In Ear Monitors and Volume Pedals

[Jeff Valentine]

You're totally right about being careful. I make sure the volume is as low as it can be and still actually be usable. However, having control is way better than not having it. Sitting next to a drummer onstage without any hearing protection means you're just gonna have to deal with however loud he wants to play. Wearing hearing protection means you won't be able to hear yourself.... So you just sit there and go deaf for $150, if the gig pays that well. I'd rather use the in ears and turn them down. That way I have as much or little drums as I need. If used correctly, in ears can be a way to save your hearing.

-Jeff

[Rick Hinton]

Headphones are different than ear monitors. Ear monitors provide a reduction in volume which will helps you isolate what you want to hear in your ear monitors, versus competing with other monitor mixes and stage volumes. Most head phones do not offer the isolation.

I also agree with Keith. Be careful with the volume in your ears, it can cause damage that cannot be reversed. In most professional applications, the signal is routed through a compressor/limiter to protect against most unforeseen spikes in volume and also smooths out the mix. I run stereo ears and a stereo compressor and it sounds amazing. If it doesn't, I tweak my mix.

Hope this helps.

Rick

[Steve Stewart]

I was an artist / frontman for many years and have suffered hearing loss due to standing in front of amps and drums too long. I resisted the in ear thing when they first started surfacing. My sound guy finally convinced me to try them. It took me a couple of days to get used to the buds in my ears and to get my mix right. The isolation was the scariest part. I had to become a lip reader! I added a little verb to keep from feeling so dry and isolated.
Once I got the buds dialed in it was amazing how much my playing and singing improved! I was no longer competeing with the band and the front of house guy was no longer dealing with monitor wars coming off the stage.
I wish I had tried the ears sooner. I think my hearing would be better now. After all, in ear monitoring was designed to help musicians lower the volume and protect their hearing.
The added benefit to in ear monitoring is the precise, right there sound you get. It makes good singers great and average singers quit!