Gang-

I know there's several performing musicians among us, and I thought some of this may be of interest to you, and also others who love music loud and live....

First some background info....
We're in the process of starting a "church plant", (basically starting a new one in a new location, but getting major funding for the venture from the parent church)with 150+ members of our existing church forming the core group and several of the praise band members going too.
This will be targeted a bit more to the younger generations, (sub-40) I'll be one of the old fogies... so the music is pretty rocking.
Basic band is two singers, drummer, bass, two lead guitars, and a keyboard.

So far we have two excellent complete bands put together to do the music on alternating Sundays, and we've been buying sound equipment etc; we're meeting in a school gymnasium for the first couple years, and have to be very portable.

Anyway- at practice last night, I was given a Christmas present in August...a set of Ultimate Ears super-fi Pro in-ear monitors.

For our monitoring system, we have been donated (!) a stage monitoring system by Aviom. With this, each musician and vocalist has their own controller stand that's connected back to the mixing board, and can adjust the volume of 16 different incoming channels; it allows each one to custom tailor the sound, no more of the "more me" syndrome

I can not believe how good this setup sounds.

Now all this isn't cheap, but it's the way a lot of touring bands do it, and some of the mega-churches too. I never dreamed we'd do it.

Fortunately for us, a guy who owns a sound equipment company goes to our church, and another individual made a very large donation to help us buy all the equipment.

We are using a small practice facility, (imagine your dining room full of gear)where a normal bass amp and acoustic drums would drive the vocalist's mikes bonkers; (aside from doing severe hearing damage,) with this system, all the instruments (including drums)are miked direct into the mixing board, we can get the feel and volume level of a full stage with blaring amps and all, but without driving all the neighbors away...

In fact, if you sat in the room without the in-ears, all you'd hear is the singing and the drums, and maybe the acoustic guitar. Outside the building, you would hardly hear the drums...we've got an isolation unit made for them, for practice.

But to us, the players, it sounded fantastic.
It was like listening to a live CD, except it was us playing it.

Another big plus, my ears weren't ringing when I walked out of there, either. THese UE's have great sound isolation.

These in-ear monitors are essentially earbuds. They have a tweeter and a woofer of sorts, two ear holes (one for highs and one for lows) and the necessary form-fitting ear canal inserts.

If you're interested, check them out at Guitar Center, they're about 250 or so. Like I said, not cheap, but outstanding sound quality.

If you're a music lover and want to hear just how good your iPod can sound, try them out- they are astonishing.

Anyway- not trying to sell you guys something or brag about our setup, just letting you know this is something worth checking out. My ears are already thanking me for it .
Plus, our drummer isn't complaining about having to play an electronic set just so the rest of us can hear for the next week.

Here's a couple websites for more info:

Here's the unit at each musicians spot on the stage: Aviom personal monitor

Here's the earbuds....
Ultimate Ears

Let me know what you think, or other things that you've found useful on stage. In my book, this ranks right up there, as necessary as my bass guitar. Well, almost.

Later-
TonyY

That's cool. we're using the Aviom system at our church also, and you're right. I love it!! Ask your drummer if he would be interested in trying the Roland V Custom studio rig. I use them, and they're phenomenal!! 50 drum rig patches off the top that sound great(200 or 500 drum rigs), and you can mix and match and e.q. individual drums to make your own rig. The pads have a great response to them, and the sensitivity factor is unbelievable!! Sounds like a live rig. The PD 120 kick pad is incredible, and I use double pedals with it, and it sounds like I'm playing a real kick drum! This rig sounds great with the Aviom system, and you wouldn't need the sound shield. The rig's close to 6 grand, but worth every penny, and would be a worthwhile investment for your church.

Bruce-
Welcome to the board by the way....

At the parent church, we have two venues, one a more contemporary "cafe" style with a mostly guitar driven songlist, and seating for 200.
The other is the "big house", our sanctuary, seats 750 or so. I normally play 3 or 4 Sundays a month, three services a day in the big house.

We have an older set of Roland V's in the smaller one and a set of the newer Pro V's in the big house. Both have their own personal monitor systems.
We have about 6 drummers total, (3 fantastic ones)and all of them will gladly play them, but prefer acoustics.

A pro (Jim Brock) that we bring in once a month or so as his schedule allows jokingly calls them the Sesame Street set.
He's kidding around of course, but even he would prefer a "real" set, given a choice.

Most of our drummers don't really like the feel (or mainly the lack of it) and playability.
For example, it's difficult to get the nuances of the fifty or so different sounds you can get from an acoustic snare, out of the Roland snare... You can do it, by programming etc, but it just doesn't naturally react to the sticks and technique of most drummers.

They do say the cymbals on the Pro are a major improvement over the old versions, but still are miles away from responding like a set of real Paistes or Zildjans. It's still hitting rubber.

We've had several years experience with the Rolands. Honestly, they aren't built all that well compared to equivalent acoustic sets like Drum Workshops, they don't allow you the nuances of a "real" set, and we've been plagued with reliability issues from the constant use. Admittedly, we're rough on them, they have to be moved on and off the stage probably 4 times a week, and each drummer is different in how they like the setup, so the adjustable things like cymbal stands are wearing out.

The main reason we even bought them is the rooms we're in are very "live" and regular drums are nearly impossible to control the volume on in that setting.
Of course it helps if the drummers are talented and capable of a variety of dynamics, rather than just banging it out hard all the time...so, they allow us to cover for the less accomplished drummers and manage the volume levels for consistency.

All that to say, yeah- we've got them, we use them, but if we had to do it over again we'd build an isolation unit and mike a normal set.
And, since that's basically what we have the opportunity to do with this church plant, we're buying a good set of acoustics and isolation shields, and high quality mikes etc. Our drummers are estatic to get away from the electronic sets.

Gotta go...
Tonyy

My new band is going to be using IEM's. Unfortunately of the 4 setups we're planning to utilize, 3 of them will be Nady PEM500's or PEM's. Not the best or even near it but not the cheapest either but affordable. $269 for a PEM500 transmitter and 1 receiver. I already own a receiver and will be buying a complete set. The guitarist is going to buy another complete set. The keyboardist will only need to buy a receiver. The lead singer already owns a Shure PSM200 set and the cheaper Nady PEM set. This will be my first venture into the IEM scheme! I'll only be asking for a vocal mix. I don't like instruments in my wedges and most like will not like them in my monitors!

On another note, if Nady would upgrade those cheap earbuds to something decent it'd be nice!

Tony...those Super-Fi Pros are nice. I'm a big fan of IEM's but for portable, on the go music listening as I am not a musician. It's been a hobby of mine for several years and I've bought, traded and sold several pairs. I'm currently alternating between the Etymotic Research ER-6i's and the Shure E4's. Very different sounds but I love them both. Now I'm considering a pair of the Etymotic ER-4P's. It is truly astonishing how an IEM upgrade can enhance the music listening experience instead of using crappy stock earbuds, however a proper fit and seal is key.

Trust me, like all the others, I'll take an acoustic rig any day. I just dig what can be done with the 'tronics and playing surfaces and adjusting to what you've got to work with. I'll tell you something funny. Sometimes when I have to play on a big stage with full p.a. gear, I'll use two Roland td-7 kick pads with an Alesis DM5 brain set on a reggae kick drum patch, a PDP snare, and cymbals. That's it. I love it when I'm asked by the sound crew "Where's the rest of your drums?" "That's all you're workin' with?

DW-
Good for you- even if the overall quality isn't as high, it's still better for your ears, and you'll love the clarity. I think it's already made us a tighter band, just by being able to clearly hear the nuances of each other's playing.

I'd probably never have bought anything like this stuff on my own, but I will certainly enjoy using it!

Steve, yeah- I had bought a set of Shure E2's a while back; the sound is great, and I love using them when mowing, I can hear Dream Theater and save my ears at the same time !
But, they are just more like really really good earbuds. These IEM super-fi's are just a world apart. The bass response is incredible.

I may never use headphones again.

Unless of course I lose these, which is a big issue for me...I'll have to pay to replace them! Ouch.
You're also right about the seal and fit. I've found the foam to work best on my Shures, but it wears out pretty fast. I plan to buy a box of the super fi's foam inserts and keep them handy.
But, the foam allows more of a custom fit, at least with my ears, as it expands to fill the gaps.

Anyway....gotta go
Tonyy

Here's something to put on the Christmas list. The first triple driver IEM.

Shure just started filling orders for these last month. They are suppose to be heavenly......

Price will probably come down to $350'ish in about 6 months or so.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/head-set/shure-e500.php

Thanks guys. It's a blast chattin' with yous. I have a pair of custom fitted earplugs that I can't find 'em right now, but when I transferred to Navy Band Jacksonville in '96, they were making these special plugs for Air Force pilots and musicians, and eventually started making them I think for all branches of military bands. basically they keep your ears from damage of high db's, but have lots of clarity, and makes low frequencies clear, and doesn't muffle your eardrums. At the time, I asked the procurement officer how much did they cost per pair, and he told me 1500 dollars!! Wow! I hope I can find these things soon.

Bruce-
they're 1500 bucks because they are military spec Like those 1000 dollar hammers and toilet seats....

Seriously, that sounds like a great set, hope you find them. I've become acutely aware of how much hearing damage I've had over the years, and these things will help preserve what I have left.

Steve- Wow. 350 for earbuds... But I bet they'll be worth it. I also bet audiophiles will line up for them.
I can't imagine how they get three speakers in there....must be some form of nano-technology.

Who knows, maybe next will be implantable wireless speakers that they just insert with a needle under the skin near the ears' nerve centers. Hmmmm....Bond, James Bond....