IEM volume on solo or boost

scottp

scottp

Fractal Fanatic
What are people doing who are using IEM?
When I get my mix just right, then it comes time for the solo, my guitar is a bit too loud, compared to the overall mix in my ears.
I do want the audience to hear the part.
If I set my IEM to the solo volume, my rhythm volume ends up being too low.
(please keep the sound person out of the equation for boosting me at the right times)

Any suggestions to help resolve the issue?
 
It’s difficult cause you tend to adjust your playing thinking the audience is also hearing you as loud as yourself. I guess, in my case, is a compromise... best thing you can do is cut in the mix well so your volume doesn’t have to be too high
 
Split the difference/set the boost half as loud as it is now.

If your band doesn't have another guitarist in it, your solo is plenty loud anyways since you're dropping out from playing rhythm.

Or go a level deeper. Send from a second shunted grid path with a different boost that goes to Output 2. Have monitor world route that guitar line to your ears instead of what's going to the house. May not make you a favorite of the sound guy, but you'll have a better show!
 
i listen to the same signal as what goes to FOH. my solo boosts aren't so loud that it blows out my IEMs. are you certain you need to be that loud?

if your normal volume is much louder than the rest of the band in your IEMs, i can see how a boost would probably be too loud. you might have to add Out 2 on a parallel row to all of your presets and put a block before it that boosts, like a filter block. IEMs would be Out 1 without the boost, and Out 2 would be the same except it has the boost.

we can't change your opinion on how you want your mix, but if normal is already loud, louder will be louder and it leaves you with few options to avoid it.
 
I have my xitone on stage and in ears coming from output 2 before boost on output one. The boost only happens in foh
 
Why don’t you adjust the level of your boost. A friend guitar player in the audience told me that my boost for solo was too high, I want from +3db to +2db. Much smoother and enough for the solo boost. I set output 1 to 0db on channel A and +2db on channel B. I have a dedicated switch for that purpose.
 
I don't rehearse with in ears and we use front of house mix so that we can adjust levels for all the instruments solo boosts etc. When we do a gig my in ear mix is fairly close to the FOH mix, I just boost the vocals a bit as I am also the lead singer and I don't want to blow my voice out yelling trying to hear myself. I share the mix with the other guitar player, our bass player and drummer share a more low end heavy mix. It's a fact that my rhythm parts aren't so easy to hear in the IEMs but that's because my parts are blending in with the rest of the instruments like they should. I've just learned to play like that. I think it's important to hear it that way because I know if my rhythm tone is too loud I can play more softly to make sure I don't step on any solos the other guitar player may be playing or vocals. You just get used to picking out your parts in the mix.
 
I think sometimes we push our solos louder than they need to be because we're focused on every little detail of our turn to shine, but that's not necessarily what the band mix needs. You may not need as much of a boost as you think.
 
I'm a little bit awkward in that instance. I have an IEM system (Shure PSM200) in the back of my 4u rack. The main grid line in the III has a 3dB volume boost at the end of the chain assigned to a switch in the FC6, bright white when on. I route the signal to out 4 in a grid line below the main line AFTER all the stuff FOH requires but BEFORE it hits the volume boost. Out 4 then goes to the IEM system. The out 4 line also has its own reverb (clone of the main reverb) and a GEQ, just in case I need to tame the in ear sound.

The IEM reverb mix and the main grid volume (block) boost level are put on the performance page for adjustments on the fly. Guitar volume is adjusted with the out 4 knob and fine tuned with the volume on the wireless pack.

Now the trick :)

I only use the right ear plug for monitoring my guitar, without the volume boost (I use that and see that on the FC6). I hear the rest of the mix with my unplugged left ear. Kind of unconventional, but it works for me and I have total control over the volume of the guitar in my ear on my wireless pack. Probably only good though for smaller stages/halls. I don't get to play stadiums ... :p

Cheers, Todde :cool:
 
+3 db null filter boost here.

I do not recommend using one ear only though like above. This will wreck your hearing IMHO. To test, put some music on your phone, put in both ear buds set to a comfortable volume. Now pull one out.. the perceived volume drops, so what would you do? turn up the volume right? well put both back in at that volume and it's way too loud. That's what you were doing to that one ear.
 
Todde3000 said:
I only use the right ear plug for monitoring my guitar, without the volume boost (I use that and see that on the FC6). I hear the rest of the mix with my unplugged left ear.
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dpeterson said:
I do not recommend using one ear only though like above. This will wreck your hearing IMHO.
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Agreed! Don’t use just one. Your signal routing is pretty creative, but you’ll likely damage your hearing over time. There are many articles on this. Here are a couple that were on the first page of Google results:

In-Ear Monitors: Don’t Use Just One

The Danger of Wearing Only One IEM
 
scottp said:
What are people doing who are using IEM?
When I get my mix just right, then it comes time for the solo, my guitar is a bit too loud, compared to the overall mix in my ears.
I do want the audience to hear the part.
If I set my IEM to the solo volume, my rhythm volume ends up being too low.
(please keep the sound person out of the equation for boosting me at the right times)

Any suggestions to help resolve the issue?
Click to expand...
My AXE guitar signal goes directly out to FOH via Out 2. The FOH sends back the mix, personally setup for me, to my In Ears. I'm one that wants the entire band in my mix, sounding like the FOH mix, at stage level, in my ears.
I use a 3db boost for leads. When I solo, it only gets loud enough to bring the guitar out front, which is plenty.
So I'm thinking you have you solo gain set too high?
 
Tommy Tempest said:
My AXE guitar signal goes directly out to FOH via Out 2. The FOH sends back the mix, personally setup for me, to my In Ears. I'm one that wants the entire band in my mix, sounding like the FOH mix, at stage level, in my ears.
I use a 3db boost for leads. When I solo, it only gets loud enough to bring the guitar out front, which is plenty.
So I'm thinking you have you solo gain set too high?
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maybe his solo boost is adequate (assuming the sound FOH is well setted)... I think the problem (I'm dealing with the same one) is that his IE mix is guitar heavy per se... so, when the solo boost kicks in, the volume is almost unbearable.

being able to play confidently with a mix in which you don't hear yourself clearly is a difficult art. In that scenario your guitar HAVE to cut through the mix clearly. I have real problems with this... my IE mix is set with my guitar volume around 7 and I go to 10 for soloing... but when I play with volume on 3-5 I have trouble hearing myself so I tend to ask for "more guitar'' to the sound guy and I end with my ears destroyed.

Cool topic and great advices here. Thanks to all.
 
Can you lower the overall volume of your IEM mix by a couple dB? That way everything is quieter and your solo boost won't be too much?
 
Rublalup said:
maybe his solo boost is adequate (assuming the sound FOH is well setted)... I think the problem (I'm dealing with the same one) is that his IE mix is guitar heavy per se... so, when the solo boost kicks in, the volume is almost unbearable.
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MOST IMPORTANT is a proper In Ear mix. If everything is EQd and balanced properly, the guitar will be heard, as all other instruments and vocals as well. However, some like to hear themselves over everything else. My drummer for instance, wants a lot of his drums and vocals, and faint guitar, keys and other vocals. All night long he complains to FOH, for more of what he wanted less of in the beginning. Then he complains his mix is too loud. I'm always telling him he has his own master volume.
 
Might be you have your own signal too loud in your IEM mix? Then you risk that you don't notice anymore if your signal really fits in the mix and cuts through or if it's simply louder than everything else but disapperas in the mud at the right volume.
Singers often have it that way. They have their voice very loud and forget to shout louder when the song comes to it's hotest part.
 
I also only run my left IEM at gigs so I can hear the crowd and overall mix. I keep the IEM volume EXACTLY the same as when at practice where I wear both of them. AS LONG as you don't raise the volume of the one IEM, I don't see how it will hurt. IF anything my right ear is getting more abuse as my IEM volume is lower than the ambient bar noise...I'm always surprised how loud it is when I take the IEM out of my ear.
 
warlockII said:
I also only run my left IEM at gigs so I can hear the crowd and overall mix. I keep the IEM volume EXACTLY the same as when at practice where I wear both of them. AS LONG as you don't raise the volume of the one IEM, I don't see how it will hurt. IF anything my right ear is getting more abuse as my IEM volume is lower than the ambient bar noise...I'm always surprised how loud it is when I take the IEM out of my ear.
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Have you tried a room mic so you can keep both in? Definitely hitting your right ear hard and over time the imbalance will throw off your daily equilibrium. Careful!
 
Been using IEMs for six years. My take would be that if the solo is too loud in your ears, it’s too loud out front. If it’s not loud enough in your ears, it’s not loud enough out front.
And Chris is correct, a room mic can be a big help.
I run stereo ears, which helps immensely with placement in the mix, so I would never recommend one ear in, one out. Mix in some room ambience.
More than anything, you just have to give yourself a few months of playing out live to get used to IEMs. Then, you’ll wonder how you ever subjected your ears to those SPL levels before.
 
chris said:
Have you tried a room mic so you can keep both in? Definitely hitting your right ear hard and over time the imbalance will throw off your daily equilibrium. Careful!
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Ambient mics are a must for me, and I say always use both ears or no ears.
We always use an ambient crowd mic plugged into the main board. Then that signal is sent at a low volume to our in ears only, so we can hear the crowd and other sounds that are isolated when using in ears.
And still regarding the OP's question, mix and volume is most important.
 
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