The Buzz About In-Ears 

07 Apr The Buzz About In-Ears 

By: Katie Mahon

When an artist is performing you might have noticed them wearing earpieces and thought what are those? Musicians must hear clearly what they are playing or singing. Traditionally this was done with wedges, which are wedge-shaped floor monitor loudspeakers. They’re placed on stage to face the performers and play the music back toward them so that the musicians can hear themselves better. For a long time, wedges were the only method of doing this effectively, but wedges presented problems with hearing health, sound quality, and mobility of musicians. A more effective solution was found, in in-ear monitors. 

The first use of in-ears was in the early 70s which were just standard earphones with a radio pack attached. These didn’t have the best sound quality and weren’t accessible to the everyday musician. The use of wireless in-ear monitors, IEM by professional musicians onstage was first popularized by Stevie Wonder when he began using a Chrys Lindop-modified version in the 1980s.The IEMs were more effective and allowed better sound to be fed back to Stevie’s ear directly. The IEMs that Lindop had modified were based on a 1965 design by then-13-year-old Stephen Ambrose. Ambrose had mounted tiny speakers into a clay mold that he adapted from designs of swimming earplugs. His devices could deliver sound into a fully-sealed ear canal and became the first genuine operational IEM. He went on to custom-make his new IEMs for artists such as Simon and Garfunkel, Diana Ross, and Rush. These weren’t made with hearing health in mind and didn’t protect the wearer from the loud sounds of the band or audience, and as they were still not for sale to most of the public, it was over a few decades before significant developments occurred. 

In 1995, a monitor engineer called Jerry Harvey was working with Van Halen, and their drummer Alex Van Halen, was suffering from ear pain due to the sound which made it difficult for him to communicate with the band, so he went to Jerry for a solution. After researching current in-ears, Jerry realized there was nothing that worked well enough to solve the issue- it wasn’t possible to get true sound isolation from external sources. The sound quality was tinny and didn’t give the musicians an accurate representation of the sounds being produced. Jerry used his expertise to create the first-ever dual speaker, custom in-ears which he molded to Alex’s ears to isolate the sound so he could hear and improve the spectrum that the in-ears could relay. Similar to standard earbuds, in-ears sit in the structure of the ear- but unlike earbuds, they create a seal against the ear canal. Artists like Madonna and Janet Jackson transformed concerts with choreography and stage lighting effects, and IEMs became a necessity for sound monitoring to connect wirelessly. 

Here are six benefits to the usage of in-ears. 

1. Superior Sound Quality- In-ears fit tightly into the ear, and the seal between the in-ears and the ear canal blocks out the outside noise. This means that the sound coming through the monitors goes directly into the ear canal, enabling you to hear more in detail but with less volume. 
2. Hearing Health- Given that musicians are constantly in loud environments, especially when using wedges they are more likely to deal with noise-induced hearing loss and 57% more likely to develop tinnitus. In-ears block out the sound of the amplified instruments and acoustic instruments, allowing you to have the mix at a lower and safe level to protect your ears. 
3. Individual Mixes and Vocal Strain- Because everyone is wearing their own in-ears, the sound is isolated to each performer rather than the entire stage, so everyone can choose the mix of sounds they want to hear. If they want, they can listen to themselves more prominently in the mix without having to up the volume. Or they can add click tracks and audio cues that the audience can’t hear for a more precise performance. By having your own mix you can set the levels lower and can prevent vocal strain. When singers can’t hear themselves over the band, it is normal for them to push to compete with the sound. In-ears allow you to listen to yourself clearly and feel less need to strain and often sing more accurately as a result and without risking vocal damage even when doing many shows. 
4. Elimination of Feedback – If you’ve got speakers on stage pointing the sound back at you or your microphone, some of this can be picked up by your mic and amplified causing feedback. If you’re using IEMs, the sound is coming directly into your ears, so there’s no need for the speakers to be as loud. 
5. Mobility-Wedges take up a lot of space and have many wires. They also have directional sound, so performers will only get their mix if they are in front of their wedge. This can be a problem when singers and musicians want to move around the stage as they have to stay in specific spots to be able to hear properly as well as avoid stage clutter. In-ears free the stage and allow you to an excellent quality mix. 
6. Portability and Personability-In-ears are small and portable, unlike heavy wedges. This means touring or traveling with them gives you a choice- either lug around giant speakers and set them up each time or work with whatever the venue has, but each setup is different. The portability of in-ears means that none of this is a problem. 

There are also technical errors that may occur with in-ears just as with wedges. There could be a problem with the mix or interference, and singers then choose to take them out or not wear them at all. In some smaller venues, there aren’t a lot of sound options, which can include the option of not having your own mix, which might make a musician opt to go without in-ears. Another reason is that the isolated sound takes time to get used to and can be hard for singers to hear the audience, which can make them feel disconnected.  

At FanFlex we are all about live music, performing live, and the best and easiest way to do that. Many of the venues we use have wedges, but many artists invest in their own set of in-ears for all the reasons mentioned above. Artists can also get their own mold for the in-ears made, which is a good investment. 

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