Making the switch from floor wedges to in-ear monitors has major benefits:
First off, stage noise is drastically decreased which in turn improves sound for the congregation.
Secondly, the band becomes ‘tighter’ because they can hear better.
And finally, each band member can have a unique mix where they are slightly louder than the
rest of the band so you no longer hear the dreaded question, “Can you turn me up in
the monitors?”
The drawback to switching is the cost involved, especially if you want to go wireless with
everyone having their own personal mix.
But, there is a solution for those working on a smaller budget.
It may not have as much flexibility or look as pretty as the costly solutions, but it
is way better than sticking with floor wedges.
So, in this video, I’m going to show you how to switch to in-ear monitors on a budget.
This video is brought to you by Behringer X32 Mastery, the fastest way for church sound
techs to master the X32.
And, with a team license, you can enroll unlimited team members now and in the future.
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Well, hey.
If we haven’t met, I’m Kade, creator of Collaborate Worship.
And we are dedicated to building confident worship teams.
In other words, we want to help you master technical skills so your church can worship
without distraction.
So let’s talk in-ear monitors on a budget.
Although everyone shares the same monitor mix in the solution I am about to give you,
they are still able to turn up their own instrument in their ears over the shared mix.
It is not as ‘personal’ as being able to create your own, unique mix, but at least
they will be able to hear themselves over the rest.
Let’s start by going over the equipment you’ll need.
And keep in mind, I’ll include links where you can purchase all this equipment in the
description.
First of all, you will need to split your monitor mix so you can send it to all those
who will have in-ears.
I recommend the Whirlwind Split 6.
If you need to split more than 6 times, simply use 2 aux or bus sends and buy two of these
splitters.
Then all your vocals could share one mix and the instrumentalists could share another.
Next, there are five different things you’ll need for each person on your team who needs
an in-ear mix.
#1: Rolls PM50S Personal Monitor Amp
#2: A pair of in-ear headphones
#3: A stereo extension cable
#4: A microphone cable
#5 A quarter-inch TRS to female XLR patch cable
Now that you have all the equipment, let’s talk about how to set it up.
Step 1: Connect the splitter to the desired monitor mix.
Prior to using in-ears, you used an aux or bus send for each monitor mix on the stage.
You can use this same mix for the in-ears, but it will be routed through the Whirlwind
Split 6 instead of your floor wedges.
If your floor wedges are powered, you can use the XLR cable that runs to the floor wedge
and plug it into the splitter instead.
If your floor wedges are unpowered, you will use the XLR cable from the amp that is powering
your monitors and plug it into the splitter.
Otherwise, you can simply use a new aux send, if you have one available.
Simply route the connection from your board, through the stage snake and then to the splitter.
Step 2: Connect all your personal monitor amps to the splitter.
Each Rolls Personal Monitor Amp needs to be connected to the Whirlwind Split 6 with a
1/4” TRS to XLR female patch cable.
Simply plug the 1/4” side into the ‘Monitor Input’ on the Rolls and the XLR side into
the Whirlwind splitter.
Keep in mind, the monitor mix will be in mono.
So on the Rolls Personal Monitor Amp, you will need to use the mono selection.
To do this, you will need a small tool to remove the little plastic piece and reposition
it appropriately.
Step 3: Connect the instrument or microphone to the personal monitor amp.
The way you connect an instrument or microphone will be slightly different.
For microphones.
use an XLR cable to connect the microphone directly to the ‘Mic Input’ on the Rolls
Personal Monitor Amp.
Then use another XLR cable to connect the ‘Mic Thru’ to your mixer (most likely
through the stage snake).
Just think of it this way: it is like before, where you are sending the mic signal to the
mixer, only the Rolls amp is in the middle.
So, the signal simply ‘passes through’ the Rolls and then heads back to your mixer.
Now, for everything that uses a direct box, like keyboards and guitars, simply use a microphone
cable to connect the ‘Output’ on your direct box to the ‘Mic Input’ on the Rolls
Personal Monitor Amp.
Then use another XLR cable to connect the ‘Mic Thru’ to your mixer, just like you
did before.
Step 4: It is now time to connect the headphones to the Rolls Personal Monitor Amp using the
stereo extension cable.
Now, you can use the two knobs on the front of the Rolls to control your mix.
The ‘Mic Level’ is how you turn up your instrument or vocal over the mix.
The ‘Monitor Level’ is how you adjust the volume of the shared monitor mix.
The best way to manage the headphone cable is to create a small loop at the end of the
cable and put it in your back pocket after connecting your headphones.
Then the cable runs down you back leg – almost invisible!
And here’s one final tip for guitars.
It is a good idea to combine your guitar’s instrument cable with the stereo extension
cable using electrical tape.
Then, there is only one cable running up to the guitar and the guitarist can plug in their
headphones near the guitar input.
This looks much cleaner than two separate cables running to the guitarist.
Now, I know this is a lot.
So I put together an in-ear setup diagram you can download and print off for a visual
on how all this connects.
I’ll include a link in the description.
I’ll also include links to all the equipment mentioned in this video.
I will earn a small commission from Amazon if you decide to use the links, but it won’t
cost you anything extra.
And I want to give a shout out to Brad with churchmediadrop.com for introducing me to
this in-ear setup.
If you have questions, drop them in the comments.
I’d be glad to answer.
If you’d like to see more videos like this, give me a thumbs up to let me know.
And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the little bell so
we can let you know when a new video comes out.
See ya next time.