My live dates with the retirement homes have taught me so much. I try not to feed the gear habit too much but trying to really stay tight with my Beat Buddy drum machine has exposed the problem with how different venues soak up sound. The Lodge dining room seats about 100 ish and Iām usually in the 20-30 range of audience. Because of the size I can get the Everse amp volume up pretty high and even with only 100 degree dispersion and set directly in front of me about 5 feet, I can hear the Beat Buddy pretty well even on softer drum beats. At Brookdale the dining room is much smaller (maybe holds 50 ish) and I usually have about 12 ish in there. I have the hardest time hearing the drums in there even though Iām turning the drums up. Itās like that venue just soaks up the drums. I get lost and several times I just outro the drums and play the rest of the song without the drums.
I knew IEMs could help and months ago I targeted a starter system for my birthday this month. The XVIVE U4 wireless IEM is what looked like would work for me.
The transmitter plugs into the xlr mix out on my Everse 8. The receiver clips onto my belt and the T9 in ear monitors plug into the receiver. With exactly 1 day of rehearsal with this set up I took it to my first outdoor live at Brookdale where Iām in the parking lot and the residents are on the porch. Had about 12 out there and it went off great. I think for the first time I played the whole set of 6 songs and never lost the beat with the Beat Buddy.
IEMs definitely take some getting used to on the vocal side but even with just one day of using them I felt like I could pull the live performance off with them. My sound check video validated that I could deliver a decent (for me at least ) vocal with them.
Iām sure there is more to learn but tomorrow Iāll be using them at the bigger venue at The Lodge and am looking forward to that experienceā¦ā¦Rod
Thanks for sharing this Rod! Great to know how they are working for you.
I have been wanting to venture into the world of IEMs, but I get really overwhelmed every time I think about it because my band has 5 people it would definitely be an investment for us. We could really use someone with more sound engineering experience to help us out Weāve asked about them at local music places that sell them and even the employees donāt really seem to know much about them. Oh well. The hunt continues
You can find reviews of this particular one Iām using on you tube. I did see one review with a multi person rock band who used these with great success on an international gig they went on. But your mileage may vary. With my rig all you get is control of the mix volume to iem so if you have on band member who wants more drum without disturbing the mix to the audience youāll need more gear, but for my little one man band seems to be ok so far. Good luckā¦Rod
Hey Rod good to hear they are working out for you.
Iāve been using wired IEMs off and on for a couple years - @DavidP gets upset as I keep calling the IEDs (In Ear Devices) The whole rational was to be able to play with my ātrade markā hats on ā¦ a bit difficult with cans on.
The audio is very different to speakers or headphones and prepping for our open mics, I need a good week to get used to the difference. Its getting easier but has taking a lot of getting used to.
Ideally Iād like to just use studio monitor when performing āonlineā but yet to get a set up where I donāt get severe feedback from the āvocal micā. Recorded a session using them with just guitar and all good. Add a mic and it all goes pear shape.
I have the reverse problem; my little studio for open mics is so small i can hear everything great no need for IEM. Itās the variability of āin the wildā that it goes pear shaped for me. Good to hear from you!ā¦Rod
I thinks it more like acclimatising to the different sound. They are certainly different to headphones or speakers quality wise, But its like creating a project in a DAW and playing it back against studio monitors and then on you mobile/cell. Huge difference. All about finding the middle ground, live or studio.
Jenn,
Scott Uhl YouTube channel seems to be a place where he discusses the pros and cons of different iem systems. He uses them in band settings and seems to be fairly unbiased. Not something I have researched, but I stumbled across his channel and filed it away just in case.
Funny, I spent some time this past week trying to learn a bit about IEMās to help some of the vocalist at my church. They have some good equipment but the volunteers lack the training on how to set them up effectively. I came across this WIFI bassed solution but it only works on the IOS platform. You would need a digital mixer, a mac, and iphone/ipad for your wireless receiver. If you have that then itās $99 per user. there are a few reviews on youtube. Looks like a cool solution for a band.
I have also found IEMās very useful. Standing right next to the speaker on stage means that the noise is very loud and I cannot hear what I am playing. The IEMās act as ear defenders and, as they are plugged into my amp, my playing is louder in my ears so that I can hear what I am playing. I can still hear the main speaker with all backing and my friends lead, but the mix in my ears allow me to concentrate on what I am doing. If the same mix went out to the audience, it would sound terrible
Youāre no stranger to handling gear and obviously you are looking for a solution all of us performing artists have: hearing ourselves.
A decent IEM costs a bit of money while youāre not 100% the method works well for you. I still prefer stage monitors but as I tend to move all over the place, the experience on monitoring ourselve differs for each possible spot on the stage | iāve got the feeling that it will work better for you than for me though. I guess I often need that āairā and the ability to have a bit of the general context. The downside of IEM could be that you are confined to that ābubbleā. It does wonders for some but not everybody.
An IEM in your setup make it all a bit more complex and there are a bunch more things to take into account when setting up. not to mention keeping track of battery charges etc
I never heard of the unit you are posting but youāre capable of doing your homework .
Only one way to find out, take the plunge and to the experiments!
Good luck!
Jen there is also a YouTube exploration by a working musician, Adam Neely https://youtu.be/mHoljbkyAEs
He tours and plays and makes videos about them, very interesting guy.
Rod,
Youāve learned something that those of us that are hearing impaired recognize early - different rooms have completely different acoustic properties. Itās particularly noticeable for me in my business life when Iām in a room for a business meeting that just soaks up and muffles the sound. Good luck with IEMs and well done for getting out there and playing live!
Neil
I use in ears for all of my listening devices, but they are a bit special. As when Iām not using them I use ābionic earsā I need my monitors to be able to follow the same signature as my aids, also itās very useful to me to have a common moulding for my ears. The way these people do them itās not difficult for them to match my mouldings up to my aids output. Itās helped me enormously since I found them and tried them out!
) vocal with them.
The whole rational was to be able to play with my ātrade markā hats on ā¦ a bit difficult with cans on.
Good to hear from you!ā¦Rod
| iāve got the feeling that it will work better for you than for me though. I guess I often need that āairā and the ability to have a bit of the general context. The downside of IEM could be that you are confined to that ābubbleā. It does wonders for some but not everybody.
