Question:
When Using A In Ear Monitor As a Guitarist and Lead Vocalist, What Should I Concentrate On?
Max
2015-08-23 20:22:58 UTC
Hello and thanks for any answers I get! I'm currently 16 and have been playing guitar for 8 to 9 years now and am a pretty good vocalist in my opinion at least. But I've played with a group of guys for a bit but unlike them, I really want to take music more seriously, while at the same time maintaining the love I have for playing my indie rock style. I haven't even started looking for members for a new band I want to put together, but I'm going to ask this question sometime so might as well do it now. I plan on using an In Ear Monitor (IEM). IEMs just straight up make a musician more precise with what they want to play, and how they want it to sound and the way I sound is a huge part of my playing, both vocally and with my guitar. But in your opinion what would be the most important category of audio here? Should I be listening to myself sing? (Note: I'm a lead vocalist) or should I be listening more to my guitar levels/sound? (I plan to evenly distribute the guitar parts with the other guitarist). I really appreciate your time and can't wait to hear what all of you have to say.
Four answers:
?
2015-08-24 05:13:01 UTC
Buying IEMs for monitoring a band that doesn't even exist yet, still less have any gigs, is really putting the cart before the horse. It's great that you're seeking opinions and doing research, but for goodness' sake don't drop hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a system that will sit unused in your closet.



What goes into your IEM is not really a function of the IEM itself - it comes from the mixing board. Boards vary in how many monitor mixes they are capable of - a big expensive board can give everyone their own, while a cheap board is only going to handle one or two monitor sends. Those can go to wedges or IEMs, but it's the same mixes. It's just a question of whether you're getting whatever the mix is from a speaker on the floor in front of you or straight into a headphone. The advantage of an IEM is not that it gives you your own mix - the board does that - but that it allows you to control the volume and block out the rest of the sound in the room, which will be a mercy to your hearing over the long run.



As far as what should go into your monitor mix - #1 priority is your own vocals, if you're singing. It's very hard to stay on pitch when you can't hear yourself. In a loud show, you can literally be shouting and still not hear your own voice. Little secret, though; if you wear a pair of $15 musician's earplugs, they will cut the volume of the room while keeping it clear (even frequency cut), but since you hear your own voice through the bones of your skull rather than the air, you will still be able to hear your own pitch.



If you're also playing guitar, you will want to hear yourself - there the question will be if you need the monitor to do that. If your amp is loud enough and the isolation of the headphones is not too great, you may not need it in the mix.



The other major priority would be that you need to hear the drums. That's what will keep you on the beat. Drummers are effectively the conductors of rock bands, holding everyone together. Depending on the gig, the drums may not be mic'd at all, or just the kick drum, or the whole kit (also depends on how many feeds the mixing board can take...). If they are mic'd, you can have it in your monitor. Again, depends on how isolating your headphones are to decide if you need it or not. Some people take their cues more off the kick drum, others more off the snare.



As for everything else - bass, other guitars, etc. - it's really up to you. Personally I would find it weird to be performing and not hear the rest of the band at all. If you're singing lead, backing vocals can be more distracting to hear than useful - you can get drawn off to their harmonies rather than staying on melody. Everyone else needs to hear the melody to harmonize to, but not so much vice versa.



Bear in mind that what you hear in the monitors is rarely what the audience hears in the house. Obviously, if you have a custom monitor mix, they crowd is getting a different mix from you. Also, acoustics can vary the sound tremendously, and the acoustics are totally different from room to room and situation to situation. Just this weekend I played an outdoor party where the band (only) was under a tent. The tent roof caught our sound and reverbed it down on our heads. My bass sounded amazingly meaty and rich and I was in heaven. Step out from under the tent and it was a whole other story - much more subdued bass and the vocals cut through much clearer. Which is good - I don't think the people would have liked hearing my bass as dominant as I did. Took a lot of tweaking over the first few songs to get the outside-the-tent mix right.
Russell E
2015-08-26 10:19:37 UTC
personally if using an in ear monitor, I'd only have the vocals patched in....not "loudly" but enough to be able to hear if you are on key.

If you are miking all the amps then you need to adjust levels "pre-gig" and do not turn up your amps and get into an amp war situation. Adjust your rhythm and stompbox effects so that "leads" are just slightly higher volume.

If in a small club, you don't need a monitor at all really..

Just level the PA so that when you vocal test you can hear your voice clearly without distortion and you can hear a bit of echo off the back walls. That way you don't have to eat the microphone or shout to be heard.

And keep the guitar amps in check.

Small clubs don't need a lot of volume. getting a balanced sound is much more important.

Remember, your vocals are just as or more important than the guitars, so you need to compete against bass and two guitars, drums and keyboard amps(if you have one)

because most songs are lyric driven, and if you sound distorted or the other instruments are so loud you have to shout your vocals, the quality of the final product suffers.
?
2015-08-25 09:33:31 UTC
If you plan to use IEM's you better have one damn good sound guy that you really trust. Something goes wrong and you get huge feedback through an IEM and your hearing is toast!!
Why?
2015-08-23 20:26:16 UTC
etet


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