• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Not liking in-ears

Flatwound

Flatwound

Supporting Member
Sep 9, 2000
2,919
1,932
San Diego
#1
Taking some advice I had read here after doing some searches, I got the UE TripleFi 10's. Very nice earbuds, of course, but I've never liked the sound of my bass thru headphones. It just doesn't sound the same as it does coming thru a bass cabinet.

I'm using them at a church, which, as usual, is a big boomy room with lousy acoustics. I was having trouble using a bass amp as a stage monitor due to the reflections of the sound, so I'm trying to use in-ears (or headphones) to help the sound guy clean things up. That part is working fine, he's able to mix things a lot better, and the bass is more audible and much clearer.

Any suggestions to make the bass sound more "natural" in the earbuds?
 
#2
What is your signal chain now?

If its direct from a DI box, it is going to sound pretty different than coming out of a cabinet. It won't sound like recorded bass either. It probably doesn't have any EQ on it in the monitor channel, which could help. Regardless, bass through IEMs just doesn't sound like bass out of a stage monitor. It takes some getting used to, even after you add coloration from preamps, EQ, and even speaker emulation.

Going IEM is really for helping the FOH do a better job making you sound good, and giving you the clarity to hear what you are doing. It may not always sound the best. That takes work.

Wes
 
#3
The triple fi 10's sound great, but not completely flat. They have better bass response than many/most earbuds out there, except for some really high end ones or customs.

But the bass response does drop off a little. A little bass boost in the signal driving the inears would bring it closer to what a bass amp sounds like.

Note: make SURE you have a good seal. If there's very little bass response, you need to change the tips to get a better fit. The comply tips worked best for me.

Also consider www.inearz.com, they'll take them, along with ear molds, and make them custom IEMs, for around $100. Worked very well for me, and much more consistent fit.

Randy
 
#4
Wes Whitmore said:
What is your signal chain now?

If its direct from a DI box, it is going to sound pretty different than coming out of a cabinet. It won't sound like recorded bass either. It probably doesn't have any EQ on it in the monitor channel, which could help. Regardless, bass through IEMs just doesn't sound like bass out of a stage monitor. It takes some getting used to, even after you add coloration from preamps, EQ, and even speaker emulation.

Going IEM is really for helping the FOH do a better job making you sound good, and giving you the clarity to hear what you are doing. It may not always sound the best. That takes work.

Wes
Click to expand...

I'm using my old Yamaha MagicStomp Bass for some preamp modeling, then into the direct box. Thinking about trying my Pod X3 instead.
 
#7
i too hate in-ear. It had to be developed by someone who doesn't like to hear or feel bass. I believe tecamp makes a "Pleasure Board" for these purposes. It let's the bass player feel what he's doing in situations where you are going in-ear and no one wants to see a bass rig or hear bass for that matter :-). I have actually turned down gigs that were in-ear. I guess that's why I'm sitting here on TB :-). The PB is not cheap. i think you can get one for around $899. it's just a board that the bass player can stand on while playing.
 
#8
I love mine. I wish I would have started using them years ago and saved some of my hearing. I have AlienEars Triple Drivers. They're inexpensive and the cutomer service is great. I run a DI from my Aggie DB751 or a SansAmp BDDI to the board and my tone and audibility is awesome. I get my own mix and pan the guitars slightly left for one and right for the other and mix the drums loud and proud. I love it! The drummer and I have never been tighter than we've been since we all went on in-ears.
 
#12
Flatwound said:
Taking some advice I had read here after doing some searches, I got the UE TripleFi 10's. Very nice earbuds, of course, but I've never liked the sound of my bass thru headphones. It just doesn't sound the same as it does coming thru a bass cabinet.

I'm using them at a church, which, as usual, is a big boomy room with lousy acoustics. I was having trouble using a bass amp as a stage monitor due to the reflections of the sound, so I'm trying to use in-ears (or headphones) to help the sound guy clean things up. That part is working fine, he's able to mix things a lot better, and the bass is more audible and much clearer.

Any suggestions to make the bass sound more "natural" in the earbuds?
Click to expand...

I've been using IEM for over two years. I've tried a few different models. None of them sound like a good cabinet. I've just accepted that. But, it 's not about how I feel about what I hear. It's about what the audience hears.
 
#13
In order to have the bass sound like a cabinet in your IEM's, you will have to get a miked cabinet signal instead of or in addition to the D.I. signal.

If you still have an amp on stage, keeping it close to you with the bass coming out of it at a relatively low level will help you feel the bass through your body (basically what's missing when playing with IEM's), while keeping things clean on stage and FOH.

Proper subs will shake the stage more than most on stage cabinets do.
Click to expand...

It's not always a benefit. It can mess with the clarity of your IEM mix and the bass in your mix, forcing you to raise the level of IEM's. Especially with universal buds...

The quality of the IEM mix is crucial, as well as how well you hear the other instruments. If with stage monitors it's best to keep it clean and minimal, with IEM's it is important to hear everything that's going on. Many people hate IEM's because they do not know what to ask the engineer to send them. The bass will sound more natural when mixed well with other instruments than if it is mixed much higher than other instruments. A stereo mix in your IEM's with correct pans and width makes a day and night difference. Let's say that there were shows that I couldn't believe how well IEM's could sound, and other ones that I preferred to use the IEM's as earplugs, with the beltpack turned off..
 
#15
shtik said:
In order to have the bass sound like a cabinet in your IEM's, you will have to get a miked cabinet signal instead of or in addition to the D.I. signal.

If you still have an amp on stage, keeping it close to you with the bass coming out of it at a relatively low level will help you feel the bass through your body (basically what's missing when playing with IEM's), while keeping things clean on stage and FOH.

It's not always a benefit. It can mess with the clarity of your IEM mix and the bass in your mix, forcing you to raise the level of IEM's. Especially with universal buds...

The quality of the IEM mix is crucial, as well as how well you hear the other instruments. If with stage monitors it's best to keep it clean and minimal, with IEM's it is important to hear everything that's going on. Many people hate IEM's because they do not know what to ask the engineer to send them. The bass will sound more natural when mixed well with other instruments than if it is mixed much higher than other instruments. A stereo mix in your IEM's with correct pans and width makes a day and night difference. Let's say that there were shows that I couldn't believe how well IEM's could sound, and other ones that I preferred to use the IEM's as earearplugs, with the beltpack turned off..
Click to expand...

Depends on the mic, pa and gear
 
#16
I used IEMs for several years.

I found that most IEMs sound better at the low end of the volume curve. In other words, don't turn them up any louder than you have to. I often took one out to get some feel for the room. If you do that, rotate which ear you remove, otherwise hearing damage may result.

YMMV.
 
#17
Here's what I've done for a few years now:

I run at least an Aguilar ToneHammer into the board. My IEM mix comes from a Behringer mixer right next to me. I run the normal output (not the DI) into 1 channel of the mixer and the monitor mix into another channel. I'll tweak the EQ on the Bass channel to get it to sound good in my ears (the house gets a pretty mid-boosted signal to cut through a huge system with a large band). Then the KEY is when I'm doing the rest of the monitor mix, I drop the bass freq on the channel to where just enough thump from the kick is in it. That really helps getting a more cab-y tone IME.

Hope it helps
 
#18
ToneMonkey said:
I used IEMs for several years.

I found that most IEMs sound better at the low end of the volume curve. In other words, don't turn them up any louder than you have to. I often took one out to get some feel for the room. If you do that, rotate which ear you remove, otherwise hearing damage may result.

YMMV.
Click to expand...

Ear damage comes from raising the volume knob to compensate on the in ear
 
#19
I use a pod xtlive - if you want your sound to emulate an actual cabinet, you're probably going to want to use the Pod X3. You'll want to turn on the cabinet modeling, pick a great amp model, and sit at your computer and tweak for a bit. I use the Line6 Edit program, it works great. I've had soooo many compliments on my live bass sound, I don't miss using an amp/cab at all. You should be able to get a great sound with the X3.
 
#20
Having custom earmolds made helps a lot with the sound, and are much more comfortable as they do not expand against the inside of the ear.

It is SUPER CRITICAL to have a brick wall limiter on your in-ears for your own protection from an accidental peak as well as creeping volume increase.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back