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In Ear Monitors (IEMs)

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Dante:
I get a lot of questions about running IEMs, so why not give you guys the tour?

First of all, from what I'm told, you either love them or hate them. I LOVE THEM, and here's why; I have been playing in loud bands for over 25 years and had just gotten accustomed to being nearly deaf by the end of a gig. We all know how cool it is to pass out after a hard night of gigging and wake up with your ears still ringing from the night before - that is ROCK AND ROLL BABY!! ha ha  :lol:

Typically, I would hear my guitar just fine in the beginning of a gig, but as the night wore on, the cymbals would kill all my high-freq hearing. We all know how much of our guitar sound resides in precisely that range of freqs, so my usual gig routine included me 'gently' turning up my volume all night long.

Hearing fatigue is real. IEMs (can) eliminate this entirely. Of course, if you want, you can crank it up and defeat the whole purpose...but I digress

Our keyboard player invested in a really badass Presonus mixer for us all to run IEMs. The Presonus has a Wifi built into it, and we all connect to the mixer with iPods/iPhones using an app from Presonus (not available for the Droid - I had to purchase an iPod touch on craigslist). With the app, each band member can create their own headphone mix! I can have my vocals and my guitar louder than everything in my ears. Without the Presonus mixer, your soundman has to adjust your levels for you. But, once they're set, you're good to go virtually anywhere, any room size.

The keyboard player also purchased four 2-channel wireless mic packs for us to use. By using the left/right independently, we get 8 separate channels for headphones (there are only 6 of us, counting the sound man) The receivers for the wireless mic packs are all mounted in a rack under the mixer.

I also had to invest in a good set of noise canceling earphones, and they can get very expensive. If you get custom molded inserts, they can run you $300-$600, I opted for the generic 'earplug' style and got a set of Shure plugs for under $100. I use them inside my motorcycle helmet too - they rock.

One thing I hear from a lot of guitarists is that they simply must have their 4x12 cab behind them to 'feel' the music. This is utter BS. I played for a long time with two 4x12 cabs until I started putting a mic in front of ONE speaker for each gig. Why carry all those cabs if you're only hearing one speaker through the PA anyway?  :crazy: I haven't owned a 4x12 in over 20 years. Now, I don't even bring an amp to gigs. My old stage monitor has been in the garage for almost two years now without any use at all = lots more floorspace onstage without monitors, BTW.

So, even without the Presonus, you could conceivably purchase a wireless mic pack, some good noise canceling earphones, and be using IEMs at your next gig. That is, if you mic your amp for gigs, which I have been doing for a very long time.

Your sound onstage is exactly what you hear when practicing at home, so NO surprises! I like that.

rnolan:
Hey Dante (and thanks for kicking this off :thumb-up: ), so what I'm kind of asking (and hey peter what do you recon, you use IEMs) is, I'm an energy player these day's even more particularly (so I feed off the sound..), how do you feel on stage, do the IEMs change this (they must.. but what's the end game here..), I get the standard pros/cons for IEMs, but how does it make you feel on stage ????.... where I'm going is, should I bother, so far I'm not convinced..., I like my guitar cranked (loud) and also like to feel it, however, as a sound guy (and player), the concept pf IEMs is very attractive..

Peter H. Boer:
Dante,

I totally get where you're coming from.
To start with, I'm a bassplayer, so I was used to almost never having good onstage sound.
Basscabs usually project after a couple of meters only, and in the clubs that usually around the 3rd of 4th row :-[

So Over 10 years ago I bought me some customs mold earpieces (36 dB attenuation) with dual drivers (it goes down to ca. 25 Hz).

Now wherever I stand on the stage I can HEAR the bass. For those that think they are going to miss feeling the bass, you don't, as long as your mindset is like it is in a studio going DI and monitoring with headphones only.
Then with a real PA there will be enough rumble returning to the stage to give enough of a sense of cabinets  :metal:

My guitarplayer and I bought a MOTU 838 MK3 soundcard, a Presonus DS8 and some DI's and Microphone splitters.
We have 18 in 8 out and 2 sends, enabling us to program 5 different stereo monitor mixes
The MOTU can work stand alone or connected to a laptop for easier programming, and sending a clicktrack  :thumb-up:

3 are wired up to receive their InEar signal, 2 (including me) are receiving it wireless (T-Bone systems)

 :banana-upsidedown:


p.s.: I'll never go back to using cabs if given a choice  C:-)

rnolan:
Hey Peter
So how do you feel energy wise on stage with IEM, ok you get some rumble... is it as good ? or does it sound like studio ? i.e. no where near as good as cranked live (IMHO)
Hey not trying to give this a hard time, I just love playing live an loud.... (however, my ears are starting to have different ideas  :-X )

El Chiguete:
Is this the mixer? http://www.presonus.com/products/StudioLive-16.0.2

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