noob in-ears logistics questions

[HolyGrowl]

Hi there,

I'm considering getting a kit of in-ears and was wondering what are the options when it comes to hook them up live.

From what I can see, when you buy the kit, all you get is the plugs, some length of wire and a case. Where does the belt pack come from? Is it provided by the show's production or do you have to by this on top?

How much control over your sound can you have? Are you completely at the mercy of how the guy at the board mixes everything? What if I don't like the highs he pushes in my bass sound and want it fattened up? Will this clash with how he eq's the bass sound for the room?

Or can I set up a mixer between the board and the receiver so I can eq my sound myself?

Thanks!

 

[dubmon]

I'm curious about a couple of these points too: would like to hear from touring pros about it:
When I accept a tour these days, since in-ears are so common now, am I expected to have my own in-ears, and does that include the receiver and the works, or just the headphones themselves and I plug into whatever is provided? I've only ever used good 'ol wedges and side fills, never in-ears before!
What would be some recommendations(depending on the above) for getting set-up with what I'd need to be "pro" as affordably as possible?

 

[F-Clef-Jef]

I would guess you would need just the in-ears themselves, because you won't know what brand of transmitter / receiver the sound company may be using. Unless you want to buy one of every kind of receiver that every company make$!!
I've only been in that situation once, and in that case, the sound company provided the in-ears also (Shure E5's I think), they had a big bag of foam tips, so at least you weren't getting other peoples ear gunk in your ears, (I hope).

 

[dubmon]

I would guess you would need just the in-ears themselves, because you won't know what brand of transmitter / receiver the sound company may be using. Unless you want to buy one of every kind of receiver that every company make$!!
I've only been in that situation once, and in that case, the sound company provided the in-ears also (Shure E5's I think), they had a big bag of foam tips, so at least you weren't getting other peoples ear gunk in your ears, (I hope).

I see--thanks. So it's a typical question to ask the manager if they will be supplying in-ears? I just don't know how it works out there these days !

 

[F-Clef-Jef]

Like I said, I've only been in that situation once... I'm sure there are lots of different answers to your question. Not sure what the industry standard is.
I think I'd feel pretty confident in assuming that I'd use my own in-ears, sound company provides transmitters/receivers and *hopefully* a decent monitor mix!

 

[GregShadoan]

Like I said, I've only been in that situation once... I'm sure there are lots of different answers to your question. Not sure what the industry standard is.
I think I'd feel pretty confident in assuming that I'd use my own in-ears, sound company provides transmitters/receivers and *hopefully* a decent monitor mix!

Most bands/players own their own. There are a few sound companies that can provide full in ear rigs, but that is usually on a tour basis. I certainly would not assume you can get any consistancy using local one off sound companies. The best are the Sennhiesers. They come with a transmitter and receiver, as well as some ear buds. The best ear buds are the shure e-5's. Be sure to get an audioaligst to make you some molds for them. If you are just a weekend warrior, and expect local venues to have an open mix, you might be dissapointed. If you carry your own consoles, then you should be fine. Whatever you do, I would recommend againsts getting a cheaper brand, as you will probably get a bad feel for the technolgy in general. Its not for the casual player in most cases, but is for touring bands with either a tour sound company, or like I said, if you carry your own consoles/snake/etc..
Good luck, Ears are the future, along with digital boards.

 

[dubmon]

Ears are the future, along with digital boards.

I do find it interesting that you still see plenty of big acts up there without in-ears, using good old wedges and whatnot. I was just looking at live photos of Eric Clapton's band from earlier this year (I was surfing for live shots of Pino and found Ericclaptonphootos.com) and there doesn't seem to be an in-ear in sight--it's all "traditional" monitors. I guess maybe it still comes down to whatever the artist prefers or is used to, huh?

 

[GregShadoan]

I do find it interesting that you still see plenty of big acts up there without in-ears, using good old wedges and whatnot. I was just looking at live photos of Eric Clapton's band from earlier this year (I was surfing for live shots of Pino and found Ericclaptonphootos.com) and there doesn't seem to be an in-ear in sight--it's all "traditional" monitors. I guess maybe it still comes down to whatever the artist prefers or is used to, huh?

There are virtually no limits to what is available to todays touring professionals. If a product exsists, and the artist is willing to pay for it, then they can usually have it. In the case of high profile artists, they mostly have sound people on retainer, who always work with them, honing their sound equipment needs. Sometimes artist request things that are just silly. I have seen a few "funny" things, like 6 channels of kick drum, only 2 were used. Mic under every cymbol. 32 inputs for 2 people on stage. Its all about the money.

 

[TimmyP]

If the mixer is on stage, you can likely drive the earbuds directly from an unused Aux send (via a custom made cable). However it would be best to have some protective limiting in place, in which case you would run the aux into a compressor (anything will do) and run the comp's output into the buds (via the aforementioned custom cable).

If the mixer is out front, and there's a spare snake line to run the aux down, you can feed that into the compressor as above.

In either case, you will have your own mix.

 

[LightGroove]

Hey now,

I use in-ears for my church gig. I will say they take some getting used to. Very strange to have accurate sound that close to your ear drums. They emphasize all the nuances and crappiness in my playing.. When the mix is right they are really sweet.

I also would mention what you hear in your ears is not necessarily a direct representation of whats coming through your cabinet or through the PA for that matter. Takes a lot of faith that the FOH know what they are doing.

Our system is actually really sweet. We use an aviom system that acts like our own mixer. We can pick and choose who we want to hear, how much, pan left, pan right, and also boost/cut lows and highs. From the aviom we have a 1/4" cable-> female mini -> shure headset.

You become VERY isolated with both of them in. I find it very helpful to play with one in and one out. I play right next to the drums so I put that one in and leave the opposite out.

Not trying to deter you but take some time to get familiar with them. I agree in investing in a good brand.

 

[TimmyP]

I also would mention what you hear in your ears is not necessarily a direct representation of whats coming through your cabinet or through the PA for that matter. Takes a lot of faith that the FOH know what they are doing.

True. However, whether you run everything direct and have in-ears, or have amps+cabs and don't run through the PA at all, what you hear on stage is never representative of what the audience hears. In part this is owing to the room's effect on the sound, and in part this is because most musicians have their cabinet pointed at their knees instead of at their ears.

 

[Baird6869]

I hate the stupid things. I think I have weird shaped ears though as they keep falling out.

Anyways, I have Shure monitors and they sound great when they are actually in my ears. I plug them into a long 1/8" cable into a "headphone station" that belongs to our guitarist. The station then hooks into the PA.

Did I mention that I am not a big fan?

 

[TimmyP]

I hate the stupid things. I think I have weird shaped ears though as they keep falling out.

Anyways, I have Shure monitors and they sound great when they are actually in my ears. I plug them into a long 1/8" cable into a "headphone station" that belongs to our guitarist. The station then hooks into the PA.

Did I mention that I am not a big fan?

Have you tried all three of the Shure "cushies"? There's the yellow "foamies", the clear "cones", and the white flanged "Christmas trees". The trees work best for me.

 

[ped]

Hey now,

I use in-ears for my church gig. I will say they take some getting used to. Very strange to have accurate sound that close to your ear drums. They emphasize all the nuances and crappiness in my playing.. When the mix is right they are really sweet.

I also would mention what you hear in your ears is not necessarily a direct representation of whats coming through your cabinet or through the PA for that matter. Takes a lot of faith that the FOH know what they are doing.

Our system is actually really sweet. We use an aviom system that acts like our own mixer. We can pick and choose who we want to hear, how much, pan left, pan right, and also boost/cut lows and highs. From the aviom we have a 1/4" cable-> female mini -> shure headset.

You become VERY isolated with both of them in. I find it very helpful to play with one in and one out. I play right next to the drums so I put that one in and leave the opposite out.

Not trying to deter you but take some time to get familiar with them. I agree in investing in a good brand.

I agree with your comments - however I use the foam sleeves so they are not totally noise cancelling - I turn down my in ear level to match that of the band and then i get all the benefits you describe but without any drawbacks. I got sick of carting large rigs about and have never been happier with my sound.

You do have to rely on the FOH but then you have to anyway to a similar degree even with a huge rig behind you. This is why I swapped - why bother with such a massive rig when only I can hear it properly!

ped

 

[LightGroove]

Thanks Timmy,

I'm fairly green myself when it comes to this stuff.. Just expressing my experience.

Blessings