The In-Ears Challenge
These are some great suggestions from everyone. I'll throw my 2-cents in the mix and try not to stir the pot.
Here's a link to a PDF called '
IEM Fundamentals'. It will answer a lot of questions for folks interested in making the switch to in-ears. Like others have mentioned, it takes some getting used to. But after getting the system dialed in, most experienced users will agree, it's a great way to go. It took us a good-long-while to get the bugs worked out. But now, we love it. We can play hard all night, then pull the buds out and have fresh ears, no ringing or pressure, feeling like we've spent the evening sitting around the table having a conversation. In other words, it saves your ears! As others have noted, you need a quality chain equipment if you expect quality audio. It takes more than just a good set of ear buds to get a great monitor mix.
I'll use our example with some of the challenges and errors we ran into.
Ear Buds
I've known a lot of folks who tried to get buy with a cheap set of buds. We tried it too. It didn't work out so well. Like others have said, if you buy some cheap ear buds, then your mix will more than likely sound......well... cheap. To get a good mix, you've got to spend some good money. I've tried a variety of in-ears and presently I'm running a set of Ultimate Ears UE11's which I'm very happy with. These were over $1,000 as I recall and required an impression from an audiologist which was more time and money. In the more economical arena we started with the Westone brand in the $350 range. These were a universal fit (no custom mold) and actually sounded pretty good. But I could never keep mine from working loose on stage. As soon as the fit begins to loosen, the sound quality drops significantly. Eventually we were introduced to Aurasonics. These are a universal-fit type of ear buds, but they fit really well and sound fantastic. At approximately half the cost of my UE11's, they're worth a look (or a listen). The best deals I'm aware of for Aurasonics are at
www.springtree.net. I'm still stoked with my UE11's but if I had to do it again, I might go the Aurasonics route just for the $$$$ savings.
Wired or Wireless
This is another component in the chain that can make a big difference. As Chris mentioned previously in this thread, there's nothing worse than drops outs, hiss, crackles, etc that wireless systems can sometimes include. Our lead singer runs through a Sennheiser G3 wireless system and he likes it since he moves around a lot. It's very dependable and easy to setup. I also have the G3 system but I prefer the sound quality of running wired. I also own some cheaper wireless systems but we don't run them anymore because we just weren't happy with the sound quality compared to wired. If I had to run wireless, I'd plan on a $1,000 price tag for each user.
For myself and my band mates (other than the lead singer), we're all wired and we're using the
Jump Audio IXM Setup. It's not magic. It just works and works well. The design is simply a 5-pin XLR cable with two pins for guitar signal, and 3 pins for stereo ears mix. The cable is very high quality and extremely supple so you don't get tangled up in it. The belt pack is well designed and stays in place when you're moving around. We simply attach it to our guitar straps rather than a belt. This way, when you pull your guitar off, the belt pack stays with the guitar. (Yes, you have to unplug your buds first)
Headphone Amp
When your running a wired system, you need a headphone amp, and there is a difference. We used to use those little Rolls headphone amps which required a power brick and just added to the clutter on stage. Plus they were always in the way. Presently, we use a rack mounted
HP60 from Presonus. The audio quality is pristine, simple to operate (set it and forget it), and affordable.
Audio Source
For our rig, we run our monitor sends from our
Allen & Heath GLD80 desk. This is a superb mixer and is laden with so many features and functions. Much like the Axe FX, if you can dream it up, this mixer can do it. With this mixer at the beginning of our signal chain, and quality components the rest of the way down the line, we get a beautiful monitor mix that everyone just loves. To avoid the sterile feel often experienced with in-ears, we all run in full stereo. I've heard lots of folks say this is a waste and I have no idea what they're talking about. For us, the difference is night and day. We also run a pair of Rode NT5's mounted to the light poles on either side of the stage. These are pointed out to the audience and give us the 'in the room' feel that is often absent from in-ears mixes. So when someone in the audience yells "Play Freebird!", we can hear 'em.
We do a virtual sound check before each show with an iPad controlling the desk. We make any minor tweaks necessary from out front, and then press GO!
Other Details
Another thing we do a bit different than most, we run our individual monitor mixes 'post fader' rather than 'pre fader'. This way, if there are any minor tweaks in the mix we all hear it. Each band member has their own unique mix which is nothing more than the house mix with their vox and instrument slightly lifted in their ears. Me personally...I simply take a FOH mix to my ears rather than a custom mix. That way I hear the same mix the house is hearing. The reason for this is we run our own sound from the stage and our typical venues are the small-time local saloons, wineries, bars, and honky tonks. (No big shots here...just a bunch of working class thugs trying to keep rock n roll alive!)
We don't run any wedges on stage. Myself and the other guitar player are running AXE FX II's direct. The bass player runs a rack-mount Sansamp RBI direct and the drummer is running Jobeky drums with mesh heads and triggers, Smartrigger cymbals all feeding Superior Drummer on a Macbook. The Macbook feeds the GLD80 desk via a CAT5 cable to the Dante interface. So essentially we have a silent stage with no mic bleed. The FOH gear consists of a pair of active 18" RCF subs and Fulcrum active tops. The drums sound as big as a barn with sparkling detail and punch. The AXE FXs sound great (imagine that) and the end result is
very pleasing to the ear both out front and in our 'ears' mix. So all-in-all it's take a while to get to this point but we're all very happy with the end result. I have my good friend Clive (Unsung Hero Guitars here on the forum) to thank for all the work that went into our system. He traveled from the UK to California on several occasions to get us dialed in. He's a master at this stuff.
So take everything I've shared with a grain of salt. Your mileage may vary. But hopefully some of you will take a little something away that will minimize the pain to make the switch to in-ears. Rock on!
