entire 4-hr gigs out of one set with the old ones..
So... I'm thinking that it might be the transmitter and NOT the batteries..
I don't mind the battery management aspects, but I used to be able to put in one set per gig.. now I have to check levels at every set !!
Not good..
Might be time for an upgrade..
Anyone using the newer Sennheiser EW D1-CI1 ??
Are you sure the setting on the transmitter didn't get changed to "Alkaline" from "NiMH"? That would give you a false indication of them being lower than they really are. As per my earlier recommendation you should really have tried a set of Rayovac alkalines to see how long they last before spending $$$ on new NiMH ...
That's not a setting on my L6 xmitter..
I may still do that before plunking down for an upgrade.. the 8 Energizers were $20 at Wally World and I can always use them elsewhere.. However, I did not have this issue with the first set of them I bought.. and they've cycled happily for 2.5 yrs thru lots of gigs up 'til now.
yes..it could be.. but.. I use the same charger for my EBL 2800 mAh AA's (for my G3 IEM) and I have no problems getting 2 full gigs out of them.. in fact. I put in a fresh set on Fri night.. still going strong after BOTH gigs this weekend..
I've had 14 hrs off one set before now..
Hmm... i was just checking out the manual. At what point are you changing the batteries - when the LED turns red or when it starts to blink? If the former they could still have lots of charge left in them. You should still get a set out of them when it starts to blink. I only have one of their handheld wireless mics and I think it has the Alkaline/NiMH setting that tells the battery monitor to not be so pessimistic . It could be that the monitor circuit is broken too - try running it until the transmitter shuts down and note the timing of green to red to blinking to death...
. It could be that the monitor circuit is broken too - try running it until the transmitter shuts down and note the timing of green to red to blinking to death...
Based on experience, I generally change them when the time left shows to be from 6:00-6:20 (hrs).... being NiMH, I don't take the risk of dying mid-set, as they will show good and die 2 mins later. Keep in mind that a fully charged set shows 9:20 at startup..Hmm... i was just checking out the manual. At what point are you changing the batteries - when the LED turns red or when it starts to blink? If the former they could still have lots of charge left in them. You should still get a set out of them when it starts to blink. I only have one of their handheld wireless mics and I think it has the Alkaline/NiMH setting that tells the battery monitor to not be so pessimistic
Both sets started out at that level over the weekend.. it has previously [historically?] taken 2 shows to drain to the 6:20 point.
Still worth running a set dry at home to see if something's changed about the battery monitoring...
Well.. after multiple test with various batteries - including new AA rechargeables, and the @RoadRanger's Rayovac recommendation - my G90 xmitter is DEFINITELY EATING BATTERIES.. so-o-o-o.. I decided not to buy another [NEWER] xmitter - unit based on issues with them I've read here and what I've found on the interweb..
Being something of a gear snob - I decided to replace it with a new Senn unit... it should be here Tues. Batteries are backordered..
Wireless: Sennheiser EW D1-CI1
batteries: Sennheiser BA 30
Rack Kit: Sennheiser GA4
$200 off and free shipping on both orders.. almost as cheap as my original G90 purchase!!
Reviews forthcoming ..
Being something of a gear snob - I decided to replace it with a new Senn unit... it should be here Tues. Batteries are backordered..
Wireless: Sennheiser EW D1-CI1
batteries: Sennheiser BA 30
Rack Kit: Sennheiser GA4
$200 off and free shipping on both orders.. almost as cheap as my original G90 purchase!!
Reviews forthcoming ..
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