Hello everyone,

So with my band we would like to invest in an in-ear monitoring system, but we have trouble finding the best configuration for us.

We have 5 members
- Guitarist
- Bassist
- Keyboardist
- Drummer
- Vocalist

We also diffuse non-played tracks as we perform (violin parts etc)

Ideally, we would like for the guitarist, the bassist and the vocalist to be able to listen to their own sound, while being able to adjust the volume level of their own instrument vs. the band mix.
Is this possible to achieve without using 3 transmitters?

The drummer and keyboardist should at least be hardwired to a pre-recorded track with the click and helping parts.
We currently have a Zoom R8 for this purpose. We do not know where to go from there.

Could you tell me what are the usual configurations, and the gear that you think would fit our needs?

I don't understand so well this audio-engineering stuff but I just want the best sound and performing conditions for everyone, without ending up with a lot of gear to take around.

Thank you guys.

 

So, 5 x pairs of proper IEM alone will set you back between $2-4K+, depending on how much you want to spend. Although it's amazing sometimes how good a cheap $200+ pair can be!
Then you need a mixing desk with enough auxs to do your different mixes, or an external soundcard with many outputs.

Transmitters? So you want this all wireless as well?
Mixes will have to be sorted pre-gig, unless every band member has a laptop which can access your source and change their mixes on the fly.
And then there's headphone amplification you may need for after the desk.
There are those powered headphone hubs with multiple outputs you can get now, might be worth you looking into.

i just thought I'd drop you this info first, prior to recommending any products.
Good luck!

 

When I started playing with bands we used a minimum of equipment, come the late 60's thru the 80's we used a massive walls of equipment, later in the 90' we now again use a minimum of equipment even for 500 person or more venues, but we always used an amazing extremely sensitive monitoring system called EARS which everyone usually has attached to either side of their faces. Even useful when playing with a small orchestra