With the cost of quality in-ear monitors dropping, the thought of loud, heavy monitor wedges and amps has become less appealing to many working musicians and bands. In this 2-part article, inSync offers a professional musician’s perspective on in-ear monitors.
With many years as a professional, touring and session guitarist based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sweetwater’s Don Carr has vast experience with both wedges and in-ears on large and small stages. “My first set of in-ear monitors were custom-fitted molds I got around 2001. The pitch from the sound company was that it would be like playing in the studio — except there is no audience or PA in the studio and you get to fix a part or do another take if you mess something up!
“So the act I was touring with put away their wedges and power amps, replaced them with in-ear molds and wireless receivers. We all got a quick education; it was totally different! With the speakers being actually in your ear as opposed to at your feet, all of the impact of loud instruments and the physical movement of air in a space were gone, but we could hear ourselves and each other clearly, like never before. The big, demonstrative aural aspect of live performance was altered somewhat, but the payoff was clarity.
“The monitor console’s stereo imaging and EQ quality became a huge deal. Every link in the signal chain affected the sound quality and we could hear it all. Drums and guitar amps onstage were now competing with the sound coming from the molds, as was the front-of-house PA. Isolated amps and a drum shield helped tremendously.
“Our monitor engineer instantly became the most important and busiest person onstage; he was the difference in a good show or a bad one. Feedback almost never happened because it would have to come from the PA with no wedges onstage.”
We’ll continue our in-depth interview in part 2 and look at how to properly assess your individual monitoring needs.