We don’t hide the fact that we’re a little biased toward live in-ear monitors. In fact, some of the information we’ll provide here may even shed some light on why we love IEMs so much. In our last blog about the different types of stage monitors, we listed out some pros and cons of each type.
Here we’ll provide 5 very important reasons why we think in-ear monitors are the far superior option — no matter which type of live band you’re involved with (touring artist, worship band, local artist, etc).
There was a German study that analyzed health records of working musicians from 2004 to 2008. And it was found that working musicians were four times more likely to suffer noise-induced hearing loss than those working in any other profession.
Let’s face it. When you’re playing on stage with a couple wedges pointed right at your face, you’re gonna get blasted with a wall of sound in most cases. Your live monitor sound will need to out-power your traditional drum set.
With an in-ear monitor system — and some good sound-isolating earbuds — you at least have the option to reduce your sound to safer levels.
This may not be a problem for those musicians who prefer to hangout in their corner of the stage. But for those who enjoy being able to move even a couple feet either direction, the limits of wedge monitors really expose themselves here.
Keep in mind, every speaker has a sweet spot. And you won’t hear the monitor mix as well if you’re not directly in front of it. It’s one of the glaring reasons why in-ear monitors are far superior in this case. As long as you keep within range of the IEM system, you’ll get the same mix no matter where you decide to stroll on (or off) stage.
As long as you opt for a good, stereo IEM system… you’ll win on quality in almost every case. Again, most wedge monitor setups are designed to blast a monitor mix out of a horn and speaker… and then hope for the best. In-ear systems can give you a fantastic set of options, depending on what you want to hear.
Some musicians who use IEMs even pan their mixes in relation to where each musician is on stage. Some just like to enjoy a “CD quality” mix. Either way, you won’t get those options sticking with the ol’ wedge setup.
When you’ve got a drummer going at full strength, guitars blazing, and maybe a keyboard or 2 thrown in the mix… there’s a big risk for a vocalist to strain their voice. And that’s their instrument. Lose that, and sorry… they’re not playing tonight.
Sure, you can crank up their vocals in the wedges. But then you’re causing a strain on the eardrums. It’s a nasty cycle where a vocalist ends up trading their larynx for their eardrums just to put out a good performance. Personally, we think they should keep both their voice and ears.
In-ear monitors generally eliminate that problem. A vocalists eardrums get the protection of sound-isolating earbuds while the in-ear mix can be personalized to their preference.
We mentioned safer volume levels above. But also consider the stage volume coming directly from the instruments into the audience. If you throw wedges into it, you’re giving the FOH engineer less to work with for the mix.
It can be frustrating as a sound tech to have that kind of limitation. It’s like telling your guitar player they can only perform using 4 of their 6 strings. Sound techs work very hard on making the band sound good to the audience (their job).
If you have a wall of sound coming off the stage before you even get the FOH speakers on, chances are that the band just isn’t going to sound as good. In-ear monitors do a great job at limiting that stage volume.
IEMs are here to stay, and for good reason. They’ll be the staple for years to come, and they’re even getting more innovative. That’s why we developed our own in-ear monitor system here at Audio Fusion, Inc. We wanted musicians to have all the benefits of in-ear monitors, without having to shell out thousands of dollars buying from “the big guys”. Give us a try and we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
If you’ve never used our Audiofusion in-ear monitoring system and would like to see it in action firsthand, we provide the ability to try it for free in “Gear Test Mode” so you know it will meet the needs of your band or worship team.
