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Live in-ear monitoring system (lemmy.ml)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So to start this community with a question I have myself.

A little bit of context:

I am a drummer, and for shows currently using a Behringer in-ear system where I will get a mono or stereo xlr as input.

This is already a lot better than having to rely on the wedge and I have a little bit of control over at least the volume.

The rest of the band is currently using the wedges.

I would like to upgrade this setup a bit to have more control over what i will hear on my in-ears, and be it more consistent for every show. Next step would be to get the other members to also use it.

Any recommendations on what would be a good starting point that is not immediately breaking the bank, but can be expanded over time and gives us that control.

The band consists of 5 people. (1 drums, 2 guitars, 1 bass, 1 vocals)
We bring our own sound engineer to shows
price range around ~ 1000 euros

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[–] OpenHammer6677 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for starting this community!

Few points that might help narrow down the answer:

How many are you in the band?
Is your band running your own sound or are you relying on the venue or local engineer?
Do you have / want to have drums in your IEM mix?
What's a realistic price range for you?

Answering these might be a good starting point.

But for a quick answer, assuming you're just getting aux send from the main mixer,

An easy upgrade that's inexpensive would be to use a small mixer with EQ. That way you have SOME means to adjust the tone of the mix.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for joining in!

To answer your question, and i'll update the post as well.

we are with 5 people. Drums, 2 guitars, 1 bass, 1 vocalist
we will bring our own FOH engineer, but use whatever is in the venue
Yes and yes! Depending on the venue it is possible to have a bit better mix, but of course, all needs to be tuned in during soundcheck / line check.
I think realistically would be in the price range of around 1000 euros. A rig that could serve the whole band but does not need to right now.

[–] OpenHammer6677 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

One solution within budget would be to use a mixer like the Behringer XR18 and plug everything there. Then everyone in the band gets an IEM pack like yours or wireless rigs for their earphones.

Pre-mix the band and send the Main LR output to the house mixer. Use the AUX sends for custom mono mixes for each individual band member. Your FOH guy can do mix adjustments on the fly for your IEMs or the house mix. They can use the headphone out for their own monitoring.

One thing you need to consider though is the drums and vocal mics. You'll either have to patch the house mics to your mixer or you'll have to buy mics for yourself. Both comes with their own troubles.

But if you bring your own drumset, having your own mics will be much easier, sound more consistent, and be less time consuming.

The XR18 also functions as an audio interface so you can record multitracks of your performances.

I don't know how standard this method is but I hope it nudges you to the right direction!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks a lot! This really points me in a direction to start looking into more specifics. I do bring my own kit as much as possible (left handed drummer using a rack), and one of our sound engineers brings his mics as well, so sometimes we have that luxury.

But to purchase a decent set of mics that are at least the minimum quality of what a regular venue has would also set us back quite some money right? I do love the autonomy of it!

How hard (or annoying) would it be for the house mixer to patch it through? Is that something that can easily be done when it's known in advance?

And in terms of how standard it is, i have talked to other musicians as well, and this seems the general direction to go with, some add a bunch of other things as well (backing tracks, drum triggers, full song clicktracks etc).

[–] OpenHammer6677 1 points 3 months ago

A good drum mic set is maybe starting around €850 and up.

Like this one from Sennheiser

Or this one from sE Electronics that's been the hot mic set for drums lately

In terms of patching, it can get a bit finicky but it's always good practice to communicate your needs in advance.

But at the end of the day, there will be patching and mixing done anyway since you have your own drums. So it shouldn't matter too much.

It will be a lot smoother if you do have your own drum mics tho.