Mixing In-ears and compression

[Eric]

I do the sound for my band using the QU-SB (came from QU-16). I’m still new to this, so there may be basic holes in my knowledge.

I’m using in-ears and it’s been a frustrating journey for me. The other members are all on wedges. I stumbled across this excellent webinar that really showed be what I have been doing wrong.

I captured a multitrack recording from our last gig and have been using it to mix my in-ears. Doing everything in the video really made a difference. However, I’m not sure how/if I should do a few things.

1. Should I add compression to just my iem’s to help keep all the instruments leveled (and to help spikes in volume)? CAN that be done, if so, how?

2. How do I add reverb to the other instruments just for my mix? (I’m using 9/10 for iems)

Thanks!
Eric

[Anonymous]

You can add overall compression to your mix, but that protects your ears, it doesn’t preserve balance.

Adding FX returns is the same as adding any other channel.

You can’t add compression/fx to a channel ‘just for you’ unless you have a spare fx unit and/or channel to double patch the input…

[Giga]

What Bob said + I usually use a different pick-off point for IEM’s compared to wedges. If you use the signal after the processing done to the channels you automatically have the compression you dialed in on the signal that comes to your IEM mix so that helps. Setting the compressor for your mix pretty high (= almost limiter-like) with a high treshold (-5dB f.i.) can protect your ears at the cost of loosing some dynamic feel.

Another very important issue I feel is to educate/correct your bandmates on their (mis)usage of dynamics or the lack there of. You’re in a good position here because it’s a set group of people. Ecspecially bassplayers and keyboardplayers can have a very poor grasp on dynamics is my experience.
Letting them listen to a raw recording of their own instrument can help make them realize this.

Just keep experimenting with your multitrack-recording and I’m sure you’ll find a workable solution.

Good luck !

Giga

[robbocurry]

@Giga
I’m a little disappointed by your sweeping generalisation of bass and keyboard players in your last comment, that’s how stereotypes begin……

I find that (after 30+ years in the job) the range of knowledge regarding sound reproduction varies widely amongst all musicians. As does their their ability to “give a damn” about advice given!

[Andreas]

..including the “Me louder on monitors”-“ok!”-“slightly too loud now”-<not touched anything yet>-thing… 😉

[Anonymous]

Andreas – always amusing when your fiddling with something else at the time isn’t it 🙂

[Pinkycramps]

So this thread kind of touches on something that I really need to accomplish as well…

My IME Mix is so dead and lifeless, it has no room or space information … so I want to add reverb to individual channels (vocals, guitars, drums) for my stereo mix (Mix 9+10)
I think I am reading that it can’t be done. If I understand it correctly, I can put reverb on the entire mix, by adjusting the return, but I can’t affect or adjust the individual channels. Is that correct? If so… what is my solution… a dedicated monitor mixer? A different system? I know this can be done on larger systems, but not sure how to get this done. Just a blanket of reverb is no good, as it still doesn’t solve any spatial issues that makes the sound weird, and I also can’t have verb on the click.

I own a reverb unit (Lexicon). Could I send a stereo mix to it (like 7+8) and then use another pair of inputs as a returns channel I suppose? The faders on the mix would act as individual channel sends…That should work right? I’m not a real audio pro…. I’m a guitar player and band leader, but I’m not satisfied with the IEM mix I’m getting so I need to figure out how to accomplish this.

[Mike C]

A pair of room mics in stereo into an IEM mix is something you should try.

[MarkPAman]

Are all 4 effects engines already in use? If not it’s quite easy to use one to make up a reverb for just yourself.
Or, if those instruments – vocals maybe? – have their own individual effects already, just pick a bit of that into your own mix.

[Anonymous]

Add stage and or room mics for depth…

[Pinkycramps]

Thanks. I am going to try stage mics in stereo, but it seems like it might not be the right solution. We have a ton of mics on stage already with 5 vocal mics, plus stereo overheads for the drums. Those make the sound pretty washy, so I try to dial those down in my mix, so I can get some separation and clarity. But then, everything just sounds too “on top of each other.”

We have available effects engines… but the trick is (or the question is) can I INDIVIDUALLY adjust reverb PER CHANNEL, in MY mix only?
Example: I want to add some space to the vocals, with a little reverb, say a 10% mix level. I want zero verb on the click track,(obviously, verb on that makes it impossible to use) and none on the bass or the kick, but a little on the snare, and toms (plus some panning). I’d also keep my guitars dry, since they already have effects on them (they are D.I. via an AXE-FX).
Mark PAman, You are saying I can take preexisting verb on the vocal channels and get my own mix level of that in my mix? I can’t seem to figure that out…

[Mike C]

If you want to create an effects mix for your IEM mix separate of any effects mix going to the main house mix you will need to use one of the four internal effects and only return that effects channel to the mix feeding your IEM’s.

You could use an external effects unit like you mentioned, you would have a bit of latency on the round trip to and from external effects unit, probably not a big deal for a reverb return.

[Pinkycramps]

And with that i can have sends per channel that only effect my mix? That is exactly what I am looking for!

It also seems we could use those same reverbs and return them to other members IEM mixes as well then?

So… do I press FX4 (for example… if we use that one for IEM reverb) and set each channel send and then press my mix (9+10) and use the 2nd layer to use the FX4 return? Is that right?

[MarkPAman]

Yes, send what you want reverb on to FX4, then send the FX4 return to your mix (and anybody else’s if they want it), while keeping compleatly down in the main mix.

If you have a “special” reverb going to FOH, say for lead vocals, there’s, technically no reason not to send that to you IEM mix.

Remember, effects returns are really just another input and can be mixed to any bus you like, provided you remember not to send them back to the EX engine that’s the come from.

[Anonymous]

But you only have a limited number of them…

[Author]

Posts