Using personal monitor devices is has been going on since the 70's (it's just gotten more elegant and less obtrusive). Keith Moon used to put on a pair of Koss headphones to follow a backing tape when The Who would play Won't Get Fooled Again and Baba O'Riley live.
Guitarist Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers), used headphones instead of monitor slants live...as that was what he was accustomed to in the studio
Of course, these examples pre-date the wireless options we have today, but the concepts are the same. Going to in ear systems have a lot of advantages over traditional slants:
- Hearing Conservation - when you put in a set of in-ears, you're really knocking down the stage noise you hear. Universal fit ear phones will attenuate the ambient by 10dB or so. Custom fit molded ones will get you up to 25dB.
- Less gear - A transmitter, receiver, and ear phones can fit in a gig bag. Try that with a monitor slant, power amp, and EQ.
- Speaking of EQ, you don't have to ring the feedback out of in-ears.
- Less noise on the stage means a cleaner mix for your front of house.
- When someone walks up to you while your playing to request a song, just point to you're in-ears, shake your head, and mouth the words "sorry, can't hear you".
There's also cost. You'll pay 2 to 4 times per wireless set up what a traditional slant/amp/EQ package would run you. And this is one time where you need to stay with the name brands like Shure, Sennheiser, and Audio-Technica. You really don't want something cheap that's going to randomly blast your ears with interference. You're looking at $500 to $1000 per transmitter/receiver. Most packages include universal fit ear pieces. If you're a drummer or keyboardist and don't need wireless mobility, then wired systems are available for about half the cost.
If you're a band that mixes themselves from the stage, it's not practical for everyone to go to in ears. Somebody still has to be able to hear the mains. Otherwise, you could have a major problem in the mix and not know it until your crowd starts throwing stuff.
And finally, it's a very different environment to play in. It's been almost 10 years ago, but I very much remember the first show I ever used them on. I put in the ear pieces and thought "ah hell...this is too weird. I just pissed away $1200". But, seeing as I was trying to save my hearing I kept at it. Along the way I figured a few things out that made things better, and now it's tough for me to play without 'em.
OK, so you (individually or your band) are going to move forward with this. I won't go into the details of hooking everything up, as that can vary from system to system. Instead, let's talk about getting things fired up and dialed in.
A Channel For Everyone
Seems kind of obvious, but everyone needs their own frequency to operate on. This is the first thing I check when setting up a new system. So of the new advanced ones automatically scan for available channels and configure themselves (the Shure PSM-1000 will do this...at a price of of over $5000). And once you get your transmitters and receivers matched up, MARK 'EM! Either color code them or put the performer's name on both the transmitter and receiver. You'll thank me 5 minutes before show time.
Start Small
I used mine the first time at a performance...trial by fire for me. If I had to do it over again, I would have done a couple of rehearsals with them first.
When you first put in the ear pieces, resist the temptation to put everything into the mix. See what you can hear without adding anything. Then, add your voice, instrument, and maybe the other vocals. It's quite possible you might wind up with just about everything in, but you might not need it.
How Are You People Doing?
The biggest "disconnect" for me was not hearing the room or the audience. And then I found out what the big boys do...they mic the room and add that back to the mix! So that's what I do now. I started out putting a condenser mic on my stand facing back out, but I got tied of the drunks bumping into it coming up to ask for "In A Gadda Da Vida". So now, I just crack in a little of the drum overheads and that works fine. Just make sure that in the case of a true room mic, it's just routed to the monitor bus and not going out the mains. Otherwise, you'll be trying to chase down some nasty feedback.
Earache My Eye...
The quality of the ear pieces that comes with your system is directly proportional to the cost of the entire system. My first system came with Shure e1's...pretty fundamental single driver units, but OK for guitar and vocals.
Those gave up the ghost after a couple of years so I stepped up to the e3's. Much better, and they worked fine until I started playing bass in Buzzfuel. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear below a low G on my bass, and the guitarist next to me on stage was using a 100 watt Mesa Boogie that was capable of wiping out a small country. Even with the e3's in, he was the loudest thing in my head.
That's when I decided to pony up and get a set of custom mold in-ears made for me. After shopping around and talking to some friends of mine who play for a living, I decided to go with the UE5's from Ultimate Ears. They're a 2-way system (separate woofer & tweeter). Between the ear pieces, getting the molds shot, and shipping it was just under $700, but they've been entirely worth it. Not only do the sound a ton better, the outside noise isolation was so good that I had to add that killer amp next to me back into my mix...I couldn't hear it otherwise!
You're Gonna Put What Where?
If you decide you want to go with the custom mold route, I'll warn you right now...it's not at all painful, but it's a strange experience.
You'll want to go to an audiologist that's familiar with the requirements of the particular company you're going to order from. Ultimate Ears calls out for a specific mold compound, the depth of the mold, and how much of your outer ear they want an impression taken of. Most places will charge you about $50 to take the impressions.
When you start, they're going to shove a small foam dam deep into your ear. Next, you'll get a piece of foam to bite on (a bite block) to hold your mouth open at a certain angle. Finally, the audiologist comes at you with what looks like a caulk gun and shoots the mold compound into your ear. It's very cold when it goes in, but warms up as it cures. It only takes a minute or two to set up, and then they pull it out. Repeat for the second ear. You wind up with a couple of alien looking things. These are my impressions from my last set I had made. (Note: the fuzzy looking things are the dams they put in my ear canel before shooting in the blue goo...not something unexpected that came out of my head)
You send these in (along with a fairly substantial amount of money) and some paper work. Be sure you send them to the correct address. The lab that scans the impressions and makes the enclosures may not be the same facility that you ordered from.
Anyway, in a couple of weeks the in-ear fairy will bring you your new toys.
Care And Feeding
The most important thing you can do with custom mold in-ears after you get them is to keep them clean. As gross as it is, you're going to have to clean the ear wax out of the ports every show or two (you'll get tools to do that). Another thing I like to do is wipe the outside down with alcohol (isopropyl, not grain) after every show. Rather than carry a bottle of the stuff that can spill, I use these:
These are pre-moistened 1" x 1" cotton squares in individual packets. You get 120 for less than $3.
I figure if I've got these things I'm going to sticking into my head for several hours at a time, I need to make sure that they're not acting as a Petri dish for who-knows-what bacteria that they may have picked up at a gig.
We've covered a lot of ground today. I may have talked a few of you out of the idea of using in-ear systems. Honestly...not every one likes 'em, and that's all right.
I've received a few emails about instrument maintenance, and seeing that I've got basses and guitars to restring and prep for shows next weekend I figure we'll cover that next week.
Until then, keep the meters out of the red.
Ken
Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at itsjustlogistics@gmail.com
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