As a musician your ears are probably the most important part of your body but how often do we forget to protect them. The constantly blaring sound in a jam or on stage can lead to damage to your ears and in ear monitors provide you with the necessary protection. But other than the health benefit in-ears also provide a bunch of other benefits which definitely make them a must for all musicians. We list below all of those benefits.
1) Hear yourself and the band clearly
The most important of all – you can hear the full band clearly. How many times have you had your on stage battle to get a good mix because someone’s amp is too loud or the drum kit is too close to you. You can start hearing every member immediately and that can be the difference between a good gig and a great gig!
2) Reduce strain on vocals
If you are a vocalist you may have experienced that the loud stage sound can lead to your vocals drowning out. In an effort to hear yourself and hit the right notes, chances are you would strain your voice excessively. Being able to hear yourself will control the strain and
3) Reduce strain on ears
Did you a know a drum kit has levels of 120 DB which in itself can be harmful to hearing depending on the mount of time. Your on stage sound also includes amps and monitors which combined together is loud enough to hard your ears very quickly. In-ears reduce this strain considerably and eliminate almost all the onstage sound (except drums). You can hear exactly what you need and at much lower levels.
4) On stage mobility
When you use wedges on stage you are practically stuck in front of them. There is no way to go around the stage and still get a proper mix to hear everything. In ears can help you with on stage mobility, that is unless you are a drummer or a keyboard player.
5) Clicks and backing tracks
Many modern bands use clicks and backing tracks in their songs and that is virtually impossible to do with wedges as the sound of the click will bleed through to the audience!
6) Control levels
How many times have you had to signal and shout to the sound engineer mid gig to increase or decrease the volume on your monitor. Well you can control that yourself from your body pack!
7) Minimum clutter
Using in ears completely unclutters your stage as you wont need monitors or side fills. Other than just looking great, this also gives you additional room to roam around!
8) Stereo monitoring, maybe feedback
Getting a stereo mix can literally change your life. It can make it easier for you to listen to every single detail in your mix which directly translates to a much better stage experience and performance.
9) Interference with PA mix
If you are in a smaller venue chances are your on stage sound will definitely bleed into the PA mix. This is even more so if you are a band playing heavier music since that usually leads to very high on stage sound. In a smaller venue this can turn into a real mess for the sound engineer.
All in all IEMS are definitely a must and we hope to have convinced you to take the plunge and start using In ear monitors.