In Ear Monitoring Question!!

lespaul3013

lespaul3013

New member
For all of you guys that use IEM's, how are your guitar tones through them??

I've been using them extensively with a few groups lately and I can never leave both of my ear buds in because the guitar tone just doesn't sound right. This puzzles me because I have a very nice rig and when I'm playing at home my tone sounds fat and alive; however, with IEM's my guitar tone just seems really harsh and brittle (mainly my OD's...clean sounds decent). I've used a variety of ear buds (right now I'm using Westone's) and they all produce the same result.

Is this just the nature of IEM's? Or is it just my tone?

I sure hope someone can relate, because listening to my tone through my buds is less than inspiring and doesn't allow me to give my best performance live.

Thanks everyone
Jordan :rock:
 
I ONLY use in ears cause I sing and front the band... I have to.

If I was just playin guitar no way would I wear em. I just know I have killer gear, that it sounds good when I'm "uncorked" and have to trust the audience hears the same. (Along with my pitch perfect singing of course!) :D
 
ConcreteVampire":kutyifis said:
I ONLY use in ears cause I sing and front the band... I have to.

If I was just playin guitar no way would I wear em. I just know I have killer gear, that it sounds good when I'm "uncorked" and have to trust the audience hears the same. (Along with my pitch perfect singing of course!) :D
Click to expand...

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

You wouldn't want to hear me try to sing...and I agree for the most part.
You're guitar tone is definitely gonna sound better coming out of a larger speaker that's made for guitar frequencies rather than a tiny little head phone speaker.
 
I've been using in ears for last 4 years or so and while they're great for keeping the volume levels down and helping with my singing, my playing usually suffers. I've never been able to get a decent tone through them, even using different and more expensive buds. It's just the nature of in ears. Recently I've stopped using them at some shows and I love that I can hear my guitar tone again.
 
I agree. The tone through them suck. I either wear one ear bud or none. In the end, they are better than conventional floor monitors though.
 
I use the tone I get through my in-ears as my base line for my sound. I've been doing it that way for 10+ years. I've grown very confident that what I hear through my mix is what I want going out to the house. My mix has no EQ, no processing, or anything on it. If I can't get the sound I want straight off the cab with a '57 (and sometimes a ribbon added in) I change either mic position, or eq settings on the amp. Essentially, I'm hearing what the mic hears, so I hear what the audience hears.
 
I get 2 completely different sounds...what I hear in my ears is completely different than what is coming out FOH. FOH sounds good...the ears not so much. We also don't use the same sound system or tech at each show...it's always someone different.

Another problem with my in ears is that I lose dynamics and sustain sometimes. I'll be playing something that needs a long note hold but in my ears it dies out and that would screw me up. I thought my amp was doing that but when I pulled a monitor out to check it once, the amp was singing...it was just losing it in the monitor.
 
mboogman hit the nail on the head. Mute everything except your guitar in your ear mix. Flat or bypass the EQ on the guitar channel on the mixer. Move the mic around and make adjustments on your amp until you hear what you need. It will never sound like it does without IEM's but you'll get something decent and repeatable (buy your own amp mic/cab grabber for consistency). You'll find a sweet spot after a few tries. Mark the spot with tape on the speaker grille (a little "U" shape to park the mic in). Then come up with a standard of measurement for the distance of the mic from the speaker/grille - one/two fingers, etc. Now you have a system for a consistent guitar sound in your ears.
 
I had the same experience, guitar doesn't sound or feel right, but it's pretty amazing for vox. Like others, I also have gone with one ear, which is for vox, other ear is a filtered ear plug to hear the stage.
 
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