Wireless In Ear Monitors | What You NEED To Know

[@allenmitchell09]

Can I get more of the caterers slapping the silverware in my mix please?

[@TomDub20]

Hey! They have a gig too ya know.

[@mthompson965]

With a little Plate Reverb and some delay, thanks.

[@prillewitz]

Michael Thompson 😂

[@mthompson965]

@@prillewitz Make sure that delay's tapped in right or you're fired!

[@fusedemotion333]

So incredibly annoying.

[@andy_watt]

I was in a covers band for the past couple of years that used a very similar system. It was by far the best on-stage control I’ve ever had. We all had the app on our phones with our individual mixes set up. Any slight tweak we wanted to our mix was super easy to achieve. And as a plus for the shows for where we were responsible for our own FOH mix it was super easy to do out of the same console. If anyone is on the fence with the setup costs involved in putting together such a rig, the payoff in ease of use, and just the comfort of having a consistent sound each show, is definitely worth it. Great video Rhett, awesome nerd-out on what can be some fairly dry subject matter. Glad to hear it’s working for you guys!

[@jimi272]

you remember any name?

[@HansonProductions112]

"It makes FOH engineers very happy." Damn right it does! I love the stage volume reduction it brings. I was able to mix a pop-country band with their own IEM at just above 85db for a dinner set while still maintaining a pretty punchy mix! Being able to utilize my aux busses as instrument/vocal subgroups rather than monitor mixes is also a major plus as well. :D

[@dustinthiessen]

they must have had a really quiet drummer, and guitar amps ;)

[@HansonProductions112]

Dustin Thiessen it was outdoors and they kinda tucked the drummer away, but he also knew not to hit insanely hard during that part of the set. And there were no amps! Lead guitar was on a helix and bassist was on a sansamp.

[@mattrehm8612]

It's good in situations when you have noise limitations or a small PA, but in the end, wedges always give you a better feel and I find musicians "get into the gig" more with loud wedges and a larger stage. Sometimes a mix of IEM and wedges are even better, especially for drummers and bass players.

[@willnewsome6222]

Matt Rehm 100% spot on!!

[@wienerstein2817]

@@mattrehm8612 I agree. However, it is important to note that bands knowledgable enough in basic audio are using these monitor rigs because they're tired of shitty FOH/Monitor sound (for various reasons). These days more and more musicians I mix for are getting more and more savvy to what the want things to sound like and are taking matters into their own hands. I personally love it. The only time I hate this system is when you get a bunch of boomers that don't understand you can't have RF stay on the same frequency from city to city. Other than that you can achieve almost studio like mixes even in smaller rooms.

[@jamesmoon5683]

More explanation on the hardware behind the isolated split would be greatly appreciated!

[@TheLeon1032]

i agree with you james! more of that please rhett

[@TotalEvo7]

So, this rack is comprised of several pieces of gear mentioned here. As far as the isolated split, it's a rack-mounted snake (with some extras that I can't tell what they're used for), that is fed to FOH. All the mic inputs come from the patchbay (ART S8 Microphone Splitter) and from the Behringer SD8 snake box and then split off from there and they all go to the rack-mounted snake and the X32 Rack console.

[@TotalEvo7]

@@beauherron4258 The drum mics are plugged directly to the SD8 (I imagine Ian splits those channels internally), the FOH snake consists of a multipin plug in type of snake. Best-Tronics does a similar multipin rack snake setup, and yes, the cables going to the drum mics, are already on the top of the rack ready to connect.

[@rockstarr9000]

Our band was JUST talking about this. This is a FANTASTIC and clear explanation. Yes, the IEM video would be great. And add links to the equipment and hopefully you can get a referral rebate.

[@iamsparta96]

My group is looking into getting a wireless monitor setup and this video was perfect timing!! Thanks man!

[@faunoram]

Wow !! This is mind blowing !! I play in a band in South América, and we have to cope every night with the worst case scenario because of the precarious situation of the venues in my country and the technology you use and show in this video is like a dream to us, but its great to learn all this stuff because maybe someday we could afford a system like this ! Ive been watching your videos and they have tons of great info ! Saludos !!

[@RyansResolve]

I appreciate this video, guys. I'm a sales employee at a major music retailer and I've been getting questions lately about wireless in ears. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that there's a super cost effective way to do it yet, but it doesn't seem like we're far off from this being the norm. For now I'll be sure to send customers to this video since this is the best explanation I've seen so far! Thanks again.

[@billweir1745]

I've been using the Xvive monitoring system, and it's worked very well for me so far. Much more cost effective than the shure systems.

[@wesleyfletcher7654]

We use the M32c in a similar setup. You can adjust your own mix via an app on your phone if you want to. You don't have to ask one person to make the adjustments for you.

[@Stephen_Lafferty]

Yes, I would like to see a video about the IEM's please!

[@Buckyy_08]

I second that, along with what kind you recommend. There’s so many companies out there and it’s hard to know who is legit.

[@GORACKO]

Yes do a IEM video

[@khay2210]

Definitely should do

[@MarkDHastingsMusic]

Count me in!

[@mattsabin1615]

Please

[@austinheimark5482]

thanks for the helpful explanation! sharing some novice questions below - * do the in ears cancel out all the sound behind you from the amp/drums/other instruments? or do you hear the sound from the in ears plus that stuff? * what are some use cases for changing what you hear vs. what the audience hears (e.g. adding reverb)? * what if the in ears go mid set for whatever reason? just play with the sound of room?

[@jghillstudio1857]

Love that pin cable to house. Nice setup guys, very professional and a must have for gigging bands. I am currently working with a sound production team in the Charlotte NC. Splawn Amplification, when bands show up with these in ear rigs it does make our life much easier. I will say this for folks who are considering building this rig. You must provide your own connections to house. I know this seems like a duh, however it has happened. Thanks Rhett and Ian for showing us around your setup.

[@danterrymusic]

That's the interesting part to me to (cables to FOH). It would seem like you need another audio snake or ton of individual cables (6-8 drums mic's, bass di, E gtr cab, vocals, etc).

[@SpiralDogs]

I use pretty much the same set up for my band in the UK (also based around the Behringer X32). The consistency from gig to gig is amazing and you have the ability to save scenes which allows you to recall different settings if you have a different band set up or different room types. It's particularly great for running my guitar (as well as keyboards, vocals, drums and horns) in stereo. Sound checks are much more streamlined and the only instruments that really need prepping are drums and vocals (due to them using microphones). I use a Helix for these gigs so my sound is the same each gig. Obviously the front of house engineering still needs to do his/her checks but we can get to that a lot quicker with this system.

[@SamStoverDB]

“Noah vocal, Ian’s vocal, whoever’s on bass vocal” Sad bass noises :(

[@YayaTia_II]

Davie504 I need bASS!

[@timridley1]

It's lovely to see you all have this set up your IEMs, but even greater that you seem to all get along so well.

[@glannewehr]

When I was gigging a few years ago, our 4 piece band was using a similar setup (Mackie). Each one of us was able to control our own monitor mix in our in-ears via our iPhones/iPads.

[@chrislittmanchannel]

Guy Lannewehr you could do this with the x32 also. No iPhone app :-( but no limit on the number of iPad connections. Would be great if you had charts on iPads already, could just switch apps and adjust mix.

[@ronaldsmith8966]

When the cover band I was in played (most every weekend in different venues), we had our own monitor rig and splitter snake. I still use my old Shure PSM200 system, BUT... nice triple-driver (or better) custom molded buds make the biggest difference. The better the seal, the better the sound.

[@BBQROCKSTAR178]

New sub here. I play in a GnR tribute here in Dallas-Ft. Worth....we play regularly, mostly clubs with some outdoor venues, and some road gigs.... I just wanna say thank you for this series.....kinda shows what and HOW you do what you do on the road. Been following you and Rick Beatto for a while now, and I’ve learned a lot! So...thanks again Rhett! Keep rocking

[@officialWWM]

I have a very similar setup for my band but use the Soundcraft UI24. Difference is, sometimes at smaller gigs, we don't have a sound guy, so in that instance we can simply send a left and right mix to the front of house system. It works great!

[@carlkerkman7028]

Thanks Rhett and Ian - appreciate the thorough and clear, informative overview of your in ear monitor system.

[@TimOost]

Ah now I want to start a band just to set up the wireless monitoring system

[@frankservant5754]

lol fr

[@JavyonVISION]

Thanks for this!! The X32 and all its variants are just so incredibly useful. Some people don't like IEM's but I love them!

[@simonriley7750]

I was waiting for the flying guitars in the outro with the same fear that i saw it in the last vid.... Glad you didnt put that part xD

[@MarkDHastingsMusic]

We've been using a Behringer X32 for a few years now. It is possible to have several iPads controlling the mixer at the same time. The only real "problem" we have has is when more than one person tries to mute a channel at the same time. (Mute: Off-On-Off-On...) In theory, each performer could mount an iPad on their mike stand, and control their own mixes at will. Nice.

[@HenryMittnacht]

We run a similar system with the even smaler Behringer XAir 18. The bassplayer and I even went one step further by using the PM16 which, in your case, might be redundant since you have the EQ, Comp and FX stuff done in the X32, though. Cool video!

[@GregoryHillSr]

Yes I definitely want to see you do IEM video! I'd like to pass it on to my church music director

[@danlewis8044]

Thanks, Rhett! I've been bringing this up with my band, so this is GREAT having someone break it down and explain everything. We would love to see a follow-up video on IEMs! They're more commonplace now and I'd really like to hear your experiences with them before we make this investment.

[@MikeyGee001]

My band runs things the EXACT SAME WAY and we LOVE IT !! We know our own sound and we know how we want our IEM mix to sound. The FOH can do whatever he wants to do totally dependant of what we are doing. We use a QSC board and do all our control via our IPADS

[@danterrymusic]

So you have your instrument/mic XLR's coming to your QSC board and then need XLR's out from splitter to FOH inputs, correct? Just trying to configure our system without a crazy amount of cable laying around, haha.

[@JeffsBassment]

Thanks for this one! My band has been thinking of going IEM. Great overview and look at a real working setup.

[@monsterram6617]

Yeah buddy, IEMs deserve a video on their own. Big differences between a 3 driver universal fit and a 10 driver custom mold!

[@metaldetectinginsask4781]

I too want to see a video on IEM with all the goodies about stage volume, volume of your monitors and how they compare to the good old days of wedges. Great things to have to protect the ears!

[@jebbaldwin8516]

always wondered how those things worked….pretty cool thanks rhett

[@theblindsniper]

Rhett!! Im so glad I asked about the setup, looks really good and it gives me a lot of ideas of how my band mates and I can get started with wireless IEMS! Thanks!!!!

[@dmitrymashkov9379]

This is one of the most useful video for me! Endlessly grateful.

[@petebrown3715]

Wow this so interesting and so efficient. Thank you for posting this. You guys are awesome for doing the chairity gig for childrens cancer.

[@sleazoid99]

Very interesting. It would also be interesting to hear how a given song varies across each of the player's monitors (based on their preferences, of course).

[@WayneMemphisMojo]

Awesome video & explanation of the sound gear. I must admit that this video's sound was so good that I thought someone was in my kitchen making plate noise. Again, your videos are very well received here in Memphis

[@davemcloughlin8867]

Great vid. Yes to a follow up on your IEMs.

[@adamalexanderray]

When I was playing drums in my last band I did a basic version of this just for me using a Behringer RX1202FX EuroRack Pro Rackmount Mixer, a few Y cables to take feeds from the drum mics and then I’d take the speaker emulated line out/DI from the guitarist’s & bassists heads. This was all done for less than £150. It is possible to do this so cheap and it made a huge difference.

[@vpitts728]

This was so interesting. I am an intermediate guitar player and started playing gigs a few years ago. I know very little about gear, so this was very helpful.

[@63davefx]

Absolutely would love for you to do a vid on in ear drivers! 😉

[@scottbakernc]

This is a great video and thank you for doing it. I'm looking at same thing on a smaller scale. For a reality check on costs, each musician must purchase 1 x transmitter, 1 x receiver, and 1 x in-ear monitors. Transmitter/receiver for each person must be paired and a unique frequency from the other members of the band. Cost impact is the quality of the in-ear piece (custom fit vs inserts, all flavors of each) and the brand/quality of the transmitter/receiver pair. On top of that, with your option, all the other hardware for mixing and such. A basic setup could use each aux send from FOH to tailor as many independent sends as the board can send to aux out and the transmitters would sit with the FOH board, correct? I do love your isolation setup is cost were not a factor for sure.

[@BaktaBak3]

Yes, would like a detail video on in ear monitors. Appreciate you & the guys explaining all this . Will probably watch this a couple more times ( still looks somewhat complicated to me) . Thanks for posting your "life as a working musician" - Betty

[@steverolfeca]

That moment when he’s describing the various inputs on the splitter at 3:16- “and whoever’s on bass”. Story of my life!

[@perro0076]

Obviously Rhett and his team are committed to what they have. I am just starting out and to do the same thing. I totally recommend the Behringer Flow 8. Give the Main to the sound guy and you keep the Monitor out for your in ear. The mixer is enough for 2 mics, 2 mono instruments and 2 stereo instruments. Everything can be controlled remotely from a smart phone. Just tell the sound guy not to touch your monitor mix.

[@camsim00]

You can go considerably simpler than this and less expensive with the same results. The X32 can do front of house AND separate monitor mixes and there is an app you can use to mix your own ears on your phone. The monitor mix is pre-fader but post-input gain, so that is the only thing you're sharing with the front of house mix, which is not a problem.

[@SamlonHoldfield]

FYI Typo 10:04 MoNitor. Enjoyed. Thanks.

[@FuadKyoto]

This may be your best vid yet. Thanks!

[@raymondmonmendoza3627]

this is the most advanced tech i have ever seen!....good video! thanks for sharing this.

[@thethesaxman23]

Cool video! Very helpful for live show players. Could you please add links to the equipment you talked about in this video? That would be very helpful!

[@quentindorseymusic]

^ this is what everyone is thinking!

[@telecasteroil]

Very informative, Rhett cool stuff to know, since I play on a almost silent stage most Sundays

[@stephentietjen4517]

This is really close to the same set up my band runs. Love the layout of the vid. Good job.

[@BentTom]

That's awesome you did a charity gig.

[@jayp6990]

I've always wondered how you protect your hearing, so yeah more please! 👍

[@TheFeelButton]

Good stuff Rhett! Really helps to see a working bands setup all the way through. Thank you!

[@fireyourrocketts]

Gret video, i do not play anymore, whish we had this system back in the 80,90, 2000 when I was playing. Nonadays I only do drums covers on youtube of stuff I used to play and like. The IEM have been from the beginning of setting up my small home studio an issue to me; playing drums in a 16x9 room, no matter how gentle hitting it was overpowering my IEM, I tried Shure EIMs on my first videos, the lack of click track and the lack of proper mix-live drums balance played a role on tempo sometimes, without hearing good mix it is impossible to play right for anyone! So the issue was resolved after I expended $1300.00 in Westone ES60 with custom ear molding; these have 3 double drivers each channel, now the isolation is almost nothing bleeds from outside and I can hear my mixed drums and the drumless mp3 in my ears and play according to what I hear; the difference is so great that i wonder why this was not around on times when I used to play and leaves me wishing i could test them in a real stage once more but those chances are slim now, I am just glad that for what i have them now, they work great! I think most of the people watching the video want to know what brand of IEM you are using; the surely look weston to me, The Shure EIMs I tried they never worked for me right!

[@korykoster8532]

This is almost exactly the same setup my band uses. We all bought our own transmitter and receiver packs that way if any of us leave the band we can keep those going forward.

[@philbrannigan5854]

I would really appreciate an IEM video specifically focused on the guitarist. My experience of monitoring my guitar through headphones, either from a line out of amp, a Line6 HD500X headphone out, or a guitar amp with a mic in front, is that the headphone sound is sounds like a cheap digital amp when compared to how it sounds through a speaker. I've tried many different types of headphone, and it's never satisfying. I'd love to know if it's possible for a guitarist to hear their sound through IEMs in a way that's as pleasing, or at least pleasing enough, as if they were listening to the actual amp, or even (eg) a Helix through speakers.

[@tevaflaman]

Yes please, a video on the IEM!

[@portsidedive]

I have been looking at these systems. So pumped to see your video!

[@MrDavemiley]

Just as always , Rhett does very informative videos !

[@33jwilliams]

Thanks guys, I learned a ton. Now I know why your videos sound so good! Oh, and talent...

[@AnssiKansalaOfficial]

Very Good run throug with the rig- We are using Soundcraft UI24 with Shure&Sennheiser IEM in single rack! Very easy and sounds good!

[@56brever]

Yes for in ears!

[@taylorsharp5928]

I think this would be the perfect job for an XR18 , the X32 rack seems like overkill for monitor EQ

[@mattweber5675]

Yes it could for mono IEM's, but for stereo (which is a big improvement over mono) you need the 32's outputs.

[@taylorsharp5928]

@@mattweber5675 it can do 4 stereo pairs

[@Holtenstein]

Great timing. I'm looking into building an IEM rig and the X32. Good to see I'm on the right path.

[@michaelniner98]

STOP READING MY MIND! When I was planning a pedal board you do a new pedal board set up I’m now looking in to IEM set ups and you upload this! 😂

[@createlovehappy]

Anyone else stressing about the Starbucks cup right above all this gear?

[@jimfallon5622]

Nah. I've heard that the Behringer X32 sounds better after it's had a couple of Starbucks.

[@JRP3music]

That is exactly what I do with my X 18 Air mixer, except for the isolated splitter setup.

[@johndiraimo1444]

Awesome information guys!!

[@JRP3music]

The rackmount X 32 s really cool. I have the Xtouch controller as well for physical control of monitors and PA FOH mixing. I can use my Lenovo tablet. I use my laptop and 2nd monitor as well. I like the idea of isolated splitting all your sources to FOH. I setup a station on the side of the stage. FOH is controlled with either a 2nd laptop via Ethernet or tablet with my current setup.

[@reecedoyleguitar]

I love the drummer's voice! He sounds like Scruffy from Futurama! Awesome!

[@jasonjotty7478]

Thanks for sharing your rig setup... very helpful 👍👍

[@tomwyant9532]

Sends on fader saves a bunch of time.

[@kostasjazz]

One of your best videos!!!!

[@chrislittmanchannel]

This is fantastic. Thanks for the video. I love my X32 mini in my home studio. Great way to do IEMs!

[@TyRobertsmedia]

Would love a vid on the actual in-ears. With my band I have always assumed once we switched to in-ear monitoring (vs. wedges) there would be no reason for any amp on stage, they would iso-ed off stage. How do you use your stage amp for your guitar while using the in-ears? In our setup, I find our mixer alone can't handle the dynamic range of my boost for solos (gets lost) so I've always insisted on using a stange amp to bolster my leads, etc... Thanks!

[@robertharker]

Amps on stage look cool and the controls are easy to reach.

[@Bamibakker]

Can you share any scenes of your in ear mix setup maybe? Would love to check them out

[@TiagoLageira]

Sure but what I really want is earless-wires, when's that release date? :>(

[@iamseanlavin24]

I'm now putting together my own IEM (and might even make a video of it myself) but I can't wait to use it for shows!

[@nathanpatrickturner8720]

This is such a great setup. I love it!

[@360vlogger3]

Such a great informative video. I was interested in learning more about IEM's and man did this help out...thanks.

[@EdAlarcon120]

One of the best videos that I’ve seen on this topic. Question: since you are always setting up/break down, how long does it take on average to get a sound in your in-ears at each venue? Curious because of the mic placements, especially for the drums. Thanks for all the information!!!

[@DevanBishop]

Pretty straight forward and good explanation.

[@Johnnybananass-_]

you have to Give behringer their props these days , so many acts are running their own in ear rigs with the X32 rack . People bag on Behringer so much for no reason. they actually build some amazing gear.

[@WGandTM]

Great video. I'm intrigued to know what you think about what FOH might do to how the band sounds to the audience, or do you have input with them?

[@Starcrunch72]

When you're doing a corporate gig like this one, the FOH guy has to do what the "buyer" or "event manager" dictates.

[@bluzzjazz]

We use Roland M-48s, which is great for tailoring your own personal sound. Recently switched to a Shure wireless pack for my in-ears but now have to rely on whoever is running the board to make adjustments for me. Not sure the trade off is worth it yet, we’ll see.

[@deadshot4245]

Great setup planning on doing that for my studio live series 3 nothing better than being completely isolated from a sound guy

[@Bobby_Uterus]

If a guy had enough spare unused XLR outputs from a stage box could he use those to send pre fader/ pre EQ signals to front of house instead of using a splitter box? Also, I'm sure you guys are already aware that with the M32-Q app you can control your monitor mix's yourself using your phones. sometimes you can get away with eliminating the mix engineer all together.

[@slovokia]

I wonder what volume most musicians prefer to run their in ear monitors at? One thing that folks might miss is the tactile feedback from loud low bass but I guess the drummer could use a shaker transducer on their chair. I guess you still might feel some of the bass from the FOH.

[@christianboddum8783]

Great stuff Rhett!

[@canaanlawrence7351]

Great video as always man!

[@Roger-il8iw]

I play solo but some decent size gigs. Still having trouble getting my in ears to sound great. I’m running my own mix like you guys. I basically use two line 6 pod hd500x one for vocal and one for guitar. They make vocals sound amazing. My in ear mix just sounds so low fidelity like am radio. It’s so annoying. It works but it just sucks not being able to hear something closer to what’s coming out of the speakers

[@petebrown3715]

Thanks Ian and Rhett.

[@TheDjangojunkie]

Thanks guys. Very educational

Awesome video, Rhett! Thanks.

[@jorgea3507]

To understand correctly, you have separate console for front of house? We use the soundcraft express si2 with a router. Soundman uses ipad however has the option to stand by console near stage if need be. Only reason I went this route which leads me to my next question. Have u ever had a failure of your rack mount? I use to use the a rack mount and the wireless system failed leaving us with no manual backup to mix. Great video.

[@scoringbits]

We use the desk version at church. The players each mix with their phones. It would be good to have a gear list if available.

[@RayEvans]

Helpful and much appreciated

[@keithrinehart809]

Great stuff Rhett! My friend Jon has one of those X32 Racks in his P.A. setup. He likes it a lot, but has had a few issues with the internal WIFI router, so he added an external one (Linksys I think) which he says works better for him. Have you guys had any issues like that? Good luck with the shows & keep up the great work!

[@kodykindhart5644]

Yes always set up you own