How In-Ear Monitors are Making Better Musicians 

Hey all! Clarifying some things with the sponsor. Good news, if you sign up now it’s actually cheaper than what I said - the bundle right now is actually $11.59/year. It’s a little unclear from the desktop landing page at curiositystream.com/adamneely, but you DO get both Nebula and CuriosityStream by clicking on the top banner. If you’re having trouble, please email help@curiositystream.com. However, unfortunately, (and this really bums me out), my class is in fact NOT part of the bundle. Nebula Classes is technically a separate feature, and it costs an additional $1 per month if you signed up for the Nebula/Curiosity Stream bundle. Wires got crossed when the script for this ad was approved, and I was reading from an incorrect ad copy. I’m sorry I misled anyone, unwitting as it was. The rest of Nebula is awesome! It’s great, lots of quality videos from quality creators, and I think if you signed up for the bundle you’ll like it too. However, if the reason why you signed up was to get access to my class and can’t afford that extra premium, I totally understand. Please email support if you’d like a refund (or if you’d like to pay that extra for Nebula classes). Sorry once again y’all, these things happen!

As a bad sound engineer, I just want to say thank you for acknowledging all the hard work we don't do.

1:18 suggested addendum: marching bands do not look at the feet of each other. Marching bands are so spread out on a football field that they have to swap styles on the fly. The back half of the band watches the conductor, who is typically on a raised platform, makes massive arm movements, and is wearing white gloves to help keep tempo. The front half of the band, hilariously, has to ignore the conductor and instead listen to the drummers behind them to keep tempo. For this reason, drummers are typically held in the back or off to either side to keep the distance about the same without messing things up. This provides an interesting arrangement when drum highlights force the drummers to the front, as the drummers have no real way to keep tempo other than watching the conductor. Typically highlight/solo instances cause the rest of the band to be silent, so they can focus completely on marching and choreography, while staying in tempo with the drummers who are popping off on a sick highlight section of the music. Source: took marching band in high school for 4 years

As a sound engineer, whenever an act rocks up with their own rack, and just hands me splits, I throw a little internal party, because my day was just made! You mentioned how working with bad engineers can be a massive drag, and I always work super hard to not be in that category, but sometimes you just don't have enough time to make everyone on stage happy. Some acts seem to not realise how much we have to do, so the sentiment definitley works both ways, and it's always a breath of fresh air when an act regards you as part of the team. If an act is organised enough to look after themselves on stage, then I get more time to look after them FOH. It's a win-win for everyone involved. Nice rig, and very tidy to fit into such a small rack! Kudos, and hopefully I'll catch you in London in march

As a sound engineer, I love this. It’s great when bands actually understand the audio side of things and can make the job easier and not harder, so the engineer can focus on making the mains sound good.

Just one small remark to add - get the band's musicians to install the app for the monitor mixing console on their smartphones, so they can set up the mix in their ears on their own, saving a HUGE lot of time for mixing engineer and the band as a whole.

I will never go back to traditional ear plugs or monitors after touring with IEMs for the past 3 years. It's night and day, I have no hearing fatigue, I have consistent sound every night and everywhere on stage. It's the best investment any serious musician can make. Especially when you get custom molds and as self-contained system with a digital mixer so you can mix yourself, send a split to FOH, and not worry about what the house engineer is doing at all.

15:18 felt that in my bones lmao. Sound engineering is a really tough job and I have a ton of respect for the people who do it well... but let me tell you, I spent two years gigging with an all-girl band. The amount of patronizing disrespect we got from sound guys was unreal, and it had an outsize impact on our performance, especially in large festival contexts where we had little to no control over mixes and sometimes weren't even really afforded a sound check.

This is the first IEM video ive seen that actually made me want them.

Adam this video rules. Its so hard to describe to people sometimes how sound can just disappear into the ether when you're on stage, and how frustrating it is to play in spaces that sound so drastically different from the spaces you practice in. Thrilled you guys have a setup that works with little to not headache.

AdamTechTips I joke but I don't really play any instruments let alone tour worldwide in a band. However as someone who loves videos about technology, engineering, etc, this was still a really really great watch! (To be honest I think part of the reason I'm subbed to Adam is because of his interest in the limits of human perception in music, and how he relates that interest to his audience via videos that use scientific studies on rhythm, pitch, etc basically scratches the same itch as a Steve Mould video would)

I recently played IEM for the first time and I was sceptical. But on stage, it felt smooth much better. I play bass and also sing backing vocals and being able to clearly hear our lead singer did miracles for my performance. Never again without IEM!

As a FOH sound engineer (who'll be mixing Sungazer on your next Portland OR date!) I fully agree with your approach here - even including the shade thrown at sound engineers. For venues without dedicated monitor eng positions, it can be very frustrating to build foldback mixes for bands that have exacting requirements but who rely on house wedges and stage volume. Self-contained IEM stage boxes completely eliminate a whole category of potential problems. Looking forward to the show - in your advance please send along that input list @6:30 ! 😆

As much as I love your more heady and academic content, this very practical real-world gear video felt like a really refreshing change of pace coming from you and I found it to be a very interesting inside look at the day to day challenges of a traveling musician. It made me a lot more sympathetic to the bands I used to work with when I ran sound for a small venue in Minnesota, they could be really really picky about their monitors, and I don't think I fully appreciated why at the time. And even if I'm not a musician myself, this definitely scratched my gear nerd itch. Now I'd be really interested to hear about your video production setup and workflow since that's more my area of expertise.

This is such a valuable video dude, I wish I could convey to you how much it means to me

I think regular people and bedroom musicians underestimate how hard it is to hear yourself and play in a live setting. I remember the first time I tried playing guitar with a live band, only using music earplugs (no monitors) in a small room. It felt like I didn't know how to play the guitar. I couldn't hear myself through the mix at all and it was very disorienting. Being able to monitor yourself is worth it if you're actually in a band and performing.

This is actually one of the best videos you've done in a long time, for me, even though I'll never be a touring musician. It was such an interesting window into another world, and its succinctness and clarity were amazing. I hope the people who ARE touring see this and take your recommendations to heart; it's always such a shame to hear that talented musicians are losing their hearing to shoddy set-up.

Re the standard xlr’s not fitting in the rack case - no need for loads of expensive right angle cables, all you need are a couple of recessed adapter brackets to move the unit backwards and you’ll have plenty of room to leave standard straight xlr’s plugged in

The difference between quality IEMs and regular stage monitors is HUGE. I'm in a couple of dance hall bands, and the difference between setup/soundcheck times is staggering. We have 4 road cases (all my guitar stuff, Tony's guitar and keyboard stuff, Sarah's keyboard stuff, and mixing console/in-ear receivers), which is way less crap to schlep around than all that plus 6 stage monitors. Add to the fact that we have zero stage noise (drummer uses an electronic kit, bassist uses a SansAmp, and Tony and I use Axe FXIIIs direct into the console), our soundchecks are just making sure everything works and then fine-tuning the sound (our soundman saves each venue we play as a preset on the mixer). We can set up in under an hour. And since we're not touring or anything, we don't need to invest in bulletproof cases and stuff. We're in about $6000 total for the console and PSM300s for all 6 members of our band. All things considered, it's been an amazing investment since our performances have gotten SO much better now that we can hear each other exactly as we want to hear us and we're not competing for volume. And you can't beat the feeling of playing a shredding guitar solo in the middle of the dance floor and (never worry about missing your cues because you can't actually hear the band or yourself).

It's nice to see content like this on the channel honestly, and quite refreshing. I think most musicians are ultimately interested in how they improve their performance (using that term incredibly loosely) and this is just one additional way to get to the core of self-perception on the stage. I like that this includes not only the "How I Feel About This", but also the "How I Arrived At This". Very insightful. Thanks a bunch.

This video is a holy grail for anyone wanting to build a similar setup. Thanks Adam!🙏

I've never really thought about all that would need to go into touring as a band on the tech side of things. Interesting to see a small piece of that.

I'm almost speechless after watching this video... You were able to translate a current "pain in the 4$$' i'm facing with my band. I cannot hear myself, and this is frustrating since this affects directly my playing. A few months ago I bought an EarPlug to protect myself and it was frustrating - basically throwing money on the can. I'm gonna focus next year to save this problem with low-budget equipment. Thanks a lot for this! I hope you have a great 2023! Cheers from Brazil!

Thank you so much for this video Adam. I was considering quitting playing music live altogether due to some recent personal hardships that became too overwhelming to deal with emotionally, but for whatever odd reason, this particular video has brought back some semblance of a "spark" for me to return to playing live for artists I produce for. Thank you thank you thank you.

I just purchased my first iem setup a few weeks ago. This was due since most of my band switched to iems and i noticed a an emptiness on stage since the engineer stopped caring about mixing the band through the onstage monitors. This video reassures my investment in iem.

wow this is so helpful!!! I have been researching in-ears for my band but we thought it was cost prohibitive. Now we will be able to hear ourselves, even if it is in the hands of front of house engineers

Please continue to make more suggestive tutorial videos like this. For me, this is probably the most useful video you have ever put out. Delving into music history, philosophy, mathematics, and whatever other intellectual complexities are cool, but more tangible and practical videoes like this are top tier.

I remember moving from stage monitors to iems and losing the feeling of a loud concert. Took some time to adjust to the lower energy level with my iems being so much quieter but it's SO much better

For playing bass - IEMs and a little riser with a throne shaker mounted under it works really well if you're not moving venues very often, or if space isn't an issue. It definitely changes the "feel" of things.

Love this. Super straight to the point, well edited, concise video which explains IEM systems really well for a musician's viewpoint. Cheers :)

Thank you for sharing this. Some musicians would keep it for themselves to their advantage. I appreciate the transparency of your sharing :) Great editing too!

Wow. This rig, while expensive and a challenge to compile, had to be a godsend when you were out on tour. Any tools that save time and eliminate frustrations while on tour are definitely worth their weight in gold. Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge.

As a FOH engineer, AND a musician, this is pure gold! I would be super stoked if a band showed up with this, and when I play I always make sure I have a way to use IEM.

I agree with the title of this video wholeheartedly, especially for bassists; physics alone is a massive factor because of how long it takes soundwaves to form, and depending on the rig you use, the speakers the sound is coming out of, the venue you're in and a multitude of other factors you'll likely find it more difficult to hear yourself, and for most gigging bassists its almost always a case of having to settle, rather than being completely happy with how your instrument is represented. If you're using 15" speakers, unless you're something like 12ft in front of your cab, you're gonna be outta luck hearing anything you play! It's why I loved using my Hartke 4.5XL cabs because of the immediacy of the 10" speakers they were loaded with. And immediacy is why I like using a full IEM set up, and have done since we switched around 8 years ago. I now model two separate bass rigs panned hard left and right in a Helix LT, which are fed by a very accurate model of the pedalboard I used to use. For the IEM setup I use KZ As10s (so good I bought three pairs, and the guys in my band use them too, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w3Zh3Gl9HIk.html) with memory foam tips which swell to completely seal your ear canal (www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XF4LY8G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) plugged into a little Behringer Powerplay P1 (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FOon2wEZss8.html) mounted to my mic stand via a mic bracket, being fed a stereo aux mix from our Presonus RM32AI, and my monitor mix is controlled from a Kindle Fire secured to my mic stand (www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer-Adjustable-Connecting-Microphone-Compatible/dp/B07D5TSC7C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YFGA6UA1U3AL&keywords=Neewer+6-11+inches+Adjustable+Music+Mic+Microphone+Stand+Tablet+Mount&qid=1672418609&s=electronics&sprefix=neewer+6-11+inches+adjustable+music+mic+microphone+stand+tablet+mount%2Celectronics%2C111&sr=1-1). For anyone looking to put a little IEM rig together, this is an extremely good monitoring solution on a budget. I also have a t-bone wireless unit for gigs where the stage is a bit bigger, or trailing XLR cables is a little impractical. I personally feel that since we switched to an IEM rig my playing has improved in all aspects; accuracy and consistency of note velocity, and timing. Because its like listening to a DI in a studio, there's no straining to hear the note through an often wooly bottom end and a thundering backline because your amp is coupled to a hollow stage or the band are louder than you are. You hear the note you're playing immediately. You still get the _feeling_ of the bass from the PA if your band is using subs, which John Entwistle couldn't do without, and you can balance yourself perfectly with the drummer. And, because the IEMs seal in your ear you still get all the low end you need to hear, without the volume of a live band so you never leave a venue with your ears ringing. As gig rigs go, its perfect. I turn up with bass, pedals, and bag with IEM setup and power cables, which all fit in the boot of my car easy. For anybody thinking of switching to IEMs, I can say from my own years of experience using them and depping with other bands during that period where I've had to use my cabs and bass rig, IEMs win hands down on all counts.

Very interesting. As a live sound engineer (with experience both at foh and monitors), I can tell you that it's an incredible relief when the band has the capability of mixing their own IEMs purely for the fact that it saves precious time during changeovers at music festivals. Between all of the movement and chaos that happens in those moments, it's tough giving everybody a personalized mix - not to mention taxing when you've got 4 or 6 bands per day. If you sat back at the foh console and turned down the master fader, you would be shocked at how loud the stage volume can be; and that stage sound mixes with the house sound, changing the tonality in often irreconcilable ways. The most difficult instruments to deal with can be the drums, guitar amps, and bass amps (since we have no control of their stage volume or tone, and they are always competing with each other for loudness. In general, all of the other instruments are boosted to match the loudness of the drums, and I suspect that close proximity to loud drumming masks the sound of the other performers on stage. Of course, a pre-rigged IEM solution is the most practical because none of the stages I work have built-in drum cages (and I know how much drummers hate drum shields), and none of the musicians' amplifiers are housed in isolation cabs. It leads me to wonder how past acoustic bands dealt with stage volume and communication. I know that traditional jazz and bebop bands don't really have an issue with this. We're just living in the era of loud music I guess. Anyway, neat video.

Thanks for the sharing the improvements on your rig vis a vis the other IEM videos.

Absolutely brilliant run down. Informative and wonderful as always Adam!

Thanks, Adam! This video is so timely as I'm getting into a working band for the first time in 20 years and would love to build out a budget in ear setup. Great starting point here. Bass.

I absolutely LOVE these practical gear videos. This is the most important stuff about running a show and a tour. It's really helpful to have some return on experience and how budget and compromise can affect the reality of showrunning. Thanks a lot for that

Absolutely great video. The whole gear/tech side of music is honestly really daunting. Thank you so much for breaking me into that world a bit more, you really are one of the best educators on this platform. Would love to see more stuff like this :)

Awesome information. It's supremely important for modern musicians to understand how to deal with a modern stage. I'll note that when stage volumes get out of hand in the range of 110+ decibels, this really creates problems, not just for hearing health, but just being able to have functioning ears. Ear drums start to distort, making it literally impossible to hear accurately. Noice-cancelling in-ear monitors helps with this some, but on really loud stages, the sound actually can get to your ears through your skull and not just your ear canals. There's good reason why many helicopter pilots wear helmets and not just headphones. If using in-ear monitors allows you to get rid of on-stage monitoring and get that volume under control, that's a huge, huge win.

This is helpful! I also use the 24R. Love the details of getting it ready to travel in the rack.

Luv your channel brother. The in ears was really great info when i was running sound for a band they went all in ears, f it made my mix sound so much better. Keep up the great work.

There is SOOOO much information in this video. Whooosh. I'm going to rewatch this so many times. Thank you Adam

It sounds even worst that the raw camera audio on stage since our ears don't have built-in compressor! Also, as a sound engineer, I'm SO happy to FINALLY see a real informative video about in-ear monitors. Every gear video about it seems to say that you need a 2K 32 channel wireless mixer with an iPad to do this and end up with a 10+ rack unit case that in itself is worth in the hundreds of dollars new (if not close or over to a grand if molded). And the end of the day the goal is not to have the *best* IEM system, but rather *some* IEM system that *works*. Having to deal with such a complex mixing system and using your own effects separate from the FOH also detracts from your job as a musician and make you hear things the audience receive in a completely different way, so there is a balance to strike between comfort and fear of losing control. Cheers and happy new year everyone!!

As an audiologist this is so interesting to watch, thank you so much 😍🙌 I have a masters degree of craftsmanship in audiology and hearing aid and have done a fair share of custom in ear monitoring systems but my job usually ends with handing over the physical product to the sound designer, so seeing what happens after that point is just *chef's kiss* 😘👌

Excellent video Adam. Appreciate the details, pros and cons, and the constraints you had to work with.

This explanation is golden. Thanks Adam 🙂And happy new year, for you, your family and the band.

This is so cool! I find it fascinating how these setups work

Very thankful for this. I'm big into binging iem rig content; been threatening to make one for years

Wow! Phenomenal video! Super well done!! I recently purchased IEMs for video editing and my field production work. I love them! Worth every penny!!

Thank you @AdamNeely ! This video helped me build my own IEM rig :D

IEM has solved a lot of our problems. Stage volume is down, hearing is better, and there’s so much more room to move. I’ll never go back to floor wedges.

11:25 definitely recommend learning to solder! It's a great skill for cable building, as well as unexpected needs for quick repairs on electric/electronic instruments.

I am slowly getting into music theory and sound engineering stuff and I want to say that your videos are so well made and interesting to view! Thanks a lot!

This was a really cool video. I enjoyed seeing how you overcame your issues with your own solutions.

IEMs are badass, I had not used them until this year and I was definitely missing out.

Our stage this weekend is 107dB with drums and amps and wedges. IEMs are saving me

Awesome video! Thanks again Adam for being AWESOME!

One of my favorite Adam Neely videos! One of my favorite gear videos ever!!! Thank you Adam for making content that is actually legit and insightful! Keep it up bro

If you end up looking for more power-conditioning solutions, there's a lot of crossover between rackmount computer servers and rackmount audio. Companies like Tripp-Lite, APC, and Eaton make various 1U UPS solutions in every input voltage and plug configuration you can think of. Just depends on how much output power you need. As long as you're not driving amps with it, though, it's probably a lower power draw than servers.

When using in-ear I usually bring my own little mixer with me and have my bass signal extra. So I can ensure that at least my signal is always there if something goes wrong with the rest. Having a room mic is a great idea. I'll suggest that next time.

I always wondered about the in ears that I see watching concerts and how it all works. Thanx for the excellent video explaining all aspects. Subscribed!!!

I've been thinking abour going with IEM for ages and this video finally gave me the confidence to try it out! Thanks Adam!!

I've been looking for an affordable in-ear system for forever. thx so much.

"We wanna give you the power to ruin your OWN life" too real, man

I find it satisfying learning these things as I'm also new to this field of work as an events crew, seeing things I'm familiar to and also learning how it works. Really feels educational.

I absolutely love your music theory videos...and will never need to know a shred of anything of the sound engineering tips and techniques for live mixing that you presented here...BUT I seriously found this to be one of the most truly interesting and completely fascinating videos that you have done!

I was able to convince my band to invest in a cheaper simpler IEM system and we used them for the first time last practice. Words don't do justice to the world of difference it makes. So excited for our upcoming gig

Thank you! Btw, it's totally ok to talk about gear, it's very helpful!

cool rig, i like it good audio mixing is so incredibly important (for so damn many things), and having your own reliable mixing setup sounds like a godsend

The quality of this video is nuts, thanks a lot!

This really shows the struggle of trying to solve all these problems at once. On a much smaller scale though, I've been using a cheap Thomann T.Bone wireless IEM system with my Etymotic earphones, for any little pub gig with my cover bands over the last 10 years. It's true though that you can feel disconnected from the band and the room if not setup properly, but it's so nice to hear my singing with enough detail to know what I'm doing!

We've switched to just using a Behringer X-Air and a few xlr split boxes for vocals and bass (which don't have two audio outputs). Now I'm thinking about splitting all remaining channels as well, especially the drums. 😅 Btw, a great thing about the X-Air is that everybody in the band can adjust their own monitor mix on the smartphone/tablet. One crucial thing is to use all of this stuff on a regular basis during rehearsals, so that you don't have to think about how to set up your monitoring when playing live.

I am not at all a gear guy and not even remotely close to requiring this level of equipment for live performance but this was wonderfully and eloquently explained - I ended up watching the whole thing. As always, love your work. Thanks Adam.

This is such a valuable resource Adam, thank you sincerely

As a quasi-pro, old school sound engineer who strives to be a _good_ SE in providing affordable or donated PA support for my many pro and fellow semi-pro musician friends, this was incredibly educational. The thorough, concise look into your gear setup and considered options was especially well done and helpful. It's inspired thoughts on how to update my old school tools and add In Ear & Personal Monitoring to my PA package. Lots of people Rock, but you JAZZ! 🙂

Thank you for this Adam. Forget about electricity through fusion. Audio recording/amplifying technology innovations are what I'm actually looking forward to see these coming years.

this is SO high quality, unbelievable thank you!

absolutely love this vid. The amount of work put in... dang. Thanks! Learnt a lot!

I have a whole youtube channel dedicated to in ear monitors, their little speakers and which ones are best for the money. I've spent 15+ years in the audio industry and IEM's are a lifesaver. They're also super affordable through chi-fi or Chinese audiophile companies.

This is the best gear tutorial I’ve found thank you

This video is fantastic. I love seeing rack breakdowns that actual touring musicians use.

Excellent video, I love that rig you folks put together!

As a live sound engineer it always makes my job much easier when a band/band members use IEMs. Thank you for making this video.

Ooooooo! I love my IEM’s great vid Adam🤘

What a crazy setup. Thanks for explaining it so clearly.

being able to hear oneself and others in an orchestra is 100% the joyful part of all the hard work to get to that level of playing. I can’t imagine being in an ensemble without being able to hear! I’m adding an electro-acoustic element to my music-making and this is very helpful to know! thank you!

The next step is custom fit IEMs, they take the experience to an even higher level. Especially as a bass player.

Hot tip for cables that tangle. Wrap them around something. Like a piece of cardboard or whatever

Hi Adam! big fan of your content: I am shocked that your band wasn’t using IEMs!!! Insane! You guys have been slaying it 👏🏻 without them all this time? 🤯 IEMs changed everything for me once I embraced them too (ten years ago). Congrats on the transition to them! 🙌🏼

I know absolutely nothing about gear, touring, mixing, so it makes this video so much cooler that I finally get to learn about what it is musicians have to do to get ready for touring (and what they are even hearing with the in-ear monitors) 🤩

As a qualified audio engineer, you did an amazing job explaining basic sound concepts/physics in a way which everyday musicians and viewers can understand. Love it bro!

As a stagehand I appreciate the intricacies of how this all works!

I was at that Madrid show in Teatro Pavón. Great performance. Looking forward to catching future Sungazer gigs 😀

Love it! Thank you for this very informative video Adam!

As an audiophile, I gotta say, IEMs are magical. The ability to get lost in the music is just so profoundly part do what the modern audiophile IEM is, and I think it’s great that this professional concept is being brought to hobbyists.

Even for non-pro musicians I think this is a pretty awesome video. It makes me appreciate a lot more about musicians performing on stage. Now I know there're lot more efforts put into making a good live!

I'm not a musician, but I still watched your whole video, it's honestly very interesting to know the problems musicians have to face during their performances. Even though it's filled with a lot of specific gear I dont' need to know and won't remember it mostly, it's also very satisfying to see how you encountered some issues with the gear you had upgraded it to get rid of them. Can't tell if there are better solutions, but it looks to me like a good tutorial for aspiring musicians.

This was the video I needed. A dream setup for any musician. Thanks