Mixing In-ears and compression

[coffee_king]

@Pinkycramps
Are you using a stereo monitor mix? As in TRUE stereo so you can move instruments left or right off the desk in your IEMs (Not the same mono mix in both ears)?
You have to set this up on your IEM base unit and receiver correctly first.
If not then THIS is the way forward. Ive always had the possibility of a stereo IEM mix but it didnt even occur to me I could use it until 6 months ago.
Now Ive got an amazing sound scape in my head. I used to get overly bothered about “Only having reverb on this and that” but after sorting the stereo IEM I now find that a tiny bit of reverb on the whole mix is fine. Its more like listening to actual pre recorded music then and less of a mono-mush.
After all a “Mastered” piece of rock music will no doubt have reverb over everything to make it gel.

Also you havnt advised what IEM unit or in ears your using.

Anyways, just my two pence.

[Pinkycramps]

@Coffe-King.
I am actually. I run the Sennheiser ew-300 system (and I just ordered some custom 64Audio A3s to go with it). I have it set up in stereo.

[coffee_king]

So, can anyone suggest a “General” compression setting for IEMs please?
More so for avoiding loud spikes in volume than anything else?
So using as a Limiter really.
Exact readings off the desks screen would be helpful please.

Thanks in advance

[Eric]

OP Here. For me, the two key things are room mics and stereo mix. I have 2 PZM mics that I picked up off ebay for the room. I play guitar stage left, so I pan my guitar slightly left and the other guitar slightly right. Vocals, bass and kick are centered. I don’t mic the guitars anymore, we both use a DI so my IEMs always have a consistent signal.

Doing these two things made a world of difference for me.

I would also be interested in compression settings for IEMs.

[Giga]

I can only share how I set up an IEM mix, don’t know what “the rules” are…

Since I take the signals for the mix after the channelstrips they are pre-eq’d and pre-compressed so I simply use the compressor for the monitor as limiter at 0 dB. I also pan the instruments according to where they are on stage.

I use little to no reverb and only on the vocals, I don’t want to do anything to impact the transparancy of the mix. The crosstalk in the mic’s from the stagevolume also gives some “natural reverb”.
I don’t use ambient mics for the audience either as they can be heard via the overhead mics.

All this may change if and when we play bigger stages though…

Giga

[Eric]

“Since I take the signals for the mix after the channelstrips…”

I don’t think I know how to do this on my QU-SB. I’m going to hunt around in the manual.

[Author]

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