by Karl Cartwright

Bass Player: “Can you turn the bass up in the monitor?”
Vocalist: “The piano is too loud in the mix.”
Congregation Member: “It’s hard to understand the words.”
Keyboard Player: “The guitar player is always turning up and then I can’t hear myself.”
Pastor: “Can you try and keep the volume down, some members of the congregation are complaining.”

Some of these comments may strike a little too close to home. However, as we mix for worship, they are all things that will have to be dealt with sooner or later. As advances in technology continue, it is obvious that the worship service is not and should not be isolated from these improvements.

What is it?
The concept of in-ear monitoring is actually quite simple. Introduce a high-quality signal to the musician’s ear, a signal that allows the user to clearly hear the mix at any chosen volume. Originally only used by top touring professionals because of the costs involved, in-ear monitoring has been around since the mid 1980’s. The benefits to the musician and engineer were immediately apparent; better sound, improved stereo imaging, less vocal strain, portability, increased gain before feedback and lowered on-stage volume. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for music equipment manufacturers to see that this technology opened up a new category of equipment and that applications for this technology, at every level of performance, would be beneficial. Accordingly, many manufacturers have introduced products to meet the growing demand for this product.

The benefits of in-ear monitoring are twofold. First, the artist can have any mix he/she desires at any volume. This also gives the engineer better isolation because loud stage monitors bleed into adjacent microphones which affects and colors the overall mix.

So what’s wrong with wedges?
Theoretically, nothing is wrong with wedges (floor monitors and hot spots). They work kind of like a front-of-house (FOH) sound system, just turned around and facing the band. If the band was just listening and singing along like the congregation, no problem, but that’s not the case. The band has to hear itself and each person in the band has a slightly different version of what they would like to hear. Here are some typical problems. By using wedges you’ve just reduced your possible acoustic gain before feedback. You’ve introduced a new sound source on stage, one that has to be louder than the other amps on stage. Additionally, you’ve added some “not so good” low frequency drivers for those seated in the first few rows.

So lets fix these problems. Typically, the EQ (equalization) for the monitor system is used to adjust those frequencies that are causing feedback in the monitors so that gain can be increased. However, with every adjustment made to the EQ for feedback control, the fidelity of the sound the musician hears from the monitor may be compromised. Also remember that low frequency sound is omni-directional and even with tight reins on the volume of the monitors, the monitor speakers are still adding unwanted low frequency information to the FOH sound.

How can in-ear monitors help?
All the drawbacks associated with traditional monitoring systems can be addressed by going to ear monitors. In-ear monitors provide the same level of clarity and volume control that headphones provide. The potential for feedback between the microphones and the floor monitors is eliminated. If all the musicians on stage are using in-ear monitors, the musicians can hear the monitor signal at any volume they choose without affecting the person next to them. Even if some musicians still choose to use floor monitors, those on “ears” (short for in-ear monitors) can still run the volume at the level they choose without affecting their neighbor. With in-ear monitors, the mix that the musicians are listening to can be a full, high quality stereo mix (depending on number of mixes required and available sends) or just those instruments and voices the musicians onstage need to hear. The ability to be able to monitor in stereo can be very beneficial. When running in mono, as you add more instruments it becomes increasingly more difficult to pick out a specific instrument in the mix, particularly when the instruments are in the same frequency range (two acoustic guitars or two voices for example). However, if one is panned slightly left and the other slightly right the musician’s ability to focus on their own instrument is greatly improved.

If you have the ability to run multiple monitor signals and group the vocalists, backline instruments and soloists with their own mixes, the monitor signal for each group of performers can be exactly what they need. No less important is the elimination of floor monitors as the first step in a reduction in volume that can be really beneficial to front of house sound. The use of in-ear monitors can lead to the remote placement of amplifiers, the use of amp modelers or plugging directly into the board. A good band will mix itself. All that is required is for the band members to be able to hear themselves clearly. Remember, the key word for the engineer was “isolation.” Going to in ear monitors is one of the first steps to give the engineer in a live sound situation this level of control.

Here’s the catch
So this all sounds great, but you’re thinking, “I’ve never heard of anything that gives you all the benefits that in ear-monitoring can give you without some kind of a catch.”

Some musicians you work with will grab this technology and run with it, because, quite honestly, in some cases they may have never heard such an awesome monitor mix. Other musicians may take longer to adapt because it is a different way to hear the music, their voice, or instrument. It will take longer and require more work from you to make these musicians happy with the technology.

How can you help?
Take it slow as you transition to this type of technology. Don’t try to go from one Sunday with floor monitors to the next Sunday with eight stereo wireless mixes. Start with the drummer; get him or her a good clear mix. Check out the different types of equipment that can be used to get the monitor signal to the drummer. The equipment that is used can be as simple as a headphone distribution amp (like the ones used in a recording studio) or dedicated wireless transmitters and receivers. The type of earpiece has to be considered. No matter how good a given piece of hardware, the sound will only be as good as the earpiece. Drummers with acoustic kits will need an earpiece that is occluding (this means that the earpiece reduces ambient sound) as opposed to nonoccluding (has no or very little hearing protection). This reduction of ambient sound is very important for two reasons. First, the earpiece lowers the volume of the drums so the drummer doesn’t have to run the volume of the earpiece at an extremely high level just to overcome the acoustic kit. And second, the mix in the earpieces will allow the drummer to hear where the drums sit in relationship to the other instruments and voices in the mix.

What is available? The hardware
As mentioned earlier, there is quite a range of products that can be used to get the signals to the musicians on stage. There are several types of headphone distribution systems available. The simplest is a headphone distribution amplifier. You can use this to share one monitor mix among multiple users. There are also some headphone distribution amplifiers that allow you to add an extra signal into each channel. This can allow all the musicians to share the same basic mix but add their instrument into their channel of the distribution amplifier and balance the two so they can hear the mix with their instrument on top without affecting the other musicians on stage. Some of these types of headphone amps or distribution systems are rack-mount versions and others are designed to be mounted on a stand at each musician’s location on stage. Some of these stand-mounted systems can allow the musician to completely dial up their own mix.

I need to stop here and draw a distinction between headphone distribution amplifiers and dedicated in-ear monitor equipment. Traditionally, headphone distribution amplifiers have been primarily designed for use in a controlled environment like a recording studio. Fortunately, our houses of worship are a controlled environment and this type of equipment can be used. But, there is a hearing safety aspect for those musicians that are wearing earpieces that has to be considered, particularly if you have a combination of amps, floor wedges, and in-ear monitors. You should consider the purchase of limiters (you will need one for each monitor send). This will allow you to set a volume that the ear monitors can’t exceed.

Manufacturers of in-ear monitoring equipment are providing more ways to make the use of in-ear monitors easier, more convenient and safer. The basic piece of equipment in a dedicated in-ear monitor system is the belt pack. The belt pack will typically have a volume control, some type of limiter and some type of balance control that allows the musician to mix one channel against the other. This allows the engineer to dial up two mono mixes. For example, one mix could be heavy vocally and the other mix heavy instrumentally. The musician, depending on what he or she wants or needs to hear, can use this control to fine tune the mix to desired requirements. The bass player may run his mix heavily biased toward the instrumental side with just enough vocal for place keeping, while a vocalist may do the opposite to more clearly hear and hit their harmony notes. The belt-pack will be either a hardwired pack that gets its signal from the monitor sends or auxiliary sends of the mixing board, or it will be a wireless belt pack that will receive a signal from a transmitter that receives its signal from the monitor sends or auxiliary sends.

Additionally, many of the manufacturers of in-ear monitor equipment are introducing gear that will allow you to augment or expand the amount of outputs from your mixing console. This allows for more individualized monitor mixes without having to replace the console you are already using.

What is available? The earpiece
The first rule of earpieces; no matter how sophisticated the hardware or how extensive your capabilities are as an engineer, if the earpieces chosen are of poor quality, the musicians will not enjoy their in-ear monitor experience. There are several types of ear monitors available, from relatively inexpensive generic designs to completely custom multi-driver earpieces that have to be heard to be believed.

The first consideration in choice of an earpiece design is whether to use an occluding earpiece or nonoccluding earpiece. The occluding earpiece reduces ambient sound so that a user has control over the volume. This design is like wearing an earplug with a speaker built into it. A nonoccluding design works like an earbud. The earbud allows a user to listen to the signal sent to him however, for that signal to be heard “over” sounds on stage he will have to turn the volume up to a potentially harmful level.

There are two types of speakers in common use for in-ear monitoring; the dynamic transducer, most commonly found in ear bud style headphones, and the balanced armature transducer. Each has its pluses and minuses. In 70 to 80% of the designs available today, manufacturers use the balanced armature design. The most significant functional difference between the two designs is that dynamic transducers don’t require an acoustic seal of the ear while balanced armature drivers do. This leads to a different sound for each design. The balanced armature driver delivers a “flatter” response.

You will also have to consider custom molded designs versus generic designs. For use by a praise team the generic designs are probably the best choice as you may have multiple teams that help lead the congregation in worship. Better generic designs allow the use of interchangeable generic tips or even custom-fit earmolds to satisfy any hygiene concerns. The cost of earpieces varies. High-quality occluding generic designs start at around $100.00 per pair with top of the line multi-driver custom designs exceeding $800.00 per pair.

What next?
The use of in-ear monitors continues to grow. Along with that growth the technology and ease of use continues to improve. If the benefits of in-ear monitoring seem appealing, do some homework. Talk to the praise team and find out what their ideal monitor environment would be. Take it slow, start simple and grow your in-ear monitor system with care. The advantages of control for the engineer, the freedom to give each member of the praise team a mix that is ideal for them without affecting someone else’s mix, the reduction of onstage volume and a clear uncluttered stage are all benefits the use of in-ear monitors can deliver. The choice to go with in-ear monitoring may just be the step needed to take your worship environment to the next level.

Karl Cartwright has been employed with Westone Laboratories Inc. for 22 years. As a member of the new product development team, Karl has been involved in all aspects of the design and manufacture of in-ear monitors. He has extensive knowledge of the custom fit Ultimate Ears product line, the E1 and E5 universal fit product for Shure, as well as the more UM series from Westone Musicians Products. Karl can be contacted at westone@earmold.com.