In Ear Monitor Rack SPLITTERS - Your Questions Answered

[@TheWildubeest]

Just built my first IEM rig for my band and I was sceptical about needing a rack splitter in the rig. After playing a few gigs with the system I’m now super glad we put one in. Most places have used it and taken our snake to their system. Your videos were the most helpful while setting up the rig so thank you!!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Glad to help! 🤘🤘

[@chrisbewithyou4227]

@TheWIldubeest How does this solution work when there's multiple bands in a lineup? Do you just leave your rig for pass through or do they repatch everything during changeover?

[@DionisisChristodoulatos]

That's exactly what concerns me too. In a multiple band scenario with little time for changeover and a lot of different gear form the bands, most of the sound guys would cringe asking them to patch everything just for one band

[@jimluttrell5794]

Great stuff as always Mr. Uhl. One other option for people who primarily play in venues that have a dedicated mixer and FOH system is to use "Y" cable XLR adapters to split signals. I have a dedicated rack splitter with two sets of output tails, I also have 2 ART XLR rack splitters (like you)...however, I ditched them both and now use "Y cable" XLR splitters for each source. The downsides of using a rack mounted splitter system is that you have to unplug all the XLR cables from the "FOH cable snake", then plug those house XLR's into our in-ear system, then re-patch the FOH cable snake with the lines coming from our split snake. The benefits of using XLR "Y cables" to split the signals is that I don't have to touch the FOH snake at all. I use their existing XLR cables that are already run to the source (vocal mics, drum mics, DI boxes etc), I take a Y-cable plug it into the microphone (or other source), plug the house XRL back into the Y-cable, then I run our own XLR cable from the Y-cable to my in-ear mixer (usually an XR18, but I have an X-32 rack if needed as well). I have each band member carry an XLR cable and a Y-cable adapter for each source they use. They spit their mic, or bass DI, or whatever they use, and then plug their XLR cable into our mixer. I find this the most efficient use of the existing infrastructure on stage already, and I don't get any grief from the FOH tech after I pull all his XLR lines from the snake (which has happened to me a few times). The inevitable question that will come up is..."WHAT ABOUT THE HORRENDOUS SIGNAL LOSS!" Short answer is that it is negligible, and probably identical to the rack mounted style splitter snakes that we are already talking about. Rack mounted snakes are still a passive analog split, just like these Y-cable. From a practical point of view, a sound tech "MAY" have to gain up a channel an extra decibel or two to compensate for any weakening of the signal, but this is going to happen with any signal split. It has simplified things for my 2 bands greatly. However, as I mentioned at the start, the caveat being that this is for a location that has their own sound-tech, dedicated mixer and sound system already in place (a typical bar situation).

[@aleksandergrzybowski8899]

I like your idea about using small Y cables - maybe it depends on country or musical context, but I way more than often play in places, where there is a house drum set miced up that we'd like to use, and all XLR lines are already connected to a snake that might be buried somewhere behind the stage in a ratsnest of connections made years ago. Doing a "proper" split the normal way would probably mean a lot of troubleshooting, your way seems way more foolproof, thanks.

[@paigeluttrell]

@@aleksandergrzybowski8899 I hope it helps sometime. 👍

[@ChaosDP]

We added the Behringer 2 way splitters to our rack. We do not currently have a drummer so using a stereo track for now but we do not have an interface with enough outs to run separate tracks for the individual drums. I guess we’ll have to make sure the drum mix is really good.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Nice! The behringer stuff is great

[@ironblast5]

​@ScottUhlMusic the behringer ms8000 splitters work but can be abit noisy and the buttons are abit fragile I'm looking to upgrade mine to the Art s8 3 ways soon

[@bigbossandthetoes]

Hey Scott thanks again for a great video! I just picked up a floor split snake. Just as you described, we only encounter the scenario where there is a FOH sound tech a small percentage of the time. This way we can control our own IEM mix. I debated rack mount or floor and did the floor version to save space and less things to carry. As always, I appreciate the great tips! Looking forward to the next one.🤘

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yup, that’s the smart way to do it! Thanks for watching and commenting 🤘

[@duwaynereed]

So me and the fellers are putting the band back together. I’m in my 50’s and I’m totally out of tech touch in the music biz. I came across your channel and really enjoy your content. I bought a new PA an XR18 digital mixer. We are going in ear monitors. I started downloading music stems from the karaoke website and put everything in GarageBand for setting up cues and backing tracks. All stuff you have talked about. I was just wondering if I would need an splitter and Boom, you dropped this episode and answered my question! I truly truly appreciate your content. Thank You.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Nice!! I’m glad you’ve found the channel helpful 🤘🤘

[@marcellmagyar8464]

I use an 8 channel dI box to split signals between FOH and digital IEM mixer. What I do is I use a Behringer Pro DI 800 to plug all inputs into, link output goes to IEM mixer, balanced output goes to FOH. So essentially using a DI box for splitting the signal.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Nice!

[@stevenjschuler1169]

I use Sennheiser InEar monitor system with Westone IEM buds. Triple drivers and when I get an IEM mix that’s great it’s superb but I don’t have an additional iPad to run my own mix. Plus most sound guys in my area won’t give a mix to my inEars because they aren’t knowledgeable. The best place for my inEars are at church where it sounds great

[@ScottUhlMusic]

That’s the value of having your own IEM rack and a splitter. You can use apps to just control your in ears and nothing else. It’s definitely nice to be in control of your own ears 👍

[@stevenjschuler1169]

I am working on that

[@Andrew_O]

I grabbed the Behringer 2-way splitter for my rack and relocated the X32 Rack inputs to the front which is convenient. Digging in behind though because the outs are both on the back unlike yours. Thought for the # of times I'd be using it as a "closed" IEM system with a FOH guy and his own board would be infrequent enough like you described, so figured I'd bite the bullet on that. Then realizing that I needed more ack space I pulled them and will be reconnecting them externally as needed. Kinda went "full circle" on that, lol :)

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Hahaha the number of times I have redone my IEM rack… I can’t even count hahahaha

[@Andrew_O]

@@ScottUhlMusic Second-guessing is for amateurs! Pros have already changed course well into the double-digits and are probably questioning their very existence at this point ;)

[@DansGuitarAdventures]

Midas DN4816-O adds 16 output to a X32 or XR18 mixer while keeping the mixers original aux's for your monitors. I'm gona be using one of these for my next rig. You can use 2 if you need more than 16 outs Bit pricey but not much more than a couple of splitters and all the cables needed. Plus neater.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Oh nice! Over usb it looks like. That’s cool! I got the S16 recently as a stage snake, but not as a splitter

[@DansGuitarAdventures]

@@ScottUhlMusic it uses the ultranet port. So still leaves USB available for recording or USB playback or whatever. all outputs on the Midas can be set to any point within the host mixer. So can be use for lots of different purposes.

[@ironblast5]

I usually send a aux output for subs too if I'm just sending a master left and right signal for sound reinforcement and I usually only do that if the venue doesnt have a drop snake or fantail for our splitter

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Nice! And yeah we have a few shows where we and L R and Sub

[@johnmcchavs]

Ha ! I was wondering if it was worth it, as far as I almost always manage the whole sound system, the venues where we go to front of house are very rare. Thanks, again :)

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Glad to help! And yeah, if you are running sound for FOH, you don’t need the splitter 🤘

[@jamiec7424]

definitely agree that sending just a left/right signal is not ideal. ran into that problem at an outdoor festival with multiple bands. we used our onstage in-ear system and sent just the left/right to FOH. it was a complete failure with no time to change anything. had to muscle through playing a gig with constant feedback and whacky levels.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yeah it’s very tough to control feedback with that. The band has to REALLY have their sound dialed in for that to work… and most bands don’t

[@MiguelLSilva-ef5is]

Nice video. Thanks!!! It would be a great thing if you could share posible solutions to also split backing tracks to FOH when using backing tracks from DAW into XR18 via USB connection. Also my guitar and vocal runs through Cubase for processing and out to XR18 via USB. The rest of my band connects directly to the XR18 (so they could use the splitter).

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I definitely want to look into the MIDAS people have been talking about 🤘 that might work for that

[@ericdano]

I avoided this by running a x32 and using a Midas 4816. You just put all the stuff on Ultranet, and forget about it. And it takes up 1 Rack Unit.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

How does that split the audio to go to front of house? I’m VERY curious if there is an easier solution! Definitely let me know… does that allow you to send that split to FOH?

[@ericdano]

@@ScottUhlMusic You set the UltraNet outputs to Input/LC and then select up to 16 sources. Boom. Done. Super simple. Though you have to have less than 16 inputs unless you want to send a matrix of something over an Ultranet channel. Luckily we don't have more than 16 instruments/vocals in the groups

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Dude, I’m going to look into this. Thanks a bunch!

[@ironblast5]

Is that using the new midas stage connect feature over a single xlr connection?

[@ericdano]

@@ironblast5 as the only thing that supports that are the wing line of mixers, no. The Midas box has ultranet ports on the back. I use that from my x32 rack. All the outputs are then assignable over ultranet, so I just put the 16 channels I want to give to FoH on that, making sure to make the audio pre-eq and stuff

[@Inkgeniero]

Great video. Is a must to provide our own mics and DI boxes if we are splitting the signal? I mean, could be a pain if it's a multi artist/band gig format? Or it's just a common way to work?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Thanks, and that’s a good question. I usually do, yes. But sometimes they want to use their gear. DI boxes are usually fine. Sometimes FOH prefers their own drums mics, but most of the time they are fine with ours

[@subbbass]

happy 4th of July to you Scott!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Happy 4th 🤘🤘

[@emersontanakamotion]

Great tip!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Thanks!

[@MoisesCuervo]

👍🏽👏🏽👏🏽 thanks for the info

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Any time! Thanks for watching 🤘

[@RikLamersDrummer]

Hey Scott, great knowledge but I was wondering if splitters can send phantom power from both outputs of a channel. I have heard that mostly the isolated output cannot pass phantom power and some mic's require this. (overheads for example) Do you know a way to send phantom power to both an IEM and FOH mixer or can you do this with any splitter. I'm planning on using the Behringer MS8000 splitter Thanks in advance and keep on going with what you're doing🤘🏻

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yeah it gets a little complicated. The way I do it, I have to get phantom from the FOH board, not from mine. That’s the only drawback.

[@FoolFightersDallas]

What if you're trying to go compact because you fly a lot and use 24 channels. Currently I have x32 rack with s32 snake and 3 arts8 splitters. However it's too big to fly due to current regulations on the airlines. In theory, I think I should be able to take the AES50 B off of their stage box and not require splitters.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Going compact might be tough with 24 channels, but hopefully these videos will help: Splitter for X32: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJmugJ6maa6pm9Usi=_zR0l5MwD_dy34yK Compact mixer for IEMs: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4Wke4mVlNprac0si=Q1Wh0Xl2nJYqSiIq

[@sikspek]

Hi Scott, great content. Our band uses a similar setup as yours, but we chose to mount a passive splitter in front of our IEM rack mixer (Mackie DL32R) and made a big multi-channel Hartke connector on our rack with a fantail at the other end that we can plug into the FOH stagebox if a seperate soundguy is mixing FOH. Now to be on the safe side I always ask the soundguy to turn off phantom power on his board, because I am not sure if anything will break if power comes from both our mixer and the FOH board. We have a couple of DI boxes that need FP. What can you say about this?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yeah that can be an issue for sure. Adam Neely addressed this in his video on his IEM rack setup. It’s worth a watch!

[@sikspek]

@@ScottUhlMusicThanks, I will look up that video. Take care.

[@BigMacAttack83]

Hey man, love your videos. You've helped me learn so I can make more educated purchases. I recently got a really cheap dual pack iem system. I've never setup the wireless iem system and would I do the same setup if my band plays at a place with their own pa and foh?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Thanks! Glad you like the channel. And yup, you would still set them up the same

[@ImSilentChild]

So I got a rack x32 and we have our own sound guy. The venue we will be playing has a regular x32. We run backing and processed guitar thru ableton. If we link the x32s together via ultranet or wifi, would we still need a splitter to get the full mix with the processed guitar?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Hmmm good question. If you set up the split properly you would only share gain staging but pre eq and stuff like that. Kind of like what I go over in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJmugJ6maa6pm9Usi=Lg3D4EizoYuThDrY

[@EdwardMatray]

Hi question. is it not possible to get a signal back from the FOH. a dry signal of course. and use it for the IEM. Thanks

[@ScottUhlMusic]

You can do that 👍 that’s definitely possible, and I’ve done it many times

[@Dommak89]

How do you work with several bands that have IEM Rigs and Splitters and theres a FOH sound engineer? Do you go into each seperate splitter and set everything up before the gig, or do you switch rigs (including splitters) when the band comes on stage?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

It depends on the venue. If it’s a very large venue and they have enough inputs or have the setup to have multiple bands setup their split ahead of time, that’s a great way to save time between change over. Other times (and more often) you just do a standard changeover

[@roxyskinflint22222]

so a total noob when it comes to all this, but making the move over to digital, So am i getting this right, Were a bar covers band fully mic'd drums with some IEM's, so would plug all that into say an XR18 for instance, however we do play the odd festival or outdoor even with a separate FOH, so in theory can we plug our band XLR inputs into a rack splitter like the Ultralink MS8000 then have one output to the XR18 that we would use when we mix ourselves, and just leave a XLR snake in our set up to plug from the other output to the FOH when we need it??

[@ScottUhlMusic]

You would want to plug all of the band into the SPLITTER, and then the splitter has 2 separate outputs for every input. One of the “splits” goes to FOH to be mixed, and the other split goes to your IEM rack to be mixed. Always let them know ahead of time that you have a rack and splitter 👍

[@sambrewstermusic]

Is it common to bring an xlr loom and take the monitor split from a venue's own stage/splitter box? I’ve got a Midas M32C and DL32 digital snake and I want to just run my own monitors for shows, and it seems most venues already have a passive splitter.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Normally you plug into your splitter, and then one end goes to FOH and then the other end goes to your IEM rack 👍

[@sunilgarbuja]

Hey Scott, quick question about sending the dry signal to FOH: I use a VoiceLive 3 vox and gtr fx unit. The outputs (dual mono setup) from my unit already carry a compressed and EQ'd vocal w/ reverb. How would we work with this kind of setup? Thanks. Really appreciate all your most-informative and insightful videos on IEM racks. :)

[@ScottUhlMusic]

With something like that with vocal fx, you can’t (and often don’t want to) send dry signal to FOH. So there are exceptions 👍

[@sunilgarbuja]

@@ScottUhlMusic roger that, Scott. Thanks.

[@hexchad765]

what if you want each in-ear monitor to have a different mix (I'm talking no drums on one and no guitar in another)?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Each IEM does get their own mix. If you need help setting that up, watch this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joLNd5uhhrmJhposi=rROKLYBAfnFLVSYE

[@hexchad765]

@@ScottUhlMusic Sometimes I think "each get's their own mix" means more of an EQ type thing - never sure. I'll check out your other video - thanks for responding

[@TheXIT]

Hi, Thanks for your videos. I have an x32 and tend to have a lot of things (keys, guitar FX, vocal FX etc) in glorious stereo and like you some things might need to be premixed. 😎 I often hear that a lot of house PA’s are in mono. How do you deal with that? Also, what if they can’t handle the channel count? (I have a rackmount splitter) and have also considered getting the additional 16 out digital split.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

If they cannot handle the channel count, then you’ll have to find a way to consolidate for sure. Or mic less things (like just mic kick and snare). This is also one reason why I just do mono live. If their system is configured only for mono, then stereo won’t really matter.

[@chucksaeger7500]

Do you ever perform on the east coast? And by that I mean the Carolinas? I would love to see your setup and how you manage it. Your technical expertise must keep you in high demand?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I did one show in North Carolina last year, would love to come back!

[@chucksaeger7500]

@@ScottUhlMusic If you don’t mind me asking; what venue did you play?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

@@chucksaeger7500 It was an event for some military thing. They brought a stage for the outdoor show, so not an actual normal venue. Can't remember the area that it was called.

[@chucksaeger7500]

@@ScottUhlMusic See if any of these sound familiar: Camp LeJeune Seymour Johnson Fort Bragg Cherry Point I was an Air Force brat so I’m familiar with these places and actually played at them in the ‘70’s.

[@CosmicColour]

When using microphones that require phantom power, will a mixer with phantom power on still power the microphones through a splitter?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

It depends, but often times yes. But it really depends on the splitter. My art S8 with the way I have it setup does NOT work that way.

[@MattLunser]

So, I decided to go with the Seismic Audio floor splitter. How does phantom power work with those? If I insert phantom power for the overhead condenser mics from the IEM (XR-18), will that interfere with the FOH? Would it be better to power the mic externally? Thanks in advance, really appreciate the videos!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I haven’t used one of those in a long time so I don’t remember about phantom power with them

[@jakecaron6906]

Hey, I asked this question in your dms on Instagram, but thought maybe you may see it here first , I was was wondering if the Art splitters are better than the seismic Audio ones, or if there is something better

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Art are generally considered better and more reliable. But both are used often 👍

[@aaronkomplekx2878]

Hi Scott, thanks for the great video. I was wondering how you would handle a situation, where two bands bring their own iem system. Would you just send the output of splitter 1 to the input of splitter 2, given that both systems have a splitter? Or would you need to change the inputs between the shows?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

You would need to have them plug into the FOH separately 👍

[@waveslave]

Scott. Can you suggest how to creat a separate mix for IEM for a solo and duet artist. We only use a 4 channel Mixer are we only need 2 Vox 1 Guitar and 1 Bakcin tracks. I need to be able to raise and lower the backing tracks for my ears. Thank You!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yeah, any mixer that has 2 aux or bus sends will work 👍 same idea as I go over here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/joLNd5uhhrmJhposi=sVS9AkrhVUuuhnV-

[@erniedouglas123]

Stupid question that I probably can answer myself but if you’re running an ampless rig for your guitar or bass, you should use a 1/4” to male XLR cable?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

You usually would want to use a direct box in that case. You can use 1/4” to xlr, but that can cause issues sometimes, so direct box is usually better

[@erniedouglas123]

@@ScottUhlMusicThanks Scott! You are truly awesome. Answering questions on a video you put out almost a year ago. You’re a good egg Mr. Uhl.😊

[@enricolunelli9039]

Hi, I want to split the signal for my rack but I see online that every splitter has just xlr... What I should use to split my signals If I use a focusrite and a Mac for my backing tracks and my guitars? They are trs signals Thanks for help

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I believe Behringer has one for quarter inch, but I’m not sure

[@ladoblenelsonberlin]

Hi, Scot! Thanks for all the useful information that you upload in your videos. It has made my research much easier. I would like to know how to solve a situation to finally go in-ear for my band. We are a 10 people / 22 channels band and soundcheck is a pain in the soul every time. Even when "things go well" we can't hear ourselves as we would like to. So I'm doing research on which mixer to use but I can't find the perfect solution. I'd love to use the x32r but it has only 16 preamps. I'm considering the Soundcraft ui24 and the Mackie DL32S which have 10 total outputs but 2 of those are main outputs. I tried the apps for each one of those. Apparently the Soundcraft ui24 can re-route the outputs and the mackie as well but i'm not sure if it will work since i cant test it with audio in demo mode. Long story short: can I have 10 monitor outputs in any of these mixers? I think the best solution would be the x32r but it needs expansion for all our channels and we are in a budget. Thanks for sharing !!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I know the x32r can with the expansion, as that’s what I use. That’s the only one that I know of between those!

[@EmersonTanakaBass]

Great video! with so many different stages and venues (and situations) sizes how long do you think it is a "good" length (or at least minimum) for the snake cable to front of house? thanks!

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Thanks! Most of the time they have a separate snake of their own on the stage. Mine is 15 or 20 feet and it’s always been good 👍

[@EmersonTanakaBass]

@@ScottUhlMusic thanks!

[@paullongden-musician7113]

Currently debating weather our next purchase will be a splitter or a sub.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

If you need to split the signal to FOH, I would definitely recommend a splitter, because it’s definitely needed!

[@HarveyThibault]

I have a question about using this kind of setup and I'm hoping I can type it so what I'm asking is clear. If we're playing a gig with an IEM rig like the one you have built and we have the rack splitters like you have, how do you go about plugging in the drums from the venue. Meaning, their drum mics are already wired to go to FOH, do we ask to remove those from their stage box and plug them into our splitter, and then give them the signal back? Is the floor splitter better in this situation, or is the same issue regardless?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

Yeah drums are the hardest. But most places are okay with routing drums into your splitter as long as you let them know ahead of time that you are bringing your rack splitter

[@juncarlocarao3439]

What if I will just use a y splitter audio cable.. ? Is it advisable?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

@@juncarlocarao3439 that’s a lot of Y cables. And it depends on the y cable, some of them don’t get a true split like these do, and cut the output in half to both sources. I wouldn’t advice it unless it’s in a pinch

[@richardcorbett8815]

Have you ever had any issues with the splitter weakening the mic signal and it not being loud enough once it reaches FOH?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

No, I’ve never had that happen 👍

[@richardcorbett8815]

@@ScottUhlMusic Thanks. It's something I've been experiencing, so trying to figure that out

[@HeathanzSinzBand]

Question: I have the 3 way splitter. I tried running guitars into channel 1 and 2, no joy. If i run directly into my Behringer, no problem. But channel 1 and 2, no signal goes to the mixer. Is there something about those 2 channels I need to know?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

I have no idea why it wouldn't be working unless you got a bad unit or it's plugged in incorrectly

[@HeathanzSinzBand]

@@ScottUhlMusic I have tripple checked. The only thing I can think of, is the splitter doesn't like the 1/4" to XLR adapters.

[@ScottUhlMusic]

@@HeathanzSinzBand you are likely sending the wrong signal (mic/line level): MIC vs LINE vs INST: Master Your Audio Levels in Minutes! kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJizpY1mnMqjnMU

[@HeathanzSinzBand]

@@ScottUhlMusic ahhh ok, I will try boosting the gain on the mixer to see if that helps. Great info, thank you

[@randymusik]

Can a rack headphone amp be a splitter?

[@ScottUhlMusic]

If it has multiple outputs 👍

[@tangobasso]

Women can be “sound guys.”

[@ScottUhlMusic]

True. I also say “hey guys” at the beginning of all my videos

[@AlexisGitarre]

NEVER EVER go without a Transformer based Split! Y splits are cheaper but they can f*ck up your whole production.