In ear monitors for bass?

[Mister Mo]

So, here is what I did....

I purchased SE215 because they were recommended. Hearing the bass in the mix was not good, and these things kept falling out of my ears. So I bought those extra earpieces that look like a tree. A little better, but they hurt after a few minutes.
Next step: custom earpieces made by a hearing aid professional. They fit better, but hearing the bass... nope. I had frequent discussion with audio engineers. Now I am ready to throw away all that cr*p and get a better IEM. SE215s SUCK.

 

[ArtechnikA]

Westone UMPro-30

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

There's quite a few good custom IEM models out there, especially when you hit that price range. That's where I question the "ROI" on adding more drivers... are 16 or 18 better then 8 for example, and is the difference worth the expense?
I can tell the difference in bass between my 1964 Qi's (4-driver) and A8's (8-driver) but my singer has A12's and I can't "hear" the difference between mine and his and it sure ain't worth the extra $$.
I'm pretty sure I won't be upgrading to the $1700 [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] OR their TOTL [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] any time soon - maybe if I win the lottery?

In my experience After you get up to two drivers per frequency type the difference is mainly in clarity, instrument separation, and headroom before clipping and having abit more reduced noise. I recently got a set of the Kz 12 driver Ast iem's and the difference was quite noticable compared to my cca c16 iem's with 8 drivers granted the BA drivers are a newer design in the Ast but its feels like a bigger difference then just the driver tuning or quality imho

 

[Mister Mo]

So, I had arranged a conversation with an employee of a very good music store, and a very experienced one from the bass department who plays bass in several rock/metal bands. It fits musically, we play almost everything with drop tunings, so a lot in the very low ranges.

In short:

1. the MEI 1000 does not transmit bass frequencies well, it is better in the mid and high range. The effect that especially the lower tones of the bass massively drown as soon as someone else plays, is known and can not be turned off. Additional comment: "if you use an MEI 100, you get the same problem, save money and get extra interference noise for free". Nice one.
Alternative InEar systems would be devices from Shure, series PSM 300 and upwards - the prices you do not want to know. That is not an alternative for an average band.

2. the earphones I have - Shure SE215 - are suboptimal for listening to bass sounds, and according to him, this is common knowledge. He recommended two other models for me. Thanks to the other music store that advised me to go with the SE215, a super misadvice, for the wrong earphones I had fitted earpieces made for a lot of money.

3. he recommends to me:

- Other earphones. Suitable for bassist ears and affordable are the Sennheiser IE 100 PRO (as long as you don't take the wireless ones and get unbearable latency from Bluetooth). Let's see if they hold in the ears, otherwise I'll have the earpieces reshaped or whatever.

- Best to connect directly to the mixer with a sufficiently long cable, set up the band so that you stand next to the mixer as a bass player, and there you set the appropriate mix. No latency, no noise, best possible sound. And you save the cost of 1 transmitter and a lot of hassle.

 

[Matt Salas]

First things first. if going to IEMs or headphones then spend the money on the Ear buds or headphones. Then tackle the body pack or headphone amp. if you don't move around I would go with a wire. You don't have to worry about frequency problems of getting interference and also you won't have to worry about batteries.
It is nice to be wireless for convenience, but it's also more money. I would rather have better Ear buds than be wireless if it meant to choose between quality or convenience.
You could go with a headphone amp that also has a more me function to it. check this out by rolls.
you would take the XLR cable that is going to the sound guy's mixer and plug it in the mic input on the rolls then go out of the rolls into the audio guys mixer. this is your bass. then you can take the monitor feed from the audio guy for your aux ( in ear mix ) and plug that into the aux input on the rolls. Now you have your personal bass volume vs the monitor volume all at your fingertips. you can turn yourself up or down and balance with the monitor mix in your ears. Also note: if you don't mind wearing headphpones, they would be cheaper than a really good set of IEM's. I also would say don't get any single driver ears.. go with dual drivers as a minimum.
here is the rolls device link.
Rolls PM50S Personal Monitor Amp

Thanks Rob. That is exactly what I was looking for (IEM with control of my foldback) I am currently learning on fretless and found out early on how vital it is that you can hear yourself playing. I was at a second audition when they insisted on putting me directly through the crap PA so they could record from the desk. Needless to say it didn’t work out. I already have a small pair of Sennheiser noise cancelling phones and have just ordered a Rolls and a couple of jack to XLR adapters. So I won’t get caught in that trap again I hope.

 

[Nightman]

In your IEM search, look at Alclair.

 

[J.Wolf]

ZS10 Pro's for the budget win. Comply tips and an upgraded cable and its a pretty tough bar to beat for around $120 bucks...

I also switched from a Behringer belt pack to a Rolls personal headphone mixer and the sound improved there as well. So I take a direct line somewhere off my rig into the instrument in, and mix it separately from the band line, which comes from the X32. Pretty happy with it, but I've been starting to think about a cab sim for the ears only, not the FOH send.

and for full disclosure, I still use a rig behind me to feel some air. But just getting rid of all those wedges on stage and giving everyone iOS mixing capability was a huge level up for sound and time management. I mean its an 11 piece band after all..

 

[Mike Caldwell]

ZS10 Pro's for the budget win. But just getting rid of all those wedges on stage and giving everyone iOS mixing capability was a huge level up for sound and time management. I mean its an 11 piece band after all..

And think of the floor space on the stage that was opened up!!

 

[PCR]

Here is where to start and end.

https://www.amazon.com/Xvive-Wireless-Transmitter-Rehearsal-Performance/dp/B08GFP92FX/ref=sr_1_7_sspa?crid=2WGEMMYUGYBC3&keywords=uv+iem&qid=1699990519&sprefix=uv+item,aps,86&sr=8-7-spons&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.17d9e15d-4e43-4581-b373-0e5c1a776d5d&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Extended-Respone-Earphones/dp/B07NSL5XS5/ref=sr_1_5?crid=MTI7MSNMJBNH&keywords=Etymotic&qid=1699990614&s=electronics&sprefix=etymotic+,electronics,91&sr=1-5&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.17d9e15d-4e43-4581-b373-0e5c1a776d5d


Xvive U4 Wireless in-Ear Monitor: works great. Super easy to set up: especially if you have active PA speakers. I run mine out of the output on one of the mains. We run 4 receivers off of one transmitter. Everybody gets the same main feed. Work great.

Etymotic: are decent ear buds, but any ear buds that has a good seal will work.

(BTW: I also have custom molded IEM by Alcair: If you're going customs, Alcairs are great. Plus they're having their annual November sale)

I was a sound warrior too, and had a bad scare a few years ago after a gig where my ears rang, and I couldn't get rid of a head ache for a few days, I took the jump.

Don't wait. Spend the money and suck up the learning curve. You wont go back. It is WAAAY more comfortable playing with IEM's. You will not be drained after the show.

Seriously, don't mess with your hearing. This is the kind of stuff that doesn't heal with time.

Good luck.

 

[pglaser01]

Rest of my band went with ZS10s, but I went with the AS10s as I felt they had more clarity in the bass range for me vs. the more hi-fi tone of the ZS10s. While I love the sound of the AS10s, the ear profile isn’t what I’d call “perfect”.

I’ve also had Westone UM30s, Shure 215 and 425s. The Westone’s were ok, very warm sounding, so for me EVERYTHING in the mix sounded too low-end. I liked the separation of the 425s, but I felt they were a tad harsh sounding and I got fatigue with 2 guitars, bass, and 4 vocals.

Reference I also use the PSM300 with stereo separation.