IEM

[MIKE900]

My band are thinking of using IEM. Any recommendations of good monitors that are not too expensive? Mainly for guitarist, Bass and vocalist.

Thanks in advance

[kgallen]

Define ‘expensive’!

 

Sennheiser EW I guess would be typical fodder. Plus custom ear molds.

 

Plenty on here who can give better advice than me but this is a starter-for-10 as it’s been quiet up to now…

[Jivemaster]

Expect to need custom ear moulds.

[Peter F]

Don't expect to need custom moulds. There's a good chance you don't. Lots of people spend lots of money getting custom moulds made that they don't really need. The basic Shure SE215 in ear phones are adequate for most people's needs.

 

Do look at Sennheiser G3 or G4 or Shure PSM300 or above transmitter/ receivers. Budget ones will disappoint.

 

Check you are purchasing frequencies that are legal and useable where you intend to play.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

[adamburgess]

I have both the Shure 215s and some JH Audio custom IEMs. The Shures are fine, but not as 'immersive(?)' as the JH ones. Get some really nice bottom end with the customs.

 

Sitting in the pub at the mo doing some transcriptions with the Shures. The customs are more delicate, for sure, so they only come out for proper gigs.

 

I've got a Sennheiser G3 TX, a little stereo Behringer beltpack, and over here in the UAE, the sound co's usually carry the Shure systems.

All are fine with both sets.

Edited October 5, 2021 by adamburgess

[kerry davies]

I think that "needing" custom moulds is a stretch but you wouldn't catch me using anything else. They may not be any better, though I think that they are, but they gave me an awful lot more confidence on safety and well-being. For peace of mind they are not at all expensive and because they cost a bit more I have mine long after retirement having looked after them better than any other bit of kit.

 

That's my problem with being a pedant, I do RA's and cost-benefit analyses in my sleep.

[paulears]

I've got three pairs of 215s and a pair of 415s. I have custom earmoulds, on the MU scheme which are the most effective, but the expanding foam type - the ones where you squidge them, pop them in and they slowly seal are nearly as good, and the small amount of leakage, quite livable with. I'm on the second set of moulds - the first were made with my mouth closed, and as we sing in every song, this means head up - and when I open my mouth - my ears change shape and the seal breaks, so I had a second mould session done with my mouth open. These are perfect.

 

The 415s, with their bass extension and double drivers seems sensible, and playing music through them, they are better sounding - BUT - and it's a decider for me, they make the bass end indistinct. I have a 5 string bass and if I play an Eb on the B string - if I miss, not looking at my left hand and accidentally play a D, I cannot hear it. Turning up the HF on that channel in the personal mixer to boost the harmonics helps, but tuning is easier on the 215s. I also always now choose transparent sheathing because sweat finds it's way in somehow, and you can see them getting greener, then buy new cables before they die. The black cables I used to use just died and cutting them open, you find the green.

 

If you are really on a budget - I tried making some from the two part putty you buy on ebay. Two little balls of putty you mix in your hands, then split into two. You make a cone with it, and take your 215s, and wrap them in cling film. You stick it in your ear making sure it goes down the ear canal, then smooth the rest into your ear folds and then get somebody to press in the 215 into the soft putty properly seating it. don;t move for a couple of minutes and then pull it out. prise out the 215, discard the cling film and then drill a small hole down the sticky out bit that goes down your ear canal. I used the clean end of a biro ink tube to go through the hol, keeping it open, and used a tiny dab of CA glue to keep it in place, cutting it off flush. Then the same glue to keep the 215s in the mould.

 

They are actually slightly softer than the proper moulds, and just as good at sealing - the downside. The only stuff I could find was blue. Oddly, nobody ever asked why I had these blue moulds. The pro moulds took over once I had them, but the blue DIY ones are still the spares in the case.