Members SbrickwallS Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 Question for the forum, I am a drummer who gigs regularly. I currently use some simple Sony ear buds that are connected to my Tama Rhythm Watch that I use for a click during all songs. As all venues monitors are different, I am thinking about going to an In Ear Monitor to eliminate those with poor monitors. I'd like to hear some pros & cons of using them, some that are a good buy without breaking the bank, and if other drumers here use them along with a click of some kind.Thanks for any feedback on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aaronm72 Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 We currently have three of the Shure PSM 200 units and they work well. We are a variety band playing 2 shows a month average. My opinion the Sennheiser IEM is far superior but it is also another 1/3 to 1/2 more. I found our last unit on Craigslist for $300 and came with buds which was a really good deal. You want an inear that has limiters in them if they don't stay away. The Shure has this as well as two input channels which being a drummer myself I have a sampler with a click track that I plug into channel two. You can operate separate volumes from say the main monitor mix on ch1 and click track on ch2. Your overall volume is operated via the belt pack. You can also just buy the belt pack which is called a hybrid meaning your can go wired or wireless if you have a transmitter. I think it's a Shure H2R. Their are a few other IEM units that I would stay away from which are under $500 range. Last thing is don't skimp on the ear buds they are not created equal. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 In ears will definately give you consistancy from gig to gig. There is a big difference in low frequency responce between custom molded ones and off the shelf buds, especially in the lows (much better with custom molded). You also will have a lot more isolation with custom molded. I use mine to actually cut the volume on stage and listen at a lower level. As you are a drummer you should be able to work with wired units and stay away from the whole wireless mess about to happen. Besides, wireless units sound a bunch worse than wired units (except for Lectrrosonics at about $2500 ea). You can also achieve a 2 input mix using something as simple as a Rolls PM50 (for about $50). It has a mic and a monitor input so you can input the click on the mic input and the monitor send from the board on the monitor input and belnd between them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SbrickwallS Posted February 18, 2014 Author Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 That sounds like what I need man. And I'm assuming most of these units come with a peak limiter to prevent a soundman hurting you or a feedback issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 They pretty much all do. But having one is not the same as actually getting protection from one. Most people have a false sense of security about it IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aaronm72 Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yes also have custom ear molds as well. They have great bass response and isolation. I run my ears at very very low volumes when I play. It would pay you to be wired and invest more in the ear buds than a wireless unit in my opinion. Plus custom molded ear buds can be repaired. I have had one side go out and sent it for repair. I keep a $100 pair of Westones as backups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 +1 on wired for a drummer.As for buds, the SE215's from Shure are very good sounding IEM's and run around $100.00.There are tons of advantages (Pro's), so I am not going to go over them all here again.Some cons:Detachment from the band and audience.I had a drummer that lost dynamics when wearing IEM's since things didn't sound nearly as loud as they do ambiently.My entire band uses them and I would never go back to carrying around wedges and amps and dealing with feedback issues again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sbrett Posted February 18, 2014 Members Share Posted February 18, 2014 I'd definitely put more money towards the buds rather than whatever unit you go with. Our drummer uses a behringer MicroMon as his headphone amp which works fine. There are other options. As for the buds...I'm a guitar player and used Shure SCL5s until the cable broke. Just picked up a pair of Shure 425s with the detachable cable and they are great. To me the buds in the $300-$500 range are the best option for performance/price and well worth shelling out a bit more over the cheaper jobs. I could never justify anything more expensive. Go with the foam inserts and you'll get a great seal without the extra expense of custom molds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SbrickwallS Posted February 19, 2014 Author Members Share Posted February 19, 2014 Cool guys, thanks for the input. What about the speed and efficiency of using them? Most shows I do are split bill shows that typically gives about 20 minutes to tear down opening bands kit and set up second bands drums and be ready to go. I'm assuming my coverband gigs though will be much easier since I'd be the only drummer there that night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aaronm72 Posted February 19, 2014 Members Share Posted February 19, 2014 This May or may not work for you but I always was able to go to the monitor mixer and get an average setting of all the things I wanted to hear before heading to the stage. Example is I always liked a heavy bass guitar so that was dialed up more than say guitar. I dialed in instruments in percentages on the dials/knobs. Doesn't always work that way but can get you close. This takes a little time to master. Another suggestion is at some point to get a monitor board with a split snake. We ran this way for venues with in house sound. Currently we have a digital board that saves all our monitor settings and it's plug and play. Your going the right direction with trying in ears and getting the best setup your dollars can obtain. The feedback is another GREAT point as my group never has feedback unless the acoustic guitar is not muted and starts to sing and our sound guy is scrambling to find the rumble like last Saturday:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators MarkGifford-1 Posted February 19, 2014 Moderators Share Posted February 19, 2014 SbrickwallS wrote:Cool guys, thanks for the input. What about the speed and efficiency of using them? Most shows I do are split bill shows that typically gives about 20 minutes to tear down opening bands kit and set up second bands drums and be ready to go. I'm assuming my coverband gigs though will be much easier since I'd be the only drummer there that night. Stick with wedges, on multi-band bills - there's no way you're going to have the time to work with the soundguy to tweak in your personal mix.IMHO, on the local level, IEMs are only practical if you play full night shows, and bring your own production w/you. To do it succesfully, every instrument needs to be mic'ed, and you need a soundguy w/a console that can give everyone what they need.If you don't do it correctly, which costs a lot of money and takes a lot of time, you won't be satisfied.MG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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