Using the Axe with In Ear Monitors?

Paulg2uk

Power User
Hi guys,

I'm just after some help with my axe. I usually use it with my studio monitors at home or via the 4CM with my amp when I gig. My band has a wedding gig in the next few months and the venue wants us to plug directly into their state of the art PA with in ear monitoring.

I have some patches setup already on the axe so I can use them with my studio monitors. As well as my normal presets I use with my amp. I just wondered if there was a particular way I should setup or connect the axe up when at the venue? Should I hook it up in stereo or mono? What do you guys do? Any tips or suggestions you've learnt on the way?

I've never used any in ear monitoring before so this is all new to me.

Many thanks

Paul
 
I have been playing with IEM for some years now , really absolutely amazing !
Whole band nicely stereo sounding so go for stereo guitars of course....unless your FX are mono programmed ?
I don't need to do anything else presetwise...whatever sounds great here on my KRK 6 monitors , translate very well over every FOH and IEM.
Make sure your guitar sound is well balanced ! So no heavy low ends messing up with the Bassguitars and no Screaming high ....:eek:

You can already see how your IEM sounds by just plugging it into the headphone directly on the Axe....Have fun !
It has been a blast for me to get down the stage after the gig , take away the IEM and NO bleeding eardrums :D:D:D:D:D

Oh,m if you have wireless IEM , even better ....

Biggest advantage of IEM : stage volume and Stage sound is everywhere the same...so jump around....
 
I have gone direct and been on IEM exclusively for about 2 yrs now, but it can be VERY different from what you are used to playing live for the first time user. And no, I have never set up different presets for IEM's vs other monitoring formats. Same outputs (OUT1 - stereo) as I have always used.

I suggest you practice with headphones between now and then to get used to the IEM "effect". What you will hear (and I recommend a stereo IEM feed) is the "recorded" sound of your guitar going to FOH, not the amp-in-the-room sound you expect from a backline.

It's not "bad".. it's just different, but if that amp-in-the-room is something you "need" to feel/hear, then you will possibly have challenges with IEM's. You should inquire if the IEM feeds are stereo/mono, and maybe post back what they are using.

Is it wireless? Which vendor/model?
If not wirless, are they using Aviom, Hearback or Behringer systems. Member here have plenty experience with each, and can level set expectation for you.
Do you supply your own buds? If provided they will be Universal model and you may have challenges with the "fit" and "seal".
 
Hey guys,

Can you use a 3rd output from the AXE FX?

So OUTPUT 1 L or both to FOH, OUTPUT 2 L to RIG and one of the right outputs to in ears at the same time?
 
Hey guys,

Can you use a 3rd output from the AXE FX?

So OUTPUT 1 L or both to FOH, OUTPUT 2 L to RIG and one of the right outputs to in ears at the same time?
You can use the XLR's and 1/4" outs on output 1 and the 1/4" outs of output 2 all at the same time and then you will have 3 outputs.
 
You want to have the rest of the band in your in-ears as well as your guitar signal. You will not be able to hear the rest of the band properly, if they are not in your in-ear mix, so get the in-ear mix from the FOH.
 
whatever sounds great here on my KRK 6 monitors , translate very well over every FOH and IEM

Since I started using IEMs (Westone UM Pro 30), I've been hearing my tone as the FOH guy has been hearing it. I actually found that adjustments I made to make my tone sit in the IEM mix better also made it sound better out front. It was a truer representation of what they were hearing out there than even my CLRs.

I also found that my KRK 6's translate pretty well to the IEMs.
 
As an Ax-newbie, I am happy to hear that you think KRK RP6's translate well to in-ear and FOH. I already have a pair of RP6s, but I was thinking about upgrading to some Adams.
 
As an Ax-newbie, I am happy to hear that you think KRK RP6's translate well to in-ear and FOH. I already have a pair of RP6s, but I was thinking about upgrading to some Adams.

I don't think that would be a bad upgrade ;)
Adams are great !
Just bring your Axe & IEM and try out how the Axe sounds thru the Adams and compare that to your IEM .
 
I'm a huge fan of in-ears. I would suggest a touch of reverb if you normally play dry. With the sound now just in your ear a little "space" added is nice.
 
That said, s0c9 (is that some kind of mainframe cobol reference?) is right on the money about the experience not being the same as an amp in the room. Make sure you at least have some ambient mics and a stereo monitor mix to avoid having it seem like your amp is in the middle of your brain.
 
Make sure you at least have some ambient mics and a stereo monitor mix to avoid having it seem like your amp is in the middle of your brain.

I actually find that for the IEM monitoring purposes, mono signal and no reverb or ambience works best for hearing myself. This way my guitar sits on top of the mix and I hear it perfectly without making it louder. I put reverb on everything else to move it "back". Same goes for stereo, actually. Reverb + wide stereo image is a way to put a sound in the background, while dry mono brings it up front, "in your face" (or brain). It's really annoying to listen to music casually this way, but helps me to effortlessly focus on what I'm playing, which is the purpose of monitoring, IMO.

This is not to say that this is "the right" way of doing things, but rather to illustrate that there is certainly more than one approach.
 
8 years in ear user now. For perfect results you have to go stereo, it's a must. Take attention if the sound guy changes your guitar sound during performance it will change your in ear mix sometimes dramatically. If you have a digital console check that the monitor eq of your channel stripe is pre eq.
 
Just double checking as I use a wireless headset mic and gtr.
So to go this way I would have 3 belt packs?
Seems like an ideal time to merge all that into one system no?
 
Just double checking as I use a wireless headset mic and gtr.
So to go this way I would have 3 belt packs?
Seems like an ideal time to merge all that into one system no?

Yep. Not really any other way around it. If you're willing to go to a more expensive setup you can at least get a single receiver for both the guitar and headset though. Shure ULX-D for example.

Besides the fact that it would be incredibly difficult engineering wise to put a transmitter and receiver in the same pack, I doubt there's actually a big enough market to support it. Something tells me Shure and Senny have looked into it.
 
I'm in the same boat. At least one of my bands is looking to move to IEM. So I just sent off my ear molds to Ultimate Ears. One thing is for certain, you don't want to skimp on these. I know a bunch of folks that have gone the IEM route and every single person has said to not cheap out on the ear buds. A number of folks I know have gone with the less expensive ones and every single one of them has regretted not doing it right to begin with - even less expensive non-custom ones are not really cheap. The quality varies with the custom companies as well. Four out of six folks in one local band here ordered from Alien Ears and all four of them had issues - three had to be redone. My advice is talk to an audiologist that does this a lot and find out who they recommend. Mine said Ultimate Ears was the best she had worked with and she also highly recommended Westone.
 
my plan was to give FOH XLR1, jack 1 goes into my stage mixer ( which has the rest of the band connected to also) and then use FXLOOP for Output 2 to Cabs on stage..

that way i get to hear everyone on stage and i can mix it myself, FOH gets a balanced XLR and i can adjust the volume to my cab independently..

The idea of simply ECHOING output 1 to 2 sounds great but i guess FOH won't want cab sims..
 
I've been using IEMs for 2 years now, we use it with an X32 so have the benefit of being able to set our own personal mixes of the band with the app. I've never used the IEMs without the X32 so I guess that all comes down to the sound guy, but honestly my experience has been very good. There are moments when I wish I had an actual speaker/cab on stage (even though I play direct to FOH) cos I just like the feel of a physical cab next to me where you can move around and hear/feel your guitar more, but overall its an excellent way to be able to hear everything.

I'm also a KRK6 user at home and they do translate very well to my IEMs.
 
Funny I just posted a video in this forum showing how I set up my patch and Axe to use with stereo in ears. There doesn't seem to be much on you tube on how to do this, so I figured I'd toss my 2 cents out there. Check out the thread - hopefully it will give you some ideas. Thanks.
 
That said, s0c9 (is that some kind of mainframe cobol reference?)
Nope, but it is a mainframe system level error condition most often encountered when you have a "divide by zero" situation in COBOL ;)

But yeah, don't skimp on IEM's.. you'll regret it.
Our setup is dual racks... Everyone is wireless (L6) in, or DI, except for mics (#) which are wired.
Rack #1 contains X32 Producer and IEM transmitters (Senn G3) which goes with us to every gig.
Rack #2 is DSP and power amps for when WE provide PA.

Rack #1 has splitter capabilities. We use our own mics/cables 98% of the time so we have a consistent set of input parameters.
House gets one feed, we get the other into the X32.
We mix our own IEM's - NEVER have to rely on FOH feeds - and basically monitor what's being fed to the X32.
We control that mix via iDevice/Android apps and also have control over effect levels in the mix.

As far as mono vs stereo mixes..?
I have done both. I can work with either, but most will want to go stereo for the panning capability and to be able to get that spatial experience you get on stage. Panning guitars/vocals to the side of the sound stage to match their physical location helps with recognition, especially with multiples eg: electric and acoustic guitars or keys!

It helps to have a completely separate mix for IEM's, but that's not always realistic (or cheap) in the weekend warrior world.
If you want to get fancy, we have worked around that by layering (splitting) inputs on the X32, mapping channels 1-16 onto 17-32. However, if you have more than 16 inputs, this does NOT work. 1-16 are then used for FOH, and 17-32 for IEM mixes with complete control of EQ, compression, effects, etc. Changes will not affect/impact FOH - it's like having two mixers active at the same time, but in the same box.

With all the above, it's mostly plug-n-play, power up and go..

I highly recommend that if you go IEM, try something like the above (most small footprint digital console can do that) and NOT monitor your rig as a direct feed and FOH as another in a "merged" mix.. It will NEVER be the same quality as controlling your own
I hope folks going down this path find this helpful. Buy once, cry once.
Get the best wireless system and multi-driver custom mold (CIEM) buds you can afford.

YMMV - but my $0.02 (again). :)

PS: @hippietim - we are 1964 Ears users, and one of us has UE7's
We're likely to be upgrading to ADEL's sometime this year.
 
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