In Ear Monitors for an L1 User

This article expresses my opinion and experience. Please post comments link to forum discussion (optional) e.g. discussion in the Bose Message Board. Thank you — User:ST.

EW IEM G4 Twin I just got my In-Ear-Monitors. Sennheiser EW IEM G4 - Double Wireless In-Ear-Monitor-System

I normally run my PA (Bose L1 behind me). I don't have separate monitors. I wanted to try in-ear-monitors for a change.

First Time Setup

The Sennheiser system worked out of the box. I took time to get to learn the details several hours into the experience of hearing myself in this new way. I connected the headphone output of my T8S ToneMatch Mixer to the inputs of the transmitter to try things out quickly.

First Impressions

Guitar

The guitar through the Kemper Profiler sounds great through the in-ear-monitors, but to put that into context, I'm used to hearing it through my L1 Pro32. It's not massively different.

Vocals

I usually run the vocals dry in the PA (no reverb or time-related effects) because there's usually plenty of natural reverberation in the room. That means the headphone mix is dry, too - drier than what I usually hear (voice in the room sound). That's okay. I don't mind.

It will take some time to get used to the occlusion effect (try singing with your fingers in your ears). The guitar sounds fine. My voice sounds funny. When I have more time, I'll set up a proper monitor mix to control the vocal and guitar levels separately.

I'll need to rehearse with the in-ear-monitors to get used to hearing myself that way.

Later Impressions

Several hours later.

Wow - I wish I had gotten wireless in-ear-monitors sooner.

The best part is the wireless. Back when I had to consider the neighbours and cohabitants, I would occasionally play with headphones. I hated it - mostly because I play standing up and I wander around. Within minutes I was a tangled mess. You find out quickly if you tend to turn in one direction when there are cables involved. I went wireless for the guitar a long time ago, which made using headphones all the more vexing.

Remember the first time you played wireless with your guitar on stage? I got to relive that all over again with wireless monitoring.

I'm still getting used to the earbuds and the occlusion effect when I'm singing. When I want to give that a rest, I can use regular headphones.

The initial setup was drop-dead simple, but there are plenty of options, including a limiter so I won't blow out my ears.

Why UHF instead of 2.4 Mhz Digital

If you're wondering why I went with a UHF system instead of one of the less expensive 2.4 MHz systems - it's because the 2.4 MHz range is crowded. I don't want to get to a gig and find that all the available channels are occupied by the ubiquitous wireless guitar and microphone systems.

Why the Twin System

I got the package deal with two receivers for two reasons.

• The system is stereo, but you can split the signals and have two monitor mixes - one for each receiver
• You can run remote loudspeakers for larger venues in stereo or dual mono.

Articles and Discussions

Replacing Studio Monitors with In Ear Monitors — Reddit

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