For churches considering an upgrade to inear monitors (IEMs), we begin a two-part series that explores the techniques for setup and mixing, as well as how to help the members of your worship team make a smooth transition to IEMs. Let’s begin with the transition process.
Depending on the number of musicians you have to work with, it may be better to change musicians from monitor wedges to IEMs one or two at a time. For example, you could begin with a drummer or the drummer and bass player. It’s best to do this during a regular rehearsal session. By focusing on one or two musicians at a time, the sound engineer will be able to do a better job of dialing in exactly what they need to hear without too many distractions. If you were to change the entire worship team over to IEMs all at once, it would be difficult to communicate effectively with everyone, which could lead to frustration for the musicians. Once your musicians become comfortable with using the IEMs and they are reasonably satisfied with their mix, move on to one or two more people.
Good communication is essential in dealing with IEMs. Nothing is more frustrating than a musician that is unable to communicate what they need from the sound engineer. Because of the nature of the earphones, the ear canal is completely sealed off from the outside world. Even if your system includes personal monitor mixers, a talkback microphone is necessary to ensure the musicians can hear what you are saying to them. A microphone with an on/off switch on the side is a good choice because you can turn it on and off as needed with just one hand while you are operating the mixer with the other hand. Likewise, if you are mixing monitors from a monitor or frontof- house (FOH) console, you should have a cue, or monitor speaker or wear your own earphones and provide a microphone for the musician so they may communicate with you during sound check. You will find that because you took the time to set up communications, the sound check will run with much more efficiency and with minimal frustrations.
While we’re on the subject of efficiency, you should also ensure that you, as the sound engineer, have an adequate system for cueing or monitoring the different monitor mixes. There are several ways to do this, including the use of a cue speaker, plugging headphones or IEMs into the mixer’s cue output, plugging headphones or IEMs into the individual transmitters if you have wireless IEMs, or wearing an actual beltpack that is wired to the cue output of the mixer. If you have choices, it is best to use the method that most closely resembles the set-up that the musicians are using, as there can be small but detectable differences between the sound of the mixer vs. sound of the IEM system. The goal is to be able to quickly select a particular musician’s mix and make adjustments that you can also hear as you make them. This will make sound checks move along quickly and allow you to make adjustments on the fly without guessing as to what effect your changes had on the mix.
There are many personal monitor mixers on the market today, and although it is tempting to have the increased control and flexibility, or the “more of me” knob, a personal monitor mixer may not be the best choice in every situation. The best advice I can offer to allow musicians who are familiar with the operation of mixers to use them, but not to force them on those who aren’t experienced with mixers. For example, a keyboard player is probably a good candidate for a personal monitor mixer due to the fact that many keyboard players use mixers to blend their various keyboard sounds. A vocalist, however, may have never used a mixer, and shouldn’t have to deal with the extra level of complexity if you are able to dial up a comfortable mix for them anyway. Keep in mind that gain structure is just as important in a personal monitor mixer as in any other mixer, and the musician should have a clear understanding of how gain structure works to use it effectively.
While doing a sound check, remember that most musicians cue off of another instrument or source as they play. For example, drummers and bass players cue off of each other to achieve a tight rhythm. Vocalists generally cue off of a piano or keyboard for accurate pitch. Learn what each musician cues off of and pay attention to that as you cue up their mixes. During the service, it is a good idea to systematically cue up each mix one at a time so you can hear what the musicians are hearing. If a musician signals that they need more or less of a particular instrument, you can quickly cue up their mix and make the change.
One final note, as you make the transition to IEM’s, you may be itching to get rid of all those monitor speakers, but it is a good idea to leave one or two on stage as a backup plan. If an IEM system fails completely during a worship service, you can always fall back on the backup wedges because the first thing a musician is going to do when their IEMs fail is to pull them out of their ears. At that point, they will need something to listen to, and the wedges can be a real life saver.
Once you have successfully made the transition into the world of in-ear monitors, you’ll be ready to learn some tricks of the trade, which we’ll explore in Part Two.
Shane Ellis is the in-ear monitor engineer for MercyMe, currently
on tour with Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. He is also president of On Track
Productions, Inc., a sound and lighting company in Birmingham, Alabama. He
may be reached at shane@ontrackproductions.com.
