The Guitarists Guide to In Ear Monitors (IEMs) - Getting Setup, Tips & Tricks

This video is intended as a complete guide and tutorial to IEMs for guitar players. Getting set up, selecting the gear and tricks to getting the best sound and feel possible. Going into the pros and cons of budget in ears by companies like KZ and CCA. I've included options for both digital users on Kemper, Helix, QC etc and also those sticking with an amp.
A big thank you to www.lugsni.co.uk for sponsoring this video and providing the discount code PROMO4 for money off their Pro4 model.
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0:00 - Intro
1:38 - Budget IEMs
4:27 - Custom Moulds
6:13 - Wired or Wireless?
7:47 - Getting a Mix
8:52 - Advantages
10:58 - Tips & Tricks
#iem #inearmonitors #guitar

[@DanLeggatt]

www.lugsni.co.uk - PROMO4

[@Westerdd]

Very comprehensive and some really interesting ideas to consider from this video. Thanks Dan.

[@WhereWolvesRoam]

Top drawer advice and guidance as usual.

[@jfoquendo]

Outstanding video brilliant !

[@julianc.227]

I have bee a 4x12 and wedges user. Just recently I took the plunge and ditched my amps for the UAFX Lion 68 pedal. Now of course I have to start my learning curve with IEM. Thank you for the useful video.

[@adamloake]

Really useful video Dan 👍🏻 I’m using IEMs at about 40% of gigs now (basically all those where I can have my own monitor mix 🤣) but some great tips there for me to try out 👍🏻

[@NJSonye]

Great info. My Audiologist & Dr are super in favor of them. I’m looking forward to getting a system soon.

[@Dan_Ranger]

Thanks Dan, just what I needed from a guitar point of view. I’ve used custom moulded ear plugs since late 80’s to save my ears. Just recently at the age of 59 I moved to in ears. It’s a learning curve but you have to invest time in them. I still use real amps and a cab but I’ve always used DI’s for FOH and monitors. Palmers for years and Two Notes for the last 10. Consistent sound/tone is the key for FOH and monitors now IEM’s. I had a head-start on that side fortunately. Some great tips on this video that I’ll use going forward but if an old metal head like me can make the switch then it’s not hard 😂 My live playing has improved no end as well. Another positive.

[@ThatFoxStephan]

Being a self taught bassist, is so handy having in ear monitors!!!

[@Dicoboomtime]

Hi Dan, I enjoyed the video and getting a guitarist's perspective on IEM use. For people watching and looking for other people's experience with a 1st set of IEMs, I wanted to add that the Shure SE215 model that I use do have an armoured cable and it does detach from the ear pieces and is replaceable. The cheaper SE215 has a single Dynamic Microdriver. Our guitar players went for ther next model up, the SE425 that has 2 balanced armature drivers, each with a tweeter and woofer. We are very happy with them and use them for rehearsal and gigs as follows: With a Behringer PM1 (passive belt mounted volume control) for use with our analogue set up that has a 19" rack mount 6 channel headphone amplifier. Or With a Behringer P2 (active belt mounted volume control requires 2xAA batteries) for use with our Soundcraft UI24R digital mixer set up that sends an unamplified line level signal to the IEM controller. Happy playing!

[@yaboyshelz]

This is a great video. Thank you

[@DanLeggatt]

Thanks for watching

[@FastRedPonyCar]

Our band is 100% IEM now and guitar/bass are all modelers too with little QSC wedges on stage. I use the ASI Audio IEM's with the little microphones on the outside that let you blend in as much or little of the ambient sound as you want and they are amazing. They single handedly solved the whole situation with things not sounding right and not being able to hear the room and I don't have to remove them to interact with the crowd or the other guys on stage as well as letting me hear things in the room maybe with something weird going on with a piece of the PA or really anything that I otherwise wouldn't hear if I only had a board mix going into my ears. Only real downside is that there's an extra wireless pack on my belt for the IEM's. We use Sennheiser wireless IEM packs so I have that on my belt and a small aux cable connecting from that into the ASI pack and then that goes to up to the ASI earbuds. Another thing I like about the ASI system is that you can use them via bluetooth with a phone app to control your own EQ, limiter and quite a few other things. They're great and if something happened to them, I'd buy them again in a heartbeat. Only real thing I would want to change is for them to switch to 2 removable AA batteries instead of built-in rechargable. It's crazy slow charging means if I forget to charge before a show, I have to use a little portable cell phone charger battery pack in my back pocket with a usb cable up to the ASI audio pack's USB C charging port.

[@Terry3Gs]

Great video !! I've been using a cheaper brand of IEM's like the cca's you show for a few years now. I find 2 big benefits of using IEM's ... 1. less weight on your head & 2. more comfortable as someone whom wears glasses.

[@AlbyWallbank]

Super helpful video dude! Wish it came out a few months earlier though before I bought the Shure se215s 😂 any recommendations for foam tips? Struggling to find any that get that solid seal

[@DanLeggatt]

🤣 Sorry dude! They definitely aren’t bad. I got a variety pack from Amazon of various bud sizes that fit the nib on my particular IEMs. You can get rubber or foam. I went through a fair few before finding best fit and comfort.

[@simonwest8338]

Great video Dan, and comprehensive! Everyone should at least dip their toe into the world of IEMs just to see if it's for them. There's a couple of things I've found, having to use them when depping with a function band. Having that controllable and consistent mix really helps with pitch in regular playing, singing BVs and the odd ham-fisted attempt at playing slide, where intonation is everything. As we don't have audience or ambient mics, I've found that adding in a touch more of the drum overheads gives more of a live room feel. All that being said, I do miss proper rumble of bass through my feet when everyone is using real amps 😂

[@DanLeggatt]

Nice one dude! I have a lot of overheads too. Really can’t replace that ‘ball rattling’ air moving 🤣

[@user-ee1bw2eg9i]

Hey, thanks for the detailed review. Have a question for CCA C10 pro. Can you hear the ambience sound with these with their mic version of the IEMs? If so, how is the performance?

[@hanovergreen4091]

Hey Dan. Hope all is well with you and yours. Best Regards and Best Wishes!

[@DanLeggatt]

All good thanks 🙏 Hope you’re well.

[@HeadfirstAmps]

Great video Dan. Is the only way to get a stereo feed from a digital desk is to pair up 2 Aux sends?

[@DanLeggatt]

Thanks mate! That’s the way I’ve always done it, as far as I know that’s the way most, if not all do it.

[@HeadfirstAmps]

@@DanLeggattthanks mate!

[@Johnnybananass-_]

COMPLY is the brand of Foam buds to use if your looking to replace your silicone tips on your earbuds, they come in different size barrels. - that's the tube that is from the ear bud and the ear tip slides onto .

[@DanLeggatt]

Interesting, I’ll check them out.

[@timbates799]

Just what I needed in terms of IEMs for a guitarist. Does everyone need to be going through the mixer to get the best experience and is it recommended that all the band wear IEMs?

[@jimmcdougall9973]

These items are fairly expensive in my country, due to exchange rates and retailers that want to make 500% on everything. KZ’s are fairly popular, and I found the NU-X wireless in ear system is a fairly cheap alternative and does the job.

[@DanLeggatt]

Where abouts in the world are you mate?

[@jimmcdougall9973]

@@DanLeggatt South Africa. Originally from Newport Gwent, Wales.

[@Johnnybananass-_]

For new users of IEM theres two types usually and a third that is not so common, Dynamic uses a tiny speaker in the ear bud like your headphones but on a miniature scale , then there is Balanced armatures, which is technology stolen from the hearing aid industry, these are tiny boxes with aluminum foil that is sent a charge and creates the sound wave , this technology is how they can fit multiple drivers into each earbud and there is hybrid setups with say a dynamic speaker for bass and balanced armatires for the mids and highs, I run the JH Audio sharonas and I have 16 drivers in each earbud which is crazyn when you think of how small the tech is inside, . the final rarer version is Electrostatic which is used by a couple of IEM brands but is still in its infancy , this technology is what is more common in super top end open back studio monitor over the head headphones . So the cost of IEM is usually driven by the number of drivers and components and crossovers in each ear bud unit,

[@1337wafflezz]

You forgot about planars

[@Johnnybananass-_]

@@1337wafflezz I haven’t seen any planers designed for the pro musician market , I know focals do some for music

[@1337wafflezz]

@@Johnnybananass-_ I’ll be real with you…the “pro” market is a bit of a joke. Not saying that planars are always the best or anything but legacy western brands have gotten pretty dang lazy from what I’ve seen. Cobbling a bunch of “””high quality””” drivers in an IEM doesn’t mean anything if it’s not tuned right(which they rarely are). If you want a better experience I say go for consumer grade chifi the leaps and bounds made there are insane. Last week I used some zero:reds for stage monitoring there is literally nothing else I could ask for they were perfect for that task and then some.

[@Johnnybananass-_]

@@1337wafflezz I tour with a set of jh audio sharonas and have even started using them in my studio for late night writing work , they are a killer set of IEM and handle so much dynamic gain across the eq line which helps as I have to cover everything from edm to rock and classical acts . But I’ve found so many audio phone buds too over accentuated eq curves . When I say the pro market I mean the small fee that design buds for direct to touring musicians or engineers , not just an expensive price tag stuck on , or rebranded models like the old Shures . I’ve had a bunch of Iems and settled on the sharonas due to the fit feel and range . And had a good pay cheque from a horrible hip hop tour so splashed out and upgraded from some jh16s . I have some other more music focused ear buds for casual listening on days off or on flights . There’s so many options out there now and so many over ear makers now entering the industry ear market - like the planer focals .