Getting ready to ditch the wedges in favor of in-ears? Here are some things to consider when making the move:
- Custom Fit is Not Always Better
This month’s FRONT of HOUSE Buyers Guide (page 22) showcases a wide assortment of “universal fit” IEMs, meaning that the earpieces are not custom-molded to the user’s ears. Price points for these generic fit IEMs generally start lower than for custom molds, but that doesn’t mean that generic fit IEMs are inferior. In fact, some users find generic IEMs to fit as well or better than custom molds. Also, keep in mind that custom-molded IEMs have a lifespan of around three to five years because the shape of your ears changes over time (though some custom molds can be re-fit to a certain extent).
- Buzz, What Buzz?
IEMs can reveal flaws in the signal chain that weren’t audible when using wedge monitors. Remember that slight buzz on the lead guitar player’s rig? That’s going to drive you nuts in an in-ear mix.
- Instruments Don’t Sound the Same in the P.A. as They Do in IEMs
P.A. systems are designed for volume, projection and coverage, and though sound reinforcement speakers have come a long way in terms of fidelity, they are voiced nothing like IEMs. Changes made to the tone of an instrument while listening through IEMs don’t necessarily equate to good tone in the P.A., and vice-versa. Be prepared to work at adjusting guitar or synth patches until they sound good in the P.A. and the in-ear mixes.
- Stereo is Overrated
The perception of IEM mixes as a high-fidelity sound source is great in theory (see above), yet not-so-great in practice. It’s a wonderful idea to have a full-fidelity stereo in-ear mix, but guess what happens when a performer turns around and faces upstage? All of the panning will be opposite from what they see. That’s one reason why a mono IEM mix is just as effective as stereo. Stereo mixes also eat up output buses very quickly, and a 16-output console may not be able to supply all of the mix buses required to run stereo IEMs and FOH feeds.
- Can Your Mixer Be Expanded?
A console with eight outputs can easily become obsolete when trying to accommodate a band on IEMs, even in a small club or house-of worship system. At least two of those outputs will feed the FOH system, possibly another for a subwoofer feed and a front fill, leaving you with four outputs — another reason to consider mono IEM mixes.
- Surf the ‘Net
A mixing console with onboard networking capability such as Dante can make distribution to IEM transmitters easier, alleviate some of the output issues mentioned above, and require less wiring than using analog outputs. See Fig. 1 for one such example. Make sure that the IEM transmitters support the same network protocol as the mixing console and be aware that the console still needs to have enough buses to feed those outputs. Networking also makes it easier to expand a system to include a separate monitor console, while at the same time eliminating the need for an expensive multichannel copper analog snake.
- Budget for Accessories
If you plan to run more than one or two IEM systems, you’ll need multiple transmitters, all of which require power and antennas. One of the things that can simplify and improve your setup is using combiners and remote antennas. A pair of remote antennas strategically placed on stage improves RF performance significantly versus individual antennas mounted on each transmitter. Many manufacturers offer RF combiners that distribute power from the combiner to the transmitters via the RF cables — enabling you to lose all those wall wart power supplies. Great news, but it won’t come cheap. Be prepared to add $1,000 to $1,500 for the antennas, combiner and coax cable you’ll need to connect everything.
Another accessory that may come in handy is a “butt thumper” — a transducer that mounts to a keyboard or drum throne and provides some visceral feel to make up for the lack of stage volume.
- Don’t Be Late
All digital mixing systems have latency, the only question is how much. Average time for a trip from A/D conversion through a console’s DSP to D/A conversion is less than 2 mS. When using wedges, you won’t notice latency because the “delay” of sound traveling from a wedge through the air a few feet to the listener is more than the console latency. Switch to IEMs, and latency may be audible as a subtle flange or comb filter on a vocal or acoustic guitar. There’s not much you can do about it, so be prepared to deal with it.
- Who Will Be the Monitor Engineer?
Running multiple IEM mixes can be a challenge, especially if there’s one engineer running the FOH mix and all those monitor mixes from the same desk. Ideally, there’s a separate monitor console with an engineer mixing strictly for the band (and it’s worth noting that some A-list bands with IEMs have more than one monitor engineer), but this can get expensive.
A good solution is a mixing console that supports Wi-Fi control via smart devices running a dedicated app. Apps from some manufacturers allow user access to every input channel, while others provide a simplified “band plus me” mix (See Fig. 2). Permissions can be set so that the bass player’s smart device can’t access the guitar player’s mix, and vice-versa, which is great for preventing fistfights between band members.
- The FOH Mix is Going to Change
This is usually a good thing, because wedges produce a lot of spill into the house, and often that spill is out of phase with the main P.A. system and can cause comb filtering. That lack of spill also means that audience members up front no longer hear vocals from the stage wedges and may not hear vocals at all, depending upon their location relative to the P.A. speakers. A front fill can fix this problem. Whether to use the front fill for vocals only or for the entire stereo mix depends upon the artist, the stage volume, the room and distance of the audience from the stage. In small- to medium-size theaters, I’ll at least put the vocals in the front fill as well as keyboards, because we don’t have any keyboard amps on stage. Some experimentation is required, but generally the switch to IEMs cleans up a lot of the crap that spills from wedge mixes, making for a better FOH mix.
Steve “Woody” La Cerra is the tour manager and front of house engineer for Blue Öyster Cult.
