For the past couple month's I've been experimenting with a new tool during my live shows. You may have seen me playing out with what appear to be headphones on. It sounds a bit odd, but that's on purpose. They're basically headphones (or earbuds), but typically in live sound, you'd call them in-ear monitors (IEMs). IEMs allow audio engineers (or whoever is doing the live sound) to directly pipe the music right into the performer's ears. The performer can then very clearly hear the sound of the music they're making, and no one has to deal with putting speakers on stage.
Benefits of IEMs
Having the sound pushed directly to the ears like this, let's the performer hear things at a lower volume. When you're using stage monitors, you need to make sure the music can be heard clearly above the sound of the other performers, then crowd, and anything else that may be near the stage. Anyone who has stood near an acoustic drum kit knows what I mean when I say that it can get loud.
One of the main functions of IEMs is to isolate the ear from the sound of the outside world, blocking out the crowd, the instruments, and all the other unnecessary noise the performer doesn't need to hear. Once that's done, clean, mixed sound can then be played at a much lower (and safer) level for the performer.
Another reason I'm switching to them is due to the simpler setup. I never really bothered to setup stage monitors before due to just how much of a pain it is. Stage monitors are basically giant speakers that are setup on stage and face the performer. With the IEMs, I can just slap on a wireless receiver pack, plug in, and I can hear just fine.
Drawbacks
One of the great things about IEMs is also a bit of a down side; you can setup a completely separate mix for the musician on the stage versus what the crowd hears. If you're a singer for example, you can have a different version of the music that has more vocals and less acoustic guitar. Or the bass player could have the drums turned up a bit more. Each musician can have a different mix for themselves so they're able to perform at their best. However, this can add a lot of complexity to a given setup. Not only does the person who's doing sound need to carefully balance the mix for the audience, they also need to balance the mix for everyone else.
IEMs are also a highly personal piece of gear. IEMs are designed to fit comfortable in your ears and be almost unnoticeable. The gross reality of sharing earbuds aside, each person's ears are different, and some people may find one brand more comfortable then another. This isn't such an issue for me in my solo shows, but for band shows it was something I needed to consider when setting up the sound for acts like the Jake Duo and Taylor Marie's band.
What to Expect at Shows
Ideally, you won't notice much of a difference from when I played without monitoring, but there are a couple things I've noticed since I started using them:
- I'm not singing as hard. I can clearly and hear myself, I'm not singing nearly as hard as I used to. Not having stage monitors means I can turn up the microphone without worrying about feedback (the death screech sound systems make when something is turned up too much). With more sensitive mics, I don't have to push as hard and can spend more effort on articulations and making sure I'm in tune.
- Less messing with the mix. I don't have to mess with the house mix to be able to hear it anymore. Previously, I'd have to balance making the show sound good for the audience, while also being able to clearly hear myself. Now, I can have my cake and eat it too!
- My guitar playing can be calmer and smoother. Trying to play guitar softly while singing loudly is a bit of a trick for your brain. With the freedom of singing quietly, I can also play quietly. Of course, this is all relative, I'll still turn everything up enough for everyone to hear it.
- I might not hear requests as clearly. As mentioned earlier, IEMs are really designed to remove the sound of the outside world. This includes requests and comments from the crowd. I'll have another news post coming out that will explain how I plan to get around this, but for now just be aware that I am basically playing with headphones on, and might not hear requests immediately.