anybody using in ear monitor for live performance?

Buy a Yamaha DXR10 you won't be dissapointed these sound great, very light and a 7 year warranty

I've been using IEMs only with the KPA since I got it. Since I would like to have my hearing 20 years from now I will never go back. Hearing everything clearly at a reasonable volume with your own custom mix is like pure heaven. I played without them at rehearsal a few weeks ago and it was miserable!

I also have a mixer in my rack so I can adjust the monitor volume of the KPA on the fly, along with the amount of monitor send from the board.

I like hearing everything, not being blasted out though--our stage volume is pretty massive even with no floor monitors.

J

What IEM's do you use I have always thought of getting some

I am using a set of ultimate ears custom pro 4s. They are the cheapest level of custom mold IEMs they offer, and they sound great. I play a lot at church where they want a very low stage volume. They sound great and allow me to dial in everything the way I want to hear it.

We use the aviom monitoring system so everyone has personal control of 16 channels of audio.

UE offers an option where you can control how much ambient or room sound you want to hear with several filters.

I used to love the feel and sound of a cranked tube amp, but now with the kemper I am not missing it too much and focusing more on pure tones any my playing.

Sean

+1 for IEMs. I love the clarity and consistency of sound. No matter where I stand, I hear everything at the perfect volume. As a guitarist who sings, being able to hear my vocals keeps me on pitch much better than floor monitors.

bd

I got some IEMs about a yr ago, i love the concept unfortunately they were a bit on the bright side and made my tone harsh so i didnt enjoy them. Theyve gotten better with time from breaking in but still. We bought a shure system (old one called the expander) for controlin the mix. Wonder if some eq will fix the problem tho. Joptunes did u have that problem with the UEs or did they sound good out of the box? I think mine are a quad driver, the bass is well defined but i have a trouble with the highs as i mentionned they seem overemphasized.

One more very important thing to mention:
The obvious use of In ears is for live playing and i believe its very important to have. But one other helpful aspect is for us who want to profile and dont always have access to a studio. Being in the same room with the amp makes it very difficult to mic the cab which is maybe the most important step. Custom molds will give u a good degree of isolation.
Great for refining as well which as u know, is again very important.

Even with the problem ive had with mine (eq wise) its still helpful enough and a very good indicator of what im doing

I use them occasionally. I don't love them though. Everything sounds a bit mushy once the whole band is in the mix. I run my own mix, but the kemper just doesn't sound the same in the ears. Im using westone UM3X and a galaxy 1100 system.

The biggest issue with IEMs is the EQ. If you run direct to PA and use FRFR amplification then what you dial in tone-wise is what you get in your IEMs. If you use a mic'd guitar cab, then there is a good chance that the tone directly from the KPA won't match your cab tone at all. If, instead, you monitor the mic'd cab with your IEMs and its too bright, you will need EQ applied to your IEMs if possible. Most guitar cabs are brighter than they sound from a players position because you don't stick your ear hole in the same place the mic is positioned!

IEMs work best (easiest) for those of us running FRFR and feeding the PA directly.

Also, panning the instruments slightly in the IEM mix really helps seperate the sounds and add depth/clarity. You get this naturally with back line, vocal monitors, and drums coming from different angles but lose this with tight fitting (isolated) mono mixed IEMs.

bd

I run straight to the PA--no speakers needed if the sound is being done correctly. Most if not all sound guys are very happy when there is no stage volume (other than drums of course) to deal with. But, we do our own sound 95% of the time and run a digital board. I wish we had the Aviom system--some of you guys are spoiled!

I have the board give me a mix without any guitar, then run the board mix and Monitor Output of the Kemper into a Mixer on my rack so I can control the levels of each on the fly. I do pan the guitar slightly one way and mix the other to give some separation. Then I can EQ if needed but, I usually only dial out some low end from the board mix. If you have good enough IEMs I'm not sure why you would need to EQ--the lower end models have a serious high end rolloff but, that can also be okay since it saves your hearing. But, if you like highs you will have to spend more and get a better set of IEMs. My presets all sound perfect to me. WAY better than my mic-ed Marshall stack ever did in the IEMs or in the PA. My Marshall sounded great in the room but, unless you put 2-3 well placed mics on it, that sound didn't translate to the PA, whereas the KPA sounds like that with the turn of a chicken-head knob!

I use Shure SE-425s but, I hear the Westone stuff is good also.

YMMV

J

I use Beyerdynamic DTX 101 iE with otoplastiken. They are compatible to hearsafe and the sound is great for a one way unit.

There are a number of items that can alter your KPA tone before hitting the IEMs. I did a quick check comparing the headphone out of the KPA, to the Aviom outputs for our monitor mix. There was a very small difference when I was the only person playing and listening with a critical ear. Once the band joins in, you can't hear a difference.

My UEs sound great out of the box, and have dual drivers. They are not over hyped on the low end, but that keeps the bass nice and tight and keeps the low end distortion to a minimum. Personal preference on that point.

Only thing I'm missing today is the room ambience in our IEM setup. Everything is straight from the board with no room or verb ambience included. This will sound unnatural and most people won't like it. I keep the 12db ambient filter in so I get some room feel without being too muddy.

Takes time to get used to, but so far so good.
Sean

IEM's are great, but I'm used to moving air when I play, so I use a monitor amp onstage. I run the monitor out of the Kemper into the pwr amp in/fx return of my 3P amp for onstage volume to augment my ear monitor sound. The great thing is that the monitor output volume is independent of the foh and IEM volume, so I can dial it in til it feels right and it feels like having my normal amp sound onstage but with the added clarity of the IEM's. And while I would not recommend it to most people, I have been using just my left ear monitor and leaving my right ear open to hear the "room" and my stage amp for years, so I don't feel that "closed off in a closet" sound. The only thing you have to watch out for is blasting your IEM (and your left eardrum) to keep up with stage volume. I set the volume on my IEM pack with both ears in and then back it down just a tad when I take the right mold out. I am actually able to run it quieter because of the isolation and seal of the IEM. On terribly small stages where you can't run from drums and cymbals you just have to fight the urge to turn up sometimes.

I use inears with my KPA too. I get the monitor signal minus guitar from FOH and add my guitarsound using this:
http://www.thomann.de/de/art_mymonitor.htm

gosh the ultimate ears custom 4 pro are expensive: almost 500 euros!

anyone had experience with good IEM but less expensive? the UE are though used by names like Van Halen and Aerosmith............

We use a fully isolated IEM mix, direct gtrs/bass, mics split, everything goes into a MOTU 828mk3, 5 separate stereo mixes, sennheiser wireless, all controllable from an iphone/ipad. We use custom IEMs, mine are 4 drivers. Best low end I have ever heard. The MOTU has internal DSP (EQ, comp, verb) but will be upgrading to the behringer x32 rack when that finally comes out. Kemper, axefx, and a gsp1101. Everything changes via MIDI

We made the choice after this terrible sound guy almost fucked our hearing. A little louder does not mean 10db. With no amps, cabs, etc to move and setup, setup time is comparably the same. All gtr/bass stuff sits in one 12u that is super light, then drummer has a rack with all the computer stuff.

We are going to snake everything together with DB25 connections so setup will be lightning fast. Run power, two cables... uh... make sure guitar is tuned? That quick.

It takes time to 'learn' to love the dry sound. It's awkward at first but in the mix it isn't so bad. For those who have that mushy problem, if you can control eq, everything has too much low mids, sub lows, etc.

Quote from michaelmellner

gosh the ultimate ears custom 4 pro are expensive: almost 500 euros!

anyone had experience with good IEM but less expensive? the UE are though used by names like Van Halen and Aerosmith............

I use 1964 Ears and they are great. High quality and much more affordable than UE.

Also check out: AlienEars, Futuresonics, LiveWires, Westone.