Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 Figured i'd stop in and pick you guys' brains for a while. I sing for a rock/alternative band and we've grown rather busy as of late. We're booked up for every weekend from now through summer already and we're looking to shave some time off our load in and set up time and ideally i'd like to save some voice. Singing 4 hours of hard rock music night after night takes it's toll on you. Anyways, i'm thinking about going with in ear monitors. Currently all we run through the monitors is vocals, backing vocals, and acoustic guitar. One of my main concerns is if i was to buy an iem setup would the entire band need to have a set of monitors to avoid getting lost on the song. I'm trying to budget around $400 for a new or used rackmountable iem setup. Any suggestions? Educate me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rovito Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 At the $400 mark you will run into a good bit of frustration. You will likely double that amount when all is said and done for even a budget system. I use a Shure PSM 400 with good results but am always looking into better ear buds. I have looked into many but have only used the Shure. My drummer tried the Carvin system with nothing but frustration and failure. He now uses a set of M audio buds with better results.The band will still be able to hear you because you will still be running into the board for FOH and then into their monitors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blkmonday Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 look for a used galaxy audio unit on ebay...then pick up better earbuds new. i picked up a set of shure buds on clearance at musicians friend. whole system ran around 300 bucks and it sounds great. galaxy iem get a lot of love on this website. made my own ear molds as well from some instruction i got on here also...couldnt be happier. i play with a band that uses pretty high stage volume (grrrr!) the ear molds cut down the stage noise and i can hear myself just fine and find that im not straining anymore after a 4 hour show and i can control my pitch much easier from wherever i am on stage. i highly recommend the galaxy unit. stay away from the carvin,nady,behringger and all the lower priced units. the shure and senheisers are awesome too...just too damn expensive for my tatse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 I was thinking of getting rid of our monitors to save on time, space, feedback, ect. and just go to the iem system. I was curious if you guys had any experience with the band only hearing the vocals out of FOH with no monitors. One option would be for the entire band to wear iem but i don't know how they'd feel about that. It also seems pretty expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blkmonday Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 i still run wedges for the band....but only 2 small 12" boxes. 1 for the drummer and one for my bassist. my guitarist has in ears as well. i think your band wouldnt be happy with using only the vocal sound from f.o.h. it wouldnt be loud enough for them. i pretty much only run vocals to both wedges..but mix a little of everything to the in ears. start off with your own in ears and talk the rest of the guys into buying there own units as time goes on...or make them supply and carry in there own wedges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 I don't think the FOH would be loud enough for them either. Makes me wonder why all the iem setups only come with 1 reciever. You'd think there would be kits available for different sized bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phil gatto Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 I've been either singing and/or playing the drums now for 4yrs with the Shure PSM400. It's mid-line and offers pro level reliability and it is adaptable most any situation. About $400-550 can be had without the in-ears. Since having it, I have used Shure's E1, E3, E5 and the PTH530 in-ear monitors. Had (2) failures with E1's, once was away overseas on tour, and that really hurt me. Anything from the E3's up have been fine. Eventually, the connection where the wire attaches to the monitor will wear from fatigue and be the likely cause of failure over time. Longevity is extremely vairable and will depend on the number of hours used along with how delicate you treat them. I would expect a minimum of 5 years if you are reasonably careful. One other important issue is to overcome the inability to hear the ambient sound (audience and other musicians) when wearing the monitors. Shure has attempted to solve this with the PTH520 by adding a small microphone to the in-ears that can be contolled with an on/off switch and volume control. Fairly easy to use, and seems to work okay, but the switch will go through many on/off cycles and is likely to fail first. This concept is very good but needs further development to be ideal. The other option is to add a stage mic or two strategically located to hear the audience. For the stage, a mic near the backline, connected only to your monitor channel, will allow other musicians to communicate with you with you having to take the ears on and off so many times. It will be the custom ear mold that is the key to your satisfaction. When singing extended jaw movement, and facial muscle flexing, can easily break the seal. Getting a proper fitted mold from an audiologist is recommended, and will be made to fit the specific in-ear monitor. In the big picture, it is a small price ($150) to pay for the added value they provide. Keeping them sealed properly during a show can be a pain even with a good fit. Fundementally, it is the signal to noise ratio that is in play here, and the consequences are dramatic. So all together to get started at the right place, expect to budget at least $700 initially, with about a average of $50 to $75 yearly maintenance expense. The major benefit will be to get studio quality sound and volume relative volume control, matter how poor the venue stage acoustics will be. Best wishes and good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 Thats true, i didn't think about that. Hearing the audience is also an important factor in our show. We interact with the crowd on almost every song. Usually during shows i spend half the time out in the crowd with a wireless mic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 I'm trying to budget around $400 for a new or used rackmountable iem setup. Any suggestions? Educate me. If you are really booked every weekend until summer, why are you stuck on $400? They will save your back and your vocals. They are expensive but well worth it especially if you are busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 3, 2010 Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 One other important issue is to overcome the inability to hear the ambient sound (audience and other musicians) when wearing the monitors. Shure has attempted to solve this with the PTH520 by adding a small microphone to the in-ears that can be contolled with an on/off switch and volume control. Fairly easy to use, and seems to work okay, but the switch will go through many on/off cycles and is likely to fail first. This concept is very good but needs further development to be ideal. We have been using the Shure ambient kits for over 5 years without a single problem. We keep our in ears in all night and use the ambient mics for holding conversations during breaks. It works flawlessly. In ears REQUIRE a very tight soundproof fit or you will not hear any bass. We have three pieces and each of us has our own transmitter and mix. You can use as many receivers as you want per transmitter. All manufacturers offer receivers as an add on to the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 3, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 3, 2010 $400 just because i'm not filthy rich. If i had more money laying around i'd use it. I definatly want to start using the iem's but i don't know if i can convince the rest of my band to come off a few hundred dollars to buy they're own recievers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 It's kind of all or nothing. You will need everything miced, in case you dont do that now. In order to get them to work correctly you need to rely on them only and not on stage sound at all. It does take some getting used to but is well worth it. It probably won't work if the rest of the guys don't go along with you. My point was you are heavily booked so you should be making money. Use some of that income to buy the new in ear system. You will save your voice with the in ears. Our 49 year old lead singer used to be in pain after a 4 hour show. Now his voice is as strong on the last tune as it is on the first. It is all due to the in ears and the fact he doesn't need to scream or struggle to hear himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members surfrockbmxer1 Posted January 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 yes we're fully mic'ed. I wasn't aware that everything gets pumped through the in ears. I always thought the stage volume bled through and i would get a slight vocal boost into the ears. But the total isolation with the whole band piped in does sound pretty appealing as well. Like you said it does sound like its all or nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members samkokajko Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 The Sennheiser IEM G2s are going for $350-450 or so new since they came out with the G3s. I've never used them personally but people seem to love them even on large tours. Also if you look around the Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 earbuds are going for $100-150 on eBay new since they blew them out recently. I bought a pair as did some other forum members and they sound awesome (getting custom molds made this week for them). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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