In-ear monitoring - where to start?

[JonnyM]

I'm in an experimental/Gothic duo: guitar (miked amp), bass, 2 x vox and backing track (run from an iPod on stage) and we really need to go to in-ear monitoring due to generally bad monitors in most of the venues we play! We don't jump around (!) so wired IEMs will work fine.

We could just split the iPod output and send the track to the DI/FOH and a 2 channel headphone amp of some kind (on stage and in between us). Obviously we'd only have the backing track in the IEMs, so we'd still need to rely on house monitors for vox etc... Not ideal.

My question is: how can we get everything in our IEMs using a - fairly - simple setup?

(Would the bass feed and guitar mic signal have to go into a mixer before going to the FOH? Is there a mixer out there that can send the bass feed, guitar mic signal and backing track to the FOH and give us separate IEM mixes? Am I dreaming? )

Edited November 14, 2010 by JonnyM

[Noisyjon]

The way it's done in my line of work would be like this:
Mic/Guitar/Bass feeds plugged into a mic splitter unit.
1 set of the splits goes to FOH and another set will go to the Monitor mixer for your IEMs.

You could then connect the monitor mixer to a headphone amp.

Hope that helps in some way,

Regards,
Jon

[JonnyM]

[quote name='jonthebass' post='1023705' date='Nov 14 2010, 06:30 PM']The way it's done in my line of work would be like this:
Mic/Guitar/Bass feeds plugged into a mic splitter unit.
1 set of the splits goes to FOH and another set will go to the Monitor mixer for your IEMs.

You could then connect the monitor mixer to a headphone amp.

Hope that helps in some way,

Regards,
Jon[/quote]

Yes it does, thanks. Shame they're not available in one box!

Do you have any suggestions for brands/models?

[mcgraham]

I have something similar to that - made by Max at SFX sound. Thread on here about it
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58228&hl=sfx%20monitor&st=20"]Click here![/url]

It\s great and forms an integral part of my rig.

[JonnyM]

[quote name='mcgraham' post='1024084' date='Nov 14 2010, 10:15 PM']I have something similar to that - made by Max at SFX sound. Thread on here about it
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58228&hl=sfx%20monitor&st=20"]Click here![/url]

It\s great and forms an integral part of my rig.[/quote]

Ah-ha! Now why didn't I think of asking Max first? I've dealt with him before and his work is 1st class.

Will drop him a line...

[Thurbs]

We are a 6 piece rock covers band and I often miss the keys/lead/my own vocals in the wall of noise we produce. I am working on getting the drummer to understand "dynamics" (an alien concept to most I know) but in the mean time I have ordered myself one of these:

[url="http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1696"]http://www.samsontech.com/products/product...cfm?prodID=1696[/url]

+

[url="http://www.acscustom.com/uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37&Itemid=47"]http://www.acscustom.com/uk/index.php?opti...7&Itemid=47[/url]

I know the moulded ear plugs are a bit OTT but I fly a lot on business and I think I will enjoy the 26dB isolation they give you!

Neither have arrived but I will update this thread when I have gigged with them next (11th Dec).

[WalMan]

[quote name='JonnyM' post='1023675' date='Nov 14 2010, 06:11 PM']I'm in an experimental/Gothic duo: guitar (miked amp), bass, 2 x vox and backing track (run from an iPod on stage) and we really need to go to in-ear monitoring due to generally bad monitors in most of the venues we play! We don't jump around (!) so wired IEMs will work fine.

We could just split the iPod output and send the track to the DI/FOH and a 2 channel headphone amp of some kind (on stage and in between us). Obviously we'd only have the backing track in the IEMs, so we'd still need to rely on house monitors for vox etc... Not ideal.

My question is: how can we get everything in our IEMs using a - fairly - simple setup?

(Would the bass feed and guitar mic signal have to go into a mixer before going to the FOH? Is there a mixer out there that can send the bass feed, guitar mic signal and backing track to the FOH and give us separate IEM mixes? Am I dreaming? )[/quote]
Bit expensive, but you could look at [url="http://www.aviom.com/AviomApplications/Monitor-Mixing.cfm"]Aviom[/url]. We use it so vereything goes into the stage box which feeds individual mixers - so we can each set our own mix of whatever is going into the stage box. Once it's in the stage box everything basically goes digital and runs on CAT5 cables either to our submixers (which convert back to feed the IEM's) or the FOH mixer, where it goes through a DAC into the desk (I think, not involved in that end)