Personal Equipment - WellspringChurchNC/prod-team GitHub Wiki

Band considerations

  • IEM (headphone / earphone) Selection
  • IEM Mixing Hints and Tips
  • General Guidelines
  • (Optional) Using Personal Montiors (ie headphone amps)

Production team considerations

The “latest” on IEM options … as of April 2018 …

Some “history” / chronology

When we first started … many team members were on a budget and hesitant to spend $ on equipment. The reality is that singers and instrumentalists need “good” IEMs in order to block out “stage” noise and hear themselves effectively. To that end, we recommended an original set of IEM choices geared towards the best known info at that time (mid-2015). Since then, tech continues to improve and there are more really good choices than ever before. For the budget / cost constrained performer I still suggest the JVCs and regardless of the IEM selected I always highly recommend custom fit molds (either DIY or done by an audiologist/IEM provider). Note that if you use the JVCs, MEEs or KZs you can create DIY molds that provide very good sound isolation for about $10. See this good DIY article on how to do it.

The “latest” recommendations ...

KZ ZST IEMs are Jim's "best value" recommendation.

IEM Cost Pros Cons Where To Buy
JVC HA-FX1X $7 InexpensiveGreat bass Not ideal from an audio perspective ebay for best prices
MEE audio Sport-Fi M6 $20 Perfect for singersSeal wellHave a “wire” Not as much bassFixed cord Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0038W0K2K
MEE audio M6 PRO $45 Detachable cord Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074THQXDR
KZ ZST $35 Dual DriverDetachable cord Upgraded cable is not black Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5CPXLU
Westone UM Pro 10Shure SE 215 $99 The “standard” for entry level IEM Not worth it (IMO)Single Driver Sweetwater
More expensive Westone and Shure $200-$900 Usually more drivers Not worth it (IMO) Sweetwater
JLA Custom IEMsGrace 8 $400+ Quad Driver Not worth it (IMO) unless playing “often” https://www.facebook.com/JLA-Custom-in-Ear-monitors-2206326206260955

Where the research came from …

The original, mid 2015 post on IEMs …

Possible IEMs and personal amps (instead of Avioms) for everyone's use:

Spec JVC HA-FX1X Westone UM 10 Brainwavz ProAlpha
Driver Single10 mm Single w/removable cable Single10.7 mm
Freq Response 5Hz - 23kHz 20Hz - 16kHz 20Hz - 20kHz
Impedance 16 Ohms 25 Ohms 20 Ohms
Sensitivity@1mW 104dB 114dB 115dB
Cost $12 - $30 $149 $45

IEM Mixing Hints and Tips

All of the comments here, talk about mixing from a personal mixer perspective ... in our case the Avioms (not the main sound board). The content below was extracted / gleaned from articles and should be used as input / additional education but may not be 100% factual.

Best Practices

So now that you have your system, what are some things you can do to make each mix as good and helpful as possible? Here are some thing to think about when training users:

  • Make sure the master volume is at unity or “0”; If you crank the individual instruments but have the master volume down, you will cause distortion and discomfort.
  • Try and keep the main EQ as flat as possible; Like mixing for the PA, EQ should be in small doses.
  • Pan instruments and vocals to create space; While in a large venue mono may be desirable to make sure everyone hears the same mix, it tends to clutter up an in-ear mix. Use panning to keep things in special perspective.
  • Add what you NEED not what you WANT; This isn’t the main PA, if you have everything in the mix it gets pretty cluttered. This can muddy up the mix and keep the listener from hearing what they NEED to be able to play and sing with the rest of the group.
  • Use the ambient mic sparingly; Many of the mixers have an onboard ambient mic. This can add great space to the mix, but it can also cause chaos.
  • Make the over all level as loud as you need, not just LOUD; Remember that the ear-buds are only inches from the eardrum and this can cause hearing damage very fast.

A world class monitor mixer teaches this about mixing for musicians and singers. He uses the S. T. P. treatment.

  • Self - They need to hear their own voice/ instrument.
  • Time - They need to stay in time so they need to hear the snare/ hi-hat/ whatever is keeping time.
  • Pitch - They need to stay on pitch so they will need the melody.

Everything else is just ear candy.

Earphone Considerations (see above recommendations, the below is another person's opinion to consider)

You can have the best mixer and a well crafted mix but if you don’t have good monitors, it will all be for not. So lets talk earphones. I am going to split this up into three sections, and give you the pros and cons of each:

  • Generic headphones (e.g. Shure SE 215, Westone UM 10, UE 900S); If you are on stage once a month, or on a tight budget, these are for you. Entry level pricing is around $100 per set and you can replace the earpiece with cleaning for multiple users. Although the more expensive generics may have duel or even triple drivers, the affordable ones are usually single driver units. They are usually a bit more fragile, but the lower cost make replacing them less painful. And they sound much better than iPod earphones or the drugstore brand that makes you look like a pirate.
  • Custom molded earphones (e.g. Ultimate Ears, 1964, etc.); If you use earphones every week or more, you really need to invest in custom molded earphones. While it is a larger investment, the benefits far out way the sacrifice. They are also better for your hearing and your physical ears. There is no generic that can beat the sound of a good quality set of custom molded IEMs. Prices range from $400 to $1800 plus getting your ears molded at an Audiologist. You can save that money with Ultimate Ears as they have patented a digital ear scanner. You can find more info on this here.
  • Cheap headphones; DON’T USE THEM for this kind of monitoring. Just Say NO!

Final thoughts

  • Not everyone should have a Personal Mixer. You may want to think about mixing the BGV's from the sound console.
  • Training, Training, Training. You will have to train and train often. Have a quarterly training.
  • Patience is key. No matter how much you train, users will not remember everything. Be patient and know that is the norm from now on.
  • Know the mixer better than them. You are and forever will be the expert. Live it, learn it, love it.

General Guidelines for optimal worship / production / band / tech teaming

  • It is understood that sometimes last minute decisions / changes have to be made, but these should be the exception and not the rule. Set lists / service program contents, team members in worship or production should not change at the last minute whenever possible. Changes are completely acceptable 2 weeks before the service, 1 week before the service is not ideal, with less than 1 week before the service a change should be rare.
  • If there are 3 or less musicians (not vocalists) on stage, it is desired that multi-track sources and multi-track output hardware is used. If only a loop and click/cue signal is provided, the worship leader must be able to remove the audio for the extra instruments. In general the loop should contain fewer instruments and avoid extra percussion and synth audio (as these types of tracks tend to add "distortion" and sometimes "mud" to the mix).
  • If production / tech is not consulted on the purchase of any gear by the church, we will do our best to support its use but are not responsible for the quality of the end result when it is used live. Ultimately, we are volunteers and not professionals and need to balance many aspects of any technical decision and purchase (which may include, but is not limited to reliability, ease of use, quality, long term capabilities, and cost).
  • Similarly to above, any new gear that is asked to be put in production without an appropriate amount of time (typically 2 to 4 weeks) to learn, setup, configure, understand, etc. will be incorporated at the risk of having a major failure in the production main paths (audio, lighting, CG).
  • Any musician or vocalist that serves must have their own gear and capabilities to directly integrate with our environment. We expect a single audio path per instrument or vocalist (except drums). We expect musicians to come with spare equipment (such as guitars, strings, tuners, capos, picks, stands, cords/cables, drum sticks) and all musicians & vocalists to come with their own IEMs (ear buds).
  • From a wireless perspective we will attempt to use any musician's or vocalist's wireless equipment; however, if there is interference generated from that equipment and/or we are unable to easily connect and integrate it into our setup, then we will not spend any time in trying to make it work. Ideally, the musician should consult with the production team before bringing in new wireless equipment to insure compatibility.
  • Our desire is to maintain a "silent stage" by using IEMs only (we will not provide wired or wireless stage monitors/amplified speakers as monitors). Ideally, we would prefer to not have any instrument amplifier that is mic'ed. If an amplifier is needed / required we can allow up to two and they must be reasonably small (not larger than 18" x 20" x 24").
  • The production / tech members are to be considered at all times as co-laborers in worship / worship "leaders" ... collectively the band & tech teams work seamlessly together to enable a successful contemporary worship experience. Musicians that are part of the Wellspring community are expected to arrive at the start of setup (currently 7am) in order to assist with stage setup, placement of major audio runs and cabling. Drummers in particular must be able to completely set up the drum kit and shield. The sound techs can assist with mic'ing the drum kit. In general, all musicians must come early enough to insure that all personal gear is setup and ready for sound check at 8:30am.

(Optional) Using Personal Montiors (ie headphone amps)

We currently only have 8 avioms (so only 8 people on stage can use an aviom unless they "share"). In October 2017 we did an open air service, and used rented audio equipment (and sound engineers). For monitors we used Rolls PM50s headphone amps. It is possible to have more than 8 people on stage if the extra people utilize these amps and the following configuration:

  1. on the LS9 a mix bus is assigned to a band member (currently 8 and 15 are "open") and connected to the snake
  2. ideally an XLR to TRS ¼” cable to go from snake to the PM50s (theoretically you could use the mic input on the PM50s; however, you would need to be careful about the line level coming from the mix bus). A regular XLR cable can be used as each personal monitor "kit" contains an AC adapter, PM50s, and an XLR to ¼” adapter.
  3. a smartphone or tablet with the air fader loaded and configured and logged into the appropriate mix8 or mix15 id
  4. you could optionally hook up the band member's instrument or mic using the instructions below; however, it may be "easier" to just use the air fader interface to mix the entire setup (described in the Best Use (best for you as musicians) section below) When step 4 above is not done, see the description below in the OK Use (will work, sound engineer may insist on this setup) section.

NOTE to sound team - this is another argument for reworking all of our channels so that they match the aviom channels ... then the user only has to deal with the first 16 channels on the board similarly to how the avioms are configured.

This is the doc created for the open air service ... basic instructions how to connect and use the personal monitors (assumed they were utilizing the band member connection option as described in 4 above).

Precautions

In an open-air venue, you want to control the stage volume level to protect your hearing. If the sound engineer (or drummer) does not want to use the drum shield, if monitors are active, or simply because there should be a LOT more dBs than what is normally done in the high school theater; it may be harder for you to hear clearly. You need to protect your ears / hearing. If you have custom fit molds for your IEMs, that is best. Isolation and protection from those molds will help you keep the IEM volume at a safe level. These “amps” can be turned up very loud … please be careful in how loud you set your levels. You may want to tape the device to a stand so that it’s at a good height for making quick adjustments.

Best Use (best for you as musicians)

You basically want to use this with 2 inputs (one from your personal input-->ie guitar or mic, and the other from the sound board-->the “monitor mix”). You then would have control over your level (using the MIC LEVEL knob) and the “monitor mix” level (using the MONITOR LEVEL knob). You will have to communicate to the sound engineer what things (besides your level) that you need higher & lower in the “monitor mix” (ie click, drums, loop, ...). Typically, you each will have to communicate this individually (one person’s monitor mix should not affect another person’s monitor mix).

Band Member Connections

  • Everyone: MIC THRU to sound board, XLR “monitor mix” feed from the sound board into MONITOR INPUT (using XLR to ¼” adapter)
  • Guitars (Acoustic, Electric, Bass), without amps - plug ¼” cable into DI, DI → XLR MIC INPUT
  • Guitars with amps - plug amp mic into XLR MIC INPUT
  • Drums - since it’s a mic’d drum kit you will only have a monitor mix and will need to communicate with the sound engineer on what is needed for your IEMs … only the MONITOR LEVEL knob will be used
  • Vocalists: plug your mic XLR into MIC INPUT

OK Use (will work, sound engineer may insist on this setup)

With this approach you will have ONLY the sound board “monitor mix;” therefore, you will ONLY have control over the “monitor mix” level (using the MONITOR LEVEL knob). You will have to communicate to the sound engineer everything (including your level) that you need higher & lower in the “monitor mix” (ie your instrument / vocals, click, drums, loop) (ie click, drums, loop, ...). Typically, you each will have to communicate this individually (one person’s monitor mix should not affect another person’s monitor mix). Your only control is how loud that mix is in your ears. Simply plug the XLR “monitor mix” feed from the sound board into MONITOR INPUT (using XLR to ¼” adapter).