It seems there are a lot of churches exploring the idea of in-ear monitors these days. You know, the ones with the personal mixers so each person can have their own mix. I don’t really see this as a positive. However, I don’t think it’s bad either really. What happens, as we’ll discuss, is that when you solve one set of problems by switching to in-ears, you introduce an entirely new set of problems that must be addressed. There are great advantages to using in-ears, but just prepare yourself for a slow, bumpy ride before you’ll feel like you are experiencing any benefits.

As with any piece of gear, the first and foremost question that needs answered is, “What problem am I trying to solve?” In other words, why are you switching? If it’s because you see bands use them on tour or on TV, or perhaps because you want to not have to hear so-and-so sing so poorly, then you may have the wrong approach.

Here are a few good reasons to use in-ears. If your monitors on stage are so loud, or the stage acoustical design forces the sound from the monitors out towards the seats and it greatly disrupts the house mix. If your vocalists have a difficult time hearing each other and need to blend better. If you have so many musicians on stage that they argue all the time about monitor mixes (The dreaded, “I can’t hear myself” disease).

There are some major changes for the band when they first get in-ears. All of the sudden, they can hear everything, and nothing! It freaks a lot of people out. Now, instead of their monitors blending with the stage volume and the acoustics of the stage, musicians hear themselves, and they sound extremely exposed. It’s like having a spotlight directly on you, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. What I mean by hearing nothing, is that they feel closed off from the people, the band, and the energy of performing live together with a group. It’s now not very easy to hide in the group if you sing off key, flub a note, or play out of time.

Let’s face it, most musicians are not audio engineers, although, yes, a lot think they can do it. Stop laughing, it’s kinda cute. Anyway, in-ears are great because most sound guys think they no longer have to worry about monitors. However, musicians suddenly looking at a small personal mixer don’t know how to give themselves a good mix. I suggest you give them some pointers, such as:

• Start with a solid foundation. That is enough drums to keep you on beat, a primary instrument (guitar/ piano) to keep you in tune, and enough of yourself to make sure you are, uh, on time and in tune.
• If you want to hear the rest of the band, by all means, put them in your mix, but use the pan function! Do you need to hear the aux percussion? If not really, pan it to one side or the other. Same for BGVs or banjos, or kazoos.
• Add a room mic. Can you point a mic from the stage to the seats? Adding that into the in-ear mix will give them some air and ambience.
• Don’t get timid just because you hear yourself so up close and personal. Be confident and turn yourself down in your ears if needed so that you still sound like a strong musician.
• Be patient! Experiment. Discuss the mix with everyone else.

Hopefully this will help. You as the engineer should also be fully aware of the quality of the inputs you are sending to the stage. Starting with quality makes it much easier to achieve quality.