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Finally went to in-ear monitors.

invader3k

invader3k

Feb 12, 2004
2,851
51
46
Fort Atkinson, WI
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#1
Hey guys...haven't posted in quite a while. Just been too busy.

Anyway, our band finally went to all in-ears. What a world of difference! Our drummer has been using (wired) in-ears for a while to help him with mixing (he runs our PA from the stage). Last gig, our guitarist went to in-ears, and raved about them. I finally broke down and got a system of the same type (Galaxy Audio AS-900).

We had a gig on Saturday night, and I have to say I was stunned how much easier it was to hear everything! No more constant mix adjustments, no more volume wars on stage, no more constantly twiddling with my EQ so I can cut through the mix and hear myself...

I guess the point of my post is that if you've been resisting going on in-ears like I did for years, just do yourself a favor and try it. It's so much better than dealing with stage monitors!
 
#2
Welcome to the club!

I was "forced" into switching to IEMs as a condition of joining the band I'm currently in... but now after using them for 2 and a half years I would never go back. For me the absence of stage "roar" with IEMs made an actual physical difference in how fatigued I felt at the end of a 4-hour gig. In my old band with wedges I felt like I had gone 12 rounds with Tyson but with the IEMs after 4 hours I was just getting warmed up!

IEMs also allowed me to significantly downsize my bass rig and now frequently, to go with a SansAmp and no onstage amp at all. But that's a topic for a different thread.
 
#3
Haha, jaywa, you just described how I felt sometimes after certain gigs...I imagined it was like what being "punch drunk" felt like. I didn't have that same feeling after Saturday night's gig. Didn't have to turn up the in-ear volume to hear myself much either, and I was only using the stock headphones that came with the system. Will probably upgrade those in the near future.
 
#5
Great timing for me - I am having to decide now whether or not to make the switch. Our singer, guitarist and keyboard player have all made the switch - only me and the drummer resisting now. I just can't imagine getting the same quality of sound from earphones but will have to give it a go I guess.

Particularly since the guitarist owns the wedges and is having to lug them to every gig just for me and the drummer!
 
#7
davidjackson said:
Particularly since the guitarist owns the wedges and is having to lug them to every gig just for me and the drummer!
Click to expand...

Yup. We do our own production on all but a handful of gigs a year so all those wedges, power amps and cables we DON'T have to haul around, connect and tear down make a huge difference in level-of-effort on the gig. In fact, it left us so much more room in our trailer that we were able to go to a smaller trailer which gave us better gas mileage from our band vehicle too. So we won two ways.
 
#10
Recentley I've changed pretty much everything I use to know. I only play at church and we recentley went the in ear route which eliminated the wedges. Plus, I've been using a Zoom B3 instead of an amp. Who say's an old guy can't learn some new tricks? The IEM's are taking me a few to get use to, but I'm getting there.
 
#11
socialleper said:
How much did the IEM cost and how did you go about getting them molded? I've always wondered how you start the process of getting something that needs to be made custom like that.
Click to expand...

The unit I have was only $200 (keeping in mind each band member needs one and our drummer already had a volume mixer). I haven't gotten custom ear buds for them, though I actually do I have a pair of custom molded ear plugs (not sure if I could use those with headphones or not, haven't tried). The ear plugs I have were done by a local audiologist and sent to a company called Westone.
 
#12
invader3k said:
The unit I have was only $200 (keeping in mind each band member needs one and our drummer already had a volume mixer). I haven't gotten custom ear buds for them, though I actually do I have a pair of custom molded ear plugs (not sure if I could use those with headphones or not, haven't tried). The ear plugs I have were done by a local audiologist and sent to a company called Westone.
Click to expand...

I was thinking these were the molded kind like the 1964Ears.
$200 is a pretty good deal though. Is the sound isolation pretty good?
I wear Vater ear plugs so I don't damage my hearing, but fighting with "monitors" isn't an issue for me since most of the places I play don't have them. These little dive bars have a couple of speaks aimed at the crowd for the vocals and that's it.
 
#17
IMO the best scenario is wireless packs with each person getting their own mix from a single, dedicated mixer. We have that in my cover band and it's great.

Personal mixers e.g. Aviom are OK but outrageously expensive, VERY prone to trouble and can be a real PITA to get dialed in. I've got enough to worry about with playing... Last thing I want is to have to run my own monitor mix on top of that yet. We have Avioms at my church and frankly I think they're more trouble than they're worth and a big ripoff.
 
#18
jaywa said:
Wireless packs with each person getting their own mix from a single, dedicated mixer are ideal. We have that in my cover band and it's great.

Personal mixers e.g. Aviom are OK but outrageously expensive, VERY prone to trouble and can be a real PITA to get dialed in. I've got enough to worry about with playing... Last thing I want is to have to run my own monitor mix on top of that yet. We have Avioms at my church and frankly I think they're more trouble than they're worth and a big ripoff.
Click to expand...

I concur.

We use a 24 channel board with 6 auxes (6 member band), and we have the 6 wireless units racked underneath along with the power amp. So everyone gets their own mix. We bring our own 24 channel splitter snake. It's a completely self contained unit. So we can roll up to any venue that has a 24 channel FOH board (Which most places do) and away we go. We also go completely ampless. Sound men absolutely love it. I use a Sans Amp BDDI for my electric and a Fishman Pro Platinum EQ for my upright.

Do yourself a favor and buy some good earbuds. People are willing to spend tons of cash on a sweet amp. If your not using and amp like me it's crucial to have good phones. I went with Shure es535s. They were about $500 but worth every penny. Some of the other guys in the band got custom molded Westones. Those were $1,100. I just couldn't quite justify that much. I'm very happy with the Shures.
 
#19
I switched about 6 months ago and I won't go back. I was totally sold after the 1st set of the 1st gig I used them on. I took them out after the set and couldn't believe how loud the room was! If the room is that loud without us playing, how loud is the stage when we are? I have to add that we are not a loud band by any stretch.

I also love how I don't have to screw around with a floor monitor anymore.
 

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