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Thread: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

  1. #1
    Forum Member FrankJohnson's Avatar
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    Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    Just curious who is using ears, and what type, and how happy are you with it?
    Kenny Belmont
    >:^{I)>

  2. #2
    TFF Stage Crew
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    Re: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    We do. By which I mean... my band owns a set of the high-end Shure's and most of the others use them. My feelings:
    1. They are awesome for the venue. Cutting down the onstage monitor roar keeps the drummer in check a bit more, makes the FOH sound more crisp and deliver more sound without turning it up.

    2. Because we have a higher-end system, I can more or less tune my own monitor mix (with an iPhone app, actually) and it sounds fantastic.

    However...
    3. The "onstage roar" would be much better if the bassist and I didn't use amps, but we do.
    -- I have tried several different no-amp solutions for various periods of time and while I found one that sounds perfect (to me) through the IEMs and the FOH, I just can't live without my DRRI "moving air." It takes away too much of the fun for me, which is selfish, but nonetheless true.
    -- My selfishness aside, our drummer hates not having a guitar and bass amp on stage, because for him, playing the loudest instrument anyway, IEMs can't deliver the bass thump he needs feel and propel the groove.
    -- So, our IEM thing would be way more impressive if we went whole-hog on the concept. As it stands now, it keeps the three singers MUCH happier because they can always hear what they want, and not hear what they don't want.

    4. All of that said, I don't wear mine at gigs. To the detriment of my own eardrums over all these years, I want to hear the impact of the drums and my guitar amp. This means I don't really hear the vocals or keyboards onstage, aside from the small bit of wash from the FOH stack near where I stand. That's a problem, but not one that ultimately bugs me enough to change.

  3. #3
    Forum Member FrankJohnson's Avatar
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    Re: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    Got ya - on many points.

    I am trying to understand it better, particularly for doing sound. I am buying entry level wired, but very nice ears to go through the learning curve. (4 driver)

    that all said, I get it. I actually bought a Rolls monitor amp and should have a behringer beltpack soon too just to get a better feel.


    NOW........
    that all said ....
    PETE!!!! How you been?????
    my buddy T Bone has just moved back to your digs, so maybe look for him to show after a little settle in time. He was the one with the Usual Suspects, played with Willie Pooch. I guess this means I make it out to your area at some point -

    I will fill you in on what I learn with the ears...... maybe you can give me some pointers when I get up to stumbling speed?
    Kenny Belmont
    >:^{I)>

  4. #4
    Forum Member Offshore Angler's Avatar
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    Re: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    Frank, I used Shures also, I've ditched them a while back. Unless the venue is so big that we get separation of the instruments in time and space I found them ultimately counter-productive. You can really screw up a FOH because the monitors are so clean an well mixed you don't hear the destruction in the FOH of volumes and bleed overs; the instruments may be really separated in the IEMs but it's a cacophony FOH.

    Besides, after 4 decades of gigging that "save your ears" ship has sailed for me.

    I use headphones in the studio. Onstage my amps are on stands off the floor and tipped back pointing at me. That makes them easy for me to hear myself in the stage mix without being overbearing. I also have my rack system iso-monitored behind me so I get the amp feel. I use a 15" Fender wedge with a horn for the iso, so when we kick into some VH or similar it's pretty much like having a full stack of closed-backs behind me and creates a sweet-spot onstage for feedback. I lose all that with IEMs.

    I might break out the IEMs for an outdoor big stage but we rarely do stuff like that anymore. The only reason I'd probably want them now is for the sound man or stage control to be able to cue without it going live.
    "No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim

  5. #5
    Forum Member dirtdog's Avatar
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    Re: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    We've got a wired IEM setup and I'm currently using single driver Westones AMPro 10. Was using Shure SE215s. I wanted the Westones since they have passive ambience capability. Since I play AND do FOH sound for my band, I want that ability to hear what's happening without having to pull out my IEMs constantly. I did consider multiple driver IEMs since I play bass but honestly I don't find the ones I have lacking in that department. Getting the proper foamy bits to fit your ears is the most critical thing I think. Too loose and you miss out on the full range signal, too big and they bother your ears. I haven't gone custom moulded either. Maybe if I was playing every day and had a big budget.

    Since doing this, I've managed to go completely ampless. I run my bass into a SansAmp RBI and then into my mixer. No monitor wedges on stage anymore (yay!). The only amplified thing on stage is the electric guitar, which is always a challenge.

    As for our setup, each guy has his own AUX mix; I send each AUX mix to a multiple channel headphone amp (racked up under my mixer) and then then a small wire out of the headphone amp into each guy's IEMs. Since we don't move around a lot, it works well. One guy is thinking going wireless. When he does that, I'll just route his AUX to his transmitter and he can take it from there.

    My mixer (Mackie DL1608) allows each guy to control his own AUX mix wirelessly on his own iOS device. Set up once and good to go in perpetuity.

    This is my entire rig right here (aside from mains speakers).


  6. #6
    TFF Stage Crew
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    Re: Any of you'se guys using In-Ears?

    Quote Originally Posted by FrankJohnson View Post
    NOW........
    that all said ....
    PETE!!!! How you been?????
    my buddy T Bone has just moved back to your digs, so maybe look for him to show after a little settle in time. He was the one with the Usual Suspects, played with Willie Pooch. I guess this means I make it out to your area at some point -
    Doing well Kenny, hope you're doing well too. Enjoying all the clips you post here--great, great stuff.

    Great to know that T Bone is back in town. I'll keep my eyes open to see when he'll be playing out again. When you come through to visit, let me know! We'll grab a coffee or something.

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