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I've finally been experimenting w/ my IEM's and I have to admit that I couldn't get the grin off my face...huge reduction in the noise going in my ears and I can hear everything very well. It seemed to me over a couple hours that the dynamics and subtler parts of the music are harder to pick up on w/ these in. Do others agree or do I just need to get used to them longer??
Just make sure that the level isn't too loud. Listening to any music at high levels can wipe out the subtleties.
Hi Andy, so are you saying this can be over come or is it a short coming of the IE's.......is it even a concern thats been voiced by other musicians??
I haven't noticed a loss of dynamics at all. As Andy said, make sure you're not listening too loud. I think most people have them cranked way too high.
hey sjj... i think there was an article in MD in 2002 i think....i forget. But it had to do with what kinda monitors drummers liked to use, and I beleive that Simon Phillips said he didnt like using in ears because somehow that lead to a loss of dynamics... or something to that effect.
sjj123,
Wiping out the subtleties by listening at loud levels is more of a function of the cochlear mechanics of the ear. It's just the way we're designed.
Specifically, listening at high levels causes a spread in neural excitation so you get regions of the cochlea firing off that you wouldn?t normally want when critically listening to music.
An example would be playing a killer ride cymbal that sounds fantastic at soft and medium levels and basically disappears at really loud levels. The reason it disappears isn't because it stopped making a sound, but because at high sound levels you have this spread of neural excitation that prevents the ear from being sensitive to the nuances that you're trying to hear.
So, basically, try to keep the monitor levels as low as possible. Also, using in the ear monitors that actually attenuate the stage sound will go a long way in allowing you to use lower monitor levels, thus allowing you to keep the subtleties in tack.
Good luck!
...okay there is one other issue regarding lack of subtleties/dynamic range with in the ear monitors...and that is the level of the compression knee point on the amp for the in ear headset AND the level of the signal sent to the in-ear amp. If the signal is too high, much of the stuff you're listening to will be in compression, so the differences between the soft and loud stuff will be smaller. Imagine doing the Purdie/Jeff half-time shuffle where the ghost notes and accented snare hits are real close in loudness. It's not that your playing it like this but with severe compression, it can sound that way.
Like Tom wrote, (with the right settings) the in the ear monitors can sound great and really help your playing.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Huh?Quote:
Originally posted by Andy Vermiglio:
sjj123,
Wiping out the subtleties by listening at loud levels is more of a function of the cochlear mechanics of the ear. It's just the way we're designed.
Specifically, listening at high levels causes a spread in neural excitation so you get regions of the cochlea firing off that you wouldn?t normally want when critically listening to music.
An example would be playing a killer ride cymbal that sounds fantastic at soft and medium levels and basically disappears at really loud levels. The reason it disappears isn't because it stopped making a sound, but because at high sound levels you have this spread of neural excitation that prevents the ear from being sensitive to the nuances that you're trying to hear.
Just kidding Andy! [img]wink.gif[/img]
Sjj, I've found that IEMs actually help me play (and hear) better dynamics, because everything is much clearer than with floor wedges. It helps, though, if you can control your own mix. If someone else is, then the slightest adjustment can throw off your whole mix.
-Tom
hey, folks... I am an old friend of Andy's and a big proponent of IEM's. Musch of the time, I will use only one ear monitor, keeping the other ear open for the stage ambience. I play bass in a HUUUUUGGGGE church in the metro Atlanta area, and I find that with one ear out, I can get the stage "feel" of what the drummers doing. We use an AVIOM system, with every player having their own 16 channel "brick" mounted on a mic stand. We control our own mixes, can even be stereo if we want to give some seperation (of course - you need both IEM's in... duh). Four channels devoted to drums, so I pan these channels appropriately to simulate the location of the drums themselves. In a Pop Rock environment, it's just too loud with wedges. I personally can't handle it, and 10 minutes into a set with wedges, I can no longer hear all the subleties the drummer is dishing up. As a bassist, that can spell disaster.
Hope it's ok for a bassist to drop in here every now and then We need to know what you drummers are thinking...
Paige
Hey Paige,
Great to hear from you! Thanks for posting your perspective from the 'bass players chair'!
Andy