Keeping a Good Balance in Your In-ear Monitors

Will Doggett with MultiTracks.com and the Jesus Culture band share how they manage what belongs in their in-ears and what doesn't. After the video, learn more at here: www.sweetwater....

[@gabrielsmith7985]

This is a great conversation. I suggest this to each musician.

[@illbu2]

I find that panning instruments helps me feel more connected as well. Maybe that's just me but it really makes my in ear mix more real.

[@JK_35]

Best advice for any in ear using band... get you own mixer with a splitter snake. And bring that to every show and rehearsal. If guitar players mark their stage volumes so it's the same everytime, it makes sound checking super fast. Only minor tweaks for each room. Everything has already been balanced before hand your jams

[@lt0295]

J K any advice on what mixer to get for a guitarist? I think this sounds like the best idea for me but I don’t really know where to start.

[@kevinmcd112]

We use the X32 and everyone downloaded the app to their phones for their own monitor mixes.

[@daveg4236]

@@lt0295 we use an xr18 so it's run off tablets and phones. We can save the mixes so we aren't starting over each time

[@cozylewis1]

No idea what that is, I am a vocalist so I am therefore clueless 😂

[@JK_35]

@@lt0295 the X32 rack is a great option for app mixing but ive allso used an allan and heath old school mixing board and the same principles applied, only difference is the members had to walk over during sound check and tweak

[@james_german]

IN EARS ARE GREAT. SWEETWATER

[@UBandLD]

great tips! it took me years to figure out the best mix in my ears.

[@kevinmcd112]

You can still have your click with a wedge. You just have a flashing led. That's what I do and it works fine.

[@skiinian85]

They also have click wrist and waist bands i believe. Although I can't speak to that because i never use a click.

[@Blakey]

Kevin McD If you have a light it means you have to look at it where as a click is ingoing

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

It may affect your heart rate... don’t do it !!! (That was an old James Bond episode).

[@rasugukinara]

Very helpful! Thank you

[@LukeTaylor_taylo589]

Haha laughed my rear off near 1:50

[@DH4Hobbies]

I love in ears, but when i play acoustic I love an amp. Bass, I absolutely demand in ears.

[@ztornow]

I think it’s curious that the acoustic player only puts one ear in. With all the other signals you can get a decent tone in you IEM’s. But an acoustic only sounds right in open air imo

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

The master of everything?... I thought that was “that guy” you were there for !! Lol

[@rogerdarev7374]

Just wondering about one thing, this may be a dumb question but im new to this and trying to figure it out before buying some. Can you daisy chain the recievers for the wireless ones, im thinking of this because we are a small church and the soundboard is about full as far as the aux outputs. We would need to run maybe 6 and some of the mixes could be the same. Can this be done and/or is there a way to go out of one aux output but have different mix. Maybe with a smaller mixer on stage hooked to the recievers. Any help is appreciated and i hope this makes sense.

[@StevePhoenix]

I presume you use the FOH console to send signals out to in-ears. If you are doing so, it's the worst way to do it. You'll have to deal with the FOH mix AND the monitor mix, which is too much work in a small timeframe and if you try to do both well, neither will sound good. That being said, no, most receivers don't daisy chain. I say "most" in case there are a few without my knowledge, but as far as I know there are no such receivers. You can buy multiple small line signal splitters to send the same signals to multiple transmitters, but it's not worth it. Getting a mixer for on-stage monitor use is the best way to go. Your best bet is something like a Behringer XR-18, basically a digital console that can be controlled wirelessly. Add a mic splitter, so that your mics go to both the XR-18 and FOH and then each musician can dial their own mix by iPad independently from the FOH mix and you can keep those console auxes for other uses.

[@McOuroborosBurger]

avions are great, you control your mix. which is great because you can turn the crap singers down quick without having to tell the soundguy

[@JMTZS]

What in ears do the use UE or 64 audio?

[@charleswillis3984]

not the Holy Spirit just dizzy......hilarious!!😂😂

[@lilianpederjelsbak3589]

Why not let us hear sound exampels to suplement to the talk ?

[@eladcohen1988]

Great video!

[@WilliamMcCarthyIII]

6:19

[@kierenmoore3236]

How the hell would he know?!! ;)

[@kingdizzydotcom]

i like to have the tempo vary based on feel. im suprised people like click tracks.

[@sbrave]

I didn't realize these were so big with house of worship/churches, etc. Not sure why that always needs to be mentioned in these videos? Aren't we all trying to accomplish the same thing?

[@karterestill]

64 audio users!!!

[@charleswillis3984]

Fast Forward to 70 yrs old.....hearing issues....😶

[@aarontabuchi5693]

I've always just wanted everyone, including the audience to hear the same mix. Am I crazy? Varying mixes among musicians and between the audience and the band creates a disconnect among all. If music is a language, why create an obstacle to the conversation? If there's a problem with the mix, hearing oneself, or whatever else; most of this comes as a result of a breakdown in the writing process and/or band dynamics. You don't see classical symphonies and ensemble musicians asking for more of themselves in the mix for this reason. Adjustments should come from a live consensus among band members. Good songwriting + good live collaboration = good mix. Not trying to be arrogant, just idealistic I guess

[@thetrainingcoach2360]

On the surface what you suggest sounds plausible. However, having played in classical symphony orchestras, marching bands, drum and bugle corps, rock and pep bands and now worship bands in small and medium size locations I've learned that you never get the same sound on stage or on the field as the audience hears. In a symphony you don't have to ask for more of yourself because you are closest to your instrument (except for the unlucky trumpet players sitting in from of my drum section - especially when the pissed us off - It was high school, what can I say?). You also feel the vibrations from your instrument while playing acoustically . Today, with the emphasis on minimizing stage volume, we are pushing more live sound off-stage with direct feeds, amps in separate rooms and drum shields or electronic kits.You may need to hear "more of yourself" to feel comfortable with your playing. Or you may want to hear more of a certain other instrument. Drums and bass guitar are often side by side so they can hear each other and work together. With minimized stage volume, I usually need to bump the bass up in my in-ears to compensate and work with the bass line to create a strong bottom end to the songs. I actually have less drums in my in-ears than others because I can hear and feel them acoustically and don't need as much digital signal. So each person usually needs a separate mix to meet their needs.

[@aarontabuchi5693]

The Training Coach what I described is an ideal where perfection may not be absolutely attainable but I like to do my best to get as close as possible to hearing the same mix as everyone else. We miss out on a greater experience when we feel at liberty to go to the opposite extreme and create a completely different mix based on personal preference. In my opinion it's an abuse of technology. Just my opinion though. You may be more experienced than me and the rest of us who have the same ideal but I have been able to achieve it.... soooo... I'm not speaking from some kind of theoretical detachment. As a band leader, With uniformity as my goal, I've worked with bands that were happy with a somewhat universal mix and were able to play successfully without creating an alternate sonic universe for themselves.

[@aarontabuchi5693]

As a side note, difficulty with mixes often comes from a faulty approach to music itself. IMO. I've experienced this most of all in worship teams. The "leader ", usually an acoustic guitarist, thinks that he should drive the music with his strumming. Occupying the entire sound spectrum with it. In my experience, when leaders allow the drum and bass to drive the music and the groove, everything works out better.. especially the mix ... this directly relates to what you said about needing to bump up the bass... as a team the rest of us should be able to drop out , leaving the drum and bass to play, without feeling a sense of energy loss... you (drums) and bass are the real leaders of the band...

[@_barriosmusic_]

What app are they using for personal mix?

[@daveg4236]

It depends on the mixer. All different