IEM best practices

Just set up an appointment to get custom molds for my Shure SE535's. They keep slipping out and I am constantly making sure they are tight in my ears which makes me worried that too much outside loudness is creeping in and causing damage. My audiologist said she uses Silicone? Is that the optimal material for custom molds? Also, I read about asking for filters to be included in my custom molds? Anything else?
 
I’m in a duo with an acoustic guitar/singer, and IEMs totally changed our lives, not even kidding. You can still hear after the gig, and I’m not pissing my partner off by turning my wedge up as I lose hearing over the night.

I use SE215s, the KZs are fine but I find the SEs a bit fuller. I have the simplest possible setup, just a long lead to the axe headphones! (Which I constantly forget to plug in after a break.) Down the back of the shirt with the cable and ready to go. I get an aux from our XR16 with the guitar taken out, into input 2 which I shunt straight to output 1. Then I map input 2 and output 1 to performance page knobs, so I can turn him up or down relative to me. Easy and cheap and we totally love them. Adding a stage mic helps, we just gaffer a cheap mic to one of the speaker stands. We’re all class! 😂

I don’t eq them or anything, sounds fine the way it is. It is much easier to accurately dial in sounds too, because I’m hearing the same sound I’ll hear at the gig.

I don’t like the rubber tips, I only use the memory foam ones. I have felt no need for custom moulds, I guess I’m lucky.

The only tip I have as someone else mentioned is don’t be afraid to turn them up. I’m still a guitarist so I like it nice and loud so I feel immersed. You’ll know if it’s too loud and you can always turn them down.

Oh and yes you need to be in stereo, mono plays tricks on your brain after a while.

So your mileage may vary but I for one am completely happy with a very simple and cheap setup.
 
We’ve been using IEMs for a couple of years. It’s been interesting finding this thread, and reading other peoples’ experience.

I started using IEMs 10 to 15 years ago to protect my own hearing. It would have been about the same time as I started using ear plugs on trains and planes. At first I used Shure SE215s. The sound was reasonable, and I liked the cables. However the plugs kept working out of my ears, even with the cables running under my shirt, and the isolation was partial. So I know what it’s like with one plug in, and I know I prefer to have two. We run a mono FoH, so our IEM mixes are also mono. I’d like stereo for separation but we’re not playing on stadium tour budgets. We don’t run a quiet stage. I like my guitar to resonate a bit, so I have a Q12 at my feet, angled up like a monitor. It runs off Output1, so I can turn it up or down as needed from the front panel.

A couple of years ago we changed drummer, and his replacement was louder, so I treated myself to some fitted plugs with multiple drivers. I now use these instead of plugs when I’m doing noisy work, such mowing the lawn, or cutting logs.

Several people have commented about the sound of IEMs. It’s never going to be like a 4x12 cabinet, and I don’t want it to be. What I want is clarity. The guitar might sound thin, even with bass drivers, but I know from our videos what it sounds like out front. I know from playing at home what the nuances are. What I need is to know on stage is that I’m on time and in tune, and to get my cues from the other band members.
 
Roland said:
We’ve been using IEMs for a couple of years. It’s been interesting finding this thread, and reading other peoples’ experience.

I started using IEMs 10 to 15 years ago to protect my own hearing. It would have been about the same time as I started using ear plugs on trains and planes. At first I used Shure SE215s. The sound was reasonable, and I liked the cables. However the plugs kept working out of my ears, even with the cables running under my shirt, and the isolation was partial. So I know what it’s like with one plug in, and I know I prefer to have two. We run a mono FoH, so our IEM mixes are also mono. I’d like stereo for separation but we’re not playing on stadium tour budgets. We don’t run a quiet stage. I like my guitar to resonate a bit, so I have a Q12 at my feet, angled up like a monitor. It runs off Output1, so I can turn it up or down as needed from the front panel.

A couple of years ago we changed drummer, and his replacement was louder, so I treated myself to some fitted plugs with multiple drivers. I now use these instead of plugs when I’m doing noisy work, such mowing the lawn, or cutting logs.

Several people have commented about the sound of IEMs. It’s never going to be like a 4x12 cabinet, and I don’t want it to be. What I want is clarity. The guitar might sound thin, even with bass drivers, but I know from our videos what it sounds like out front. I know from playing at home what the nuances are. What I need is to know on stage is that I’m on time and in tune, and to get my cues from the other band members.
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Before covid I was using in ears with a Kemper stage and I just didn’t like the tone coming through the ears. FOH was fine and good actually but through the in ears it was just weak and really thin which is hard because I get to rip a lot in my cover band. Switching to fractal changed my tone to being much more likeable In my in ear system.
 
The coolest trick I ever pulled for IEMs was to use a ducker (side chained to an aux on the rhythm section) to pull down the ambient condenser mic when the band played.... and realease the mic to full volume in between songs to hear each other and to hear the crowd.
We could leave both ears in and talk to each other and hear the folks go crazy.. but the ambient mic dropped way down when we went into the songs.
The soundcraft Ui24 made this easy
 
WKSmith said:
The coolest trick I ever pulled for IEMs was to use a ducker (side chained to an aux on the rhythm section) to pull down the ambient condenser mic when the band played.... and realease the mic to full volume in between songs to hear each other and to hear the crowd.
We could leave both ears in and talk to each other and hear the folks go crazy.. but the ambient mic dropped way down when we went into the songs.
The soundcraft Ui24 made this easy
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Oh, this is very interesting. Can you walk me through this a little? Does it require an extra aux? I use all four stereo pairs, plus the headphone pair, for five band members.
 
jclemensfl said:
Oh, this is very interesting. Can you walk me through this a little? Does it require an extra aux? I use all four stereo pairs, plus the headphone pair, for five band members.
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It's best to use an aux that doesn't have vocals if you want to hear the crowd while talking to them in between songs. It is possible though to have the ducker side chained to any aux already used.. so that when the the music and vocals stop (or fall below the threshold set on the ducker) the mic goes up and you can hear each other and the ambience.

It feels a lot less disconnected from the audience and the band, like keeping both ears in often feels like .

It requires a comp/limiter with a side chain input and a big diaphragm (cheap) condenser and phantom power

the ducker attenuates the condenser channel, group, or aux... by referencing the sidechain input source. It could even be a direct feed from the bass player (or anyone that doesn't noodle between songs 😉)
As mentioned earlier: mute the ambient mic in the FOH mix
 
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WKSmith said:
It's best to use an aux that doesn't have vocals if you want to hear the crowd while talking to them in between songs. It is possible though to have the ducker side chained to any aux already used.. so that when the the music and vocals stop (or fall below the threshold set on the ducker) the mic goes up and you can hear each other and the ambience.

It feels a lot less disconnected from the audience and the band, like keeping both ears in often feels like .
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Clever idea. I wonder if you can duck through a VCA or group (submix). I'll have to check. Thanks!
 
jclemensfl said:
Clever idea. I wonder if you can duck through a VCA or group (submix). I'll have to check. Thanks!
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Absolutely! I edited my post above.
this is a far better solution than a talkback mic and turning your back on the crowd.

I wish someone made a simple phantom powered mic pre with a side chained ducker in a small DI sized box for this purpose.
 
WKSmith said:
The coolest trick I ever pulled for IEMs was to use a ducker (side chained to an aux on the rhythm section) to pull down the ambient condenser mic when the band played.... and realease the mic to full volume in between songs to hear each other and to hear the crowd.
We could leave both ears in and talk to each other and hear the folks go crazy.. but the ambient mic dropped way down when we went into the songs.
The soundcraft Ui24 made this easy
Click to expand...

This is a tried and true one. Glad to see someone mention it.

OP, you've gotten plenty of good reccs and opinions on ears themselves, so unless you're wanting more, I won't weigh in on that. Many great brands, many different budgets.

I'll just add this, which is for me and every group I work with our best practice for dialing in Fractal gear on ears:

  1. Dial your tones for live use with your ears IN. Firmly in. Take the "M" in the acronym at its word: these are now your monitors to audition your tones as you tweak AND to rock out when you play. It's going to take some getting used to, and for many players, it can feel isolating and "lame" at first. But there's nothing lame about protecting your hearing and a good IEM mix will quickly make it evident why so many players go IEM and never look back. The clarity of mix you can achieve can make every night sound like a mastered record. (Along with this, the adjustment process will also make very clear to you why monitor engineers are some of the most valuable members of any tour). Long story short, your IEMs are now your cab or your wedge or whatever you used before.
  2. BUT, and this is the most important part, make sure you have a nice, loud guitar sound in the room itself while you dial in your tones. This can come from either FRFR speakers or standard guitar cabs--it doesn't matter. You're not really listening to these, but you better believe your pickups are! You need to feed your guitar sonic energy while you dial everything in. Otherwise, your tones with neither sound nor feel right when you get on stage in an actual venue. Once you're on stage, if you like feeling a cab thump, go ahead and throw a cab up there. You won't hear it, but you'll feel it. Or use a loud ass wedge. But for most people, the PA subs in a decent size venue gives enough OOMF to keep you happy without any onstage reinforcement.
  3. When you're dialing in tones, periodically check what you're working on in your ears against a nice FRFR system. This may the one you have in the room creating your "energy sound." Or it may be a pair of studio monitors in a separate room. But again, this a checkup---a reference to make sure you're not completely off base. Your primary dialing should be done in your ears.
  4. Why do the primary dialing in your ears? Because if it sounds great to you in your ears, you'll have a better show, you'll play better, you'll be happier. Even decent IEMs in the <$500 range sound fantastic these days and will give you a very accurate representation of your tone when dialed in correctly as described above. Get happy with the sound in your head. Let FOH make changes for the audience if they feel it's necessary.
  5. BONUS TIP: send your DRY and your WET signal chains out of two different outputs on your Fractal unit. That way FOH can keep things where they want them from venue to venue, from song to song, but you can have it as wet or as dry as you like in your ears! Some of us in the industry refer to certain performers' ear mixes we've heard as "GOD MODE" because of how incredibly epic they sound compared to wedge mixes or stage sound...the kind of mixes that make you want to play all night it sounds so good in your head. Long story short, we all know how turning up the verb and delay can sometimes get us in a better headspace as a player; so if that helps you, use this trick. You won't be washing out your FOH sound, and you won't need any of your monitor board's built-in (and likely less than Fractal quality ; ) FX.
 
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These have all been excellent adds but I was mainly asking about things I need to consider when getting custom molds done haha. I’ve heard about filters but don’t know much about them! Appreciate all these responses though for real
 
Cooper Carter said:
Not a fan of filters/ports/etc. The entire point is maximum isolation.

Get an ambient mic and mix it in to taste.
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Nice yeah that’s the reason I’m getting molds is because my current buds slip out and then unwanted loud noise comes in and then I lose more of my sound
 
Cooper Carter said:
But there's nothing lame about protecting your hearing and a good IEM mix will quickly make it evident why so many players go IEM and never look back. The clarity of mix you can achieve can make every night sound like a mastered record.
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To me, this is what Fractal modelers were made to do. I absolutely LOVE not having to haul amps and heavy cabinets around any longer. IEMs and modelers will ensure I can hear my great grandchildren when the time comes.
 
There are better iem than 215 or ZS... Try at least the 535.
For a perfect sound reproduction your ear channel have to be sealed, isolate, from the external sound. IEM works (also) using ear as a resonance room for bass freq, so if you're not isolating it wearing your iem you'll not have a good bass freq reproduction.
Then...you can feet too isolated, you can have lack of feeling with public just because you can't hear it. I use a cheap condenser mic, usually placed UNDER the stage (if the stage is raised) or at the sides (pointed at the audience) and just add what the mic picks up in my IEM mix.
 
@Cooper Carter can you elaborate more on how you do this?
Cooper Carter said:
  1. BONUS TIP: send your DRY and your WET signal chains out of two different outputs on your Fractal unit. That way FOH can keep things where they want them from venue to venue, from song to song, but you can have it as wet or as dry as you like in your ears! Some of us in the industry refer to certain performers' ear mixes we've heard as "GOD MODE" because of how incredibly epic they sound compared to wedge mixes or stage sound...the kind of mixes that make you want to play all night it sounds so good in your head. Long story short, we all know how turning up the verb and delay can sometimes get us in a better headspace as a player; so if that helps you, use this trick. You won't be washing out your FOH sound, and you won't need any of your monitor board's built-in (and likely less than Fractal quality ; ) FX.
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My assumption is that your delays & reverbs are post amp in parallel to the main dry signal. Dry signal goes to OUT 1, Wet goes to OUT 2? I guess what I wondering more than anything is: do you just send a "mix" of your delay AND reverb together? In other words, is the mix between delay & reverb "set" going FOH?

If so, are there any tips to not overdo one vs the other?
 
sixtystring said:
@Cooper Carter can you elaborate more on how you do this?

My assumption is that your delays & reverbs are post amp in parallel to the main dry signal. Dry signal goes to OUT 1, Wet goes to OUT 2? I guess what I wondering more than anything is: do you just send a "mix" of your delay AND reverb together? In other words, is the mix between delay & reverb "set" going FOH?

If so, are there any tips to not overdo one vs the other?
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Exactly this setup. Then you have two options, more or less.

1. Set OUT1 and OUT2 to the same level. Monitor both OUT1 (dry) and OUT2 (wet) in your ears with both board faders at 0.0 dB. Then dial down your delay and reverb block levels to where you want them in the Fractal unit itself like you would when dialing any other preset. This way you know that matching levels on each board fader will always give you "your sound." Monitor world and FOH can raise or lower the wet fader to taste from there show to show.

^^This is my preferred method.

2. I've also had a few FOH guys request this: set both OUT1 and OUT2 to the same level. Send dry out of 1. Send a fully wet signal to 2---as in, put the block levels of all time based FX to 0.0 and then reduce the level of the ones you want quieter relative to the most prevalent effect. But the most prevalent effect, whichever that is, should be at 0.0. Then the mixer adjusts levels from there to arrive at the final tone.

Personally, I find this unnecessarily complicated; it's really tricky to dial in, in that you have to decide what a good "mix" of your effects is relative to each other, not the the dry tone, or arbitrarily pick/guess at a good starting point wet level is on the board and go back and forth. Then, once you're dialed in, it leaves the decision as to what constitutes "your sound" up to recall settings in a given mixing board outside the unit itself.

There is a third setup I've deployed at a specific engineer's request. I still prefer the first method, but you can give this a try if it strikes your fancy:
Dial in your preset like normal, no parallel FX, etc. Send out to OUT 1.
Then just tap off the cab block before any time based stuff and send to OUT2.
Now you have your standard, mixed preset on OUT1 and an entirely dry signal on OUT2. FOH mixes to taste. Monitor world likely gives you just OUT1 since that's your dialed in preset.
 
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