intime-nick

Don’t use Boots for impressions - I was stung for a load of money for mine and they were rubbish. They didn’t know how to do an open-mouth impression (neither did I at the time to be fair - I do now). Go to a professional audiologist who specialise / have experience with taking impressions for IEMs not just hearing aids or earplugs. Knowing what I know now, I’d have gone straight to see Paul at the Custom IEM Co. to get my impressions done (LUGS are great btw - I have a set of their custom quads as well as my UE6s)

might have something red and 'hapticky'....you never know 😉

We've had our XR18 for 18 months or so - done a fair few gigs and it's great. I play with no backline and IEMs and use the in-built 'sansamp' effect for my bass plus the usual parametric EQ, comp etc. All racked up with my wireless guitar Rx and IEM Tx - makes for a very easy and consistent sounding setup (plus i mix the band out front during soundcheck) Get a dual band external router, set it to 5GHz only, use any compatible 5GHz tablet (i use an Amazon Fire 10 with a side-loaded google store so i can use Mixing Station Pro which i find better than the official app) and jobs a gud'un

That’s what I’m after, thanks for the link 😀

I’m looking at getting some acoustically transparent scrims printed with our band logo to magnetically attach to our PA cab fronts (which rather helpfully have steel grilles). Most places we play there’s nowhere to attach a backdrop/banner and setting up a frame to hold such things is one more bit of kit we haven’t got the time/inclination to put up/carry to gigs when we already have 4x cars full of stuff already. Pop-up banners are OK I suppose but they remind me of the function/wedding band I used to play with so I’d rather avoid the association this time 😉

I'm on it boss ! The amp is coming along nicely 😀

I found these to be quite a good fit on my ZS10s : Earphone Tips Replacement 6 Pairs, New Bee Earphone Foam Tips Premium Memory Foam Earbuds Soft Cushion Noise Cancelling Earpad Suitable for In Ear bud & Headphones with 5mm-7mm Tips (S/M/L, Black) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071NZJ7QR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TPXwCbC4VNCB6

I took my hand off the neck to write this reply mid-gig but then realised the futility of this discussion....

does it kill rock 'n roll ? if so, i'll have one 🤣

hehe.....😀

i'll dig it out and have a look - it's not very powerful at all but runs the XR mixer windows software just fine (i think we even recorded a gig with it once via USB)

i use a Amazon Fire 10 tablet (with a side-loaded app store for Mixing Station Pro) for wireless mixing and a cheapo windows tablet with add on keyboard which can be hardwired to the router in case of wireless issues (not that it's ever happened but a wired backup is always a good idea)

re. the XR mixers : you can switch the FX channels / inserts on/off i believe via a midi footswitch but i haven't done that myself (yet). I think some people have used the Behringer FCB1010 to do this and there are some custom made switch boxes available

Oh, cool. At least they’ve put it in a ‘proper’ case and not that ghastly one with the cheap and wobbly control pots they use for the fly-rig / dug preamp. Will be interested to hear it and how it differs from my Sansamp bass driver pedals.

I go direct from wireless into an XR18 (with IEMs & no backline) & have done so for the past 8-9 months at quite a few gigs. I split my input into two channels (one for FOH, one for IEMs), insert the stereo Sansamp guitar effect Into the input channel and run a cab sim on the IEM side and none on the FOH) and it works for me with pretty much zero setup time (as it’s all racked). I also use the inbuilt parametric EQ, compressor and noise gate on the separate channels - it basically replaces the Helix LT I was using as a glorified non-changing pedalboard and now I have no cables, no buttons to press and it sounds the same at every gig and I couldn’t be happier The XR12/16/18 as a bass preamp is a great idea imho. I realise this doesn’t have much to do with FRFR (apart from possibly using the PA) but I did use a Yamaha DBR15 as a stage monitor for a while using a similar setup (via an aux channel on the XR18) - it was only for the rest of the band to hear and now I just send the bass via their own monitors and the drummer has it via his IEMs and his P&D drum throne.

I’ve been trying to convince our drummer who owns the band PA to sell his (albeit nice) Yamaha DXR12 tops and DXS12 sub for a pair of these but he’s not convinced (yet) - we run the whole band through the PA so I know it’s just a matter of time before he cracks ! He did say at practice last night that he’d like to hear a pair of 745s at a gig before making his mind up but trying to rent or find a pair to loan is a bit of a challenge. Might just get these and bypass the drummer !

As with all these things, you’d have to try them to see if you liked them (and whilst they are pretty cheap, it’s still something you have to take a chance on) i personally quite like them for listening to bass-heavy music - I’m most definitely no audiophile and they work for that genre of music for me (I wouldn’t mix or set up a Heilx patch on them though). I still think they are a great way to get into IEMs, combined with a Behringer P1 and a custom stereo cable from OBBM, they will give you a good insight into the slippery slope of IEM usage 😉😉 having said all that - no matter how good the tips seal on a universal, they will never match the audio joy of a custom moulded IEM and I only wish I’d done it sooner.

yes, is the short answer - i have both and they aren't even in the same ballpark they aren't the most accurate sounding universal IEMs but have headroom where it counts and sound good on a gig (maybe not for critical istening perhaps). i always take mine to gigs in case someone needs a pair (with new tips !). for the money - i think they're great the supplied tips are not to my personal liking so i got some memory foam ones from amazon (i think) and they sealed a lot better but some people find the std. ones OK

To my untrained ears, there is nothing in it (UE6 vs LUGS quads - 2x low, 1xmid, 1xhigh arrangement). There is a price difference of course and that’s down to a few factors in my eyes - recognised brand vs relatively unknown brand, nicer presentation of the UEs (what you’d expect from a bigger manufacturer - nice box, branding, flashier cables etc) all of which means very little when in use and in no way reflects on the quality or value for money aspect of the LUGS product To be totally honest, I’m using my UE6s more than my quads which is purely down to them being a better fit - this is not a reflection on the quality of the LUGS moulds, but is totally down to the shoddy impressions I had done at Boots (which I didn’t realise at the time and paid over the odds for). Rob @ LUGS has now started using the same 3D scanning / 3D printed shells that are used by almost all the other manufacturers and I will have zero hesitation going back to him to get my current LUGS reshelled with some correct impressions (when I ever get the time !). The quality of service from LUGS has been outstanding as has, I should add, the custom IEM company (where I got my UE6s from) as I now run zero backline in one of the bands I’m in, I always like to take a spare set of IEMs as that’s my only way of monitoring so although it may seem a bit extravagant, I see it as being no different to carrying a backup amp. As has been mentioned on here numerous times, the biggest breakthrough is getting custom moulded IEMs (irrespective of manufacturer - with the exception of ACS, ahem 😉), running in stereo, with a personalised mix - it’s the biggest, most important change I’ve made in 35 or so years of playing and I really struggle to understand why it’s not the accepted thing nowadays

i think it may be steam powered 😁😁😁 that does seem to be the case - maybe it's a bass player thing but i do seem to inherit the job in pretty much every band i join !

Hi Russ - indeed, we have an XR18 in the other band - it's a great bit of kit for the money and that's what i'll be pushing them to get. I've already planted the seeds of a much quieter backline / more FOH setup to achieve a more balanced/controlled/professional sound and the singer is keen on using IEMs as well - just the pesky guitarist and drummer to work on !! It's still early days but i will persuade them somehow (i did it with the other band so i'll try the same approach with this one) You would be amazed at their current PA setup - i haven't seen Marshall passive 12" tops and a powered 'mixer' that old for a VERY long time !! 250W of pure power.....

I was at the first rehearsal with another band last night without my IEMs (was using some ACS Pro17 plugs) - awful, just awful - I am so used to being able to hear myself in glorious stereo that it made the whole experience pretty difficult (as an aside, it also reminded me how bloody loud acoustic drums and cymbals are - having a drummer with a very nice e-kit in the other band makes me appreciate that setup even more - plus the e-kit sounds so much better) as they don't have any way of running an IEM mix off the desk (it's a bit primative to say the least and i will be pushing them to upgrade at the earliest possible opportunity), I have just tried the Zoom recorder idea mentioned above and it might be a reasonable work-around for now. I have an old Zoom H1 recorder with stereo mics, variable input gain and 1/8" TRS out - just tried it with my P1 and UE6's and, whilst it won't give me a dedicated mix, it will at least allow me to control the volume. how anyone plays in a loud band without IEMs is beyond me - having gone back to the 'dark side' for one practice has proved what i already knew and i really don't want to go back to that again

http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/iems/ultimate-ears-ue-6-pro-custom-in-ear-monitors.html

They seem pretty expensive for what you’re getting. A triple driver LUGS custom would be the same price as the SE215 based version above and, having had a set of 215s, I know where my money would be going. For £600, I’d be looking at a set of UE6 Pro customs (£615) or any of the multi-driver LUGS customs.