Switching to in-ear monitor advice please

[ratkent]

My band is slowly coming around to the idea of in-ear monitoring. It's a four piece rock band (guitar, keys, bass, drums) with three singers and we are now playing with so little stage volume that we think in-ears will work. Our PA consists of 4 V-dosc Arcs and four L'Acoustic double 18 bottoms and we're very happy with the fidelity on that end. We're about to add some kind of smaller V-dosc enclosures for side fills to kind of fill up the front of the stage area so that the lack of stage volume won't be so dramatic close to the band.

 

Any in-ear advice or experiences are welcome including ideas on brands and models of drivers, wireless tranmitters, etc. We're really novices in this area.

[MrKnobs]

Welcome to the world of being able to hear yourself without backstrain and ringing ears the morning after.

 

As far as brands, IMO the only two decent options are Sennheiser and Shure. I checked out both brands when I first got into this and eventually decided on Shure. My thinking at the time was that I'd have the least trouble getting stuff fixed if needed, and the highest probability of buying/borrowing replacement gear 1, 2, or 5 years down the road.

 

Thus far, my experience with Shure's PSM400 and PSM200 systems make me feel I made a good decision. To be fair, my bassist uses a Sennheiser system and he likes it, except for the earbuds which he replaced with a set of Shure E1s.

 

If you're on a tight budget, I'd recommend checking out the PSM200 system, maybe at www.filamentaudio.com where I've found some of the lowest prices and reliable delivery. The PSM200 system can be run wired or wireless, which, as far as I know, is unique to this product. The advantage of this is that you can spring for the belt packs first, and then add the transmitters later when you have some more cash, and still use the same belt packs.

 

Don't know if you need this feature or not, but the PSM200 "transmixer" actually combines a two channel mixer with the transmitter, so you can mix two instruments or set of instruments right on stage at your transmitter. This is very handy at smaller gigs, if your board doesn't have enough auxes, or if you just want a handy "more me" control.

 

Lately Shure has added an "ambient" mike option to the PSM200 system. I'd actually been doing that for a while now using a Radio Shack lavalier mike plugged into the line input on the PSM200 beltpack. This is very neat, it takes away some of the isolation you feel when wearing earbuds, and lets you hear things like the audience and cues on stage. Before adding the ambience mike, I used to set up an omni condenser mike on stage and add that to the in ear mix to fill the same purpose.

 

I also have some Shure PSM400 systems. I think I paid $800 / set at filament audio way back when. The PSM200s are considerably cheaper, but the PSM400s are stereo. This means you can do two mixes per transmitter. I have two PSM400 transmitters in my rack sending 4 AUX mixes to the stage, works great for me. Alternately, you can run "more me" where you can actually turn up your vocal or whatever right at your belt pack, which is very cool. Or, for an evil thrill (if you have the cash), you can listen in stereo. I don't know anyone who does that other than in my studio, where I also use in ears.

 

Both the PSM200 system and PSM400 system are frequency agile, meaning you can change frequencies to find a clear spot and put everyone on their own mix, provided you have the auxes and transmitters to do so. Some other units have the frequency set at the factory, making it a pain to get it changed.

 

Up until recently, I always said the PSM400 system is better if you can afford it. This is due to my love of the "more me" knob and my obsessive desire to carry the best PA in the lightest, smallest configuration. But the new ambient pack thing is really addictive. I currently use both, keeping the 400 system in my FOH rack and the 200 system loose for smaller gigs. I use both systems myself, and I provide them to others for shows where I run sound.

 

There are three Shure earbuds that I'm aware of; I've heard rumors of another in development but haven't seen it first hand so I can't comment on that one. The E1 system, which comes with the PSM400, is the standard earbud that everyone is familiar with. Small, simple, and sounds good, you just need to get a good seal between your ear and the foamie if you want lots of bass. The E2 system, which comes with the PSM200, sounds pretty similar to the E1, IMO. The bass character is a little different (the E2 barrel is larger for some reason) between the E1 and E2, but I wouldn't say either has more bass, just that they peak at different bass frequencies. The E5 is the current flagship earbud, having separate drivers for bass and treble, and sounds absolutely wonderful. I think you can pick one up for $350 or so, which is too rich for my blood.

 

I've had no problems of any sort so far with either system, other than theft and once when a PSM400 system got dropped and the antenna broken (hadn't racked it yet). Shure is very good at fixing things with quick turnaround, and their repair prices are very forgiving.

 

In summary, I'm very happy with my IEM system(s). I don't have any experience (other than when first shopping) with the Sennheisers, so I don't have much to say on that except that my bassist likes them because of the tone control on the belt pack and it has proved reliable for him, other than the ear buds that he replaced.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Terry D.

[Rbts]

Wow, what a nice informatiovepost that was!!!

 

I have shure E1 buds, and I like them just fine.

 

Shure offers an optional triple flange ear piece that cost $10, that not many people seem to know about... but it sets in the ear really well, and is well worth the $ 10 in my opinion. It is much more confortable than the foam things. Even the sales staff at the guitar center looked at me like I was daffy when I asked for them, but when I insisted that they get in the literature and find them, they did, and then they could roder them for me.