IEMs, Clicks, and Pub Bands

Snags

Rather than post a deliberately provocative humorous "hot take" elsewhere, I'm trying to satisfy my curiosity. What is the motivation for a pub band to go down the IEM/click track route?

I can see it if you're a functions/festivals band, and especially if you're an originals band in certain genres, but for your common and garden pub covers on a Friday/Saturday why are you doing it (if you are)? Is it just because you can and it's more toys to play with? Does it make you feel more pro? Does it solve an actual problem you had?

We've kicked the idea around a bit, but in my/our experience, people like us partly because we have a backline, and there's the stage sound + PA that brings a bit of energy and life to things. I'm always careful to set the overall volume such that whilst the band is front and centre, people can talk with raised voices rather than megaphones and ear defenders, and it's not hard to do. I know personally I look at IEMs and just see it being a lot of cost and complication that will only detract from the experience for band and audience in our context. But I'm curious as to whether I'm missing something with my luddite attitudes.

lustycourtier

Why wouldnt they? Its a lot better than a blaring loud monitor taking up floor space, and then needing to use ear plugs. IEMs do both, and having a perfect personal mix is awesome. If you use keys on track, then you have that in your ear. 

DiscoStu

We've been thinking about IEMs. Grunge/90s rock covers and we often can't hear ourselves properly on stage. So we turn up...
IEM in theory would keep the stage volume down and turn the clarity up.

StefB

My experience is the same as others have already said.

Keeps stage volume down, which makes the sound man's job easier and keeps landlords happy on the whole.

Saves what's left of my 50 year old hearing, avoids the need to cart cumbersome, heavy stage monitors around, and saves a lot of room at the front of often already cramped stages.

A perfectly serviceable IEM system costs no more than a decent active wedge these days and once you've been through the learning curve of how to use them they are a doddle to set up and very consistent without the feedback loops and squealing wedges often add.

And one oft unseen benefit is that pitching up at the bar with a set of earphones dangling around your collar usually marks you out as a member of the band and makes the free pint or two easier to achieve with the bar staff.  Such that I might even start wearing them on nights out when I'm not gigging ;-)

thecolourbox

I don't play in a pub band, but I probably seem silly for using IEMs when I play my piano wedding gigs if I need to sing or if the room is loud. Because I have weird hearing, basically, so I struggle to hear low freqencies if the background noise is mid frequency. I also find the louder a speaker is (were i to use a monitor), the harder i find to hear anything clearly so having a prepared mix in my ears is ideal. 

Nerine

The cool thing is, you can use them if your situation benefits from it, and you don’t have to use them if it doesn’t! 

Imagine that! 

Musicwolf

lustycourtier said:

Why wouldnt they? Its a lot better than a blaring loud monitor taking up floor space, and then needing to use ear plugs. IEMs do both, and having a perfect personal mix is awesome.

If I'm playing in a regular band (i.e. with drums / backline) then IEMs protect my hearing as well as giving me the best, most reliable, mix and preventing feedback.

If I'm playing to backing tracks then I can hear the cues / count-ins, but the audience can't.

I've never done a gig with a regular drummer playing to a click, the risks just seem to outweigh any benefits.  What I have done is to have pre-recorded intros / count-ins on certain songs (think sound of the dial tone at the start of Blondie's 'Hanging on the Telephone' etc).

Snags

Nerine said:

The cool thing is, you can use them if your situation benefits from it, and you don’t have to use them if it doesn’t! 

Imagine that! 

Yeah, thanks for that incredible insight. I was more interested in what the benefits are that people feel they're getting.

Which (from the other posts) clearly make sense for them. But our stage volume isn't excessive, we use compact monitors for the most part, and don't have a problem hearing ourselves or each other. We also don't have an independent sound guy - pub band, we run everything ourselves, the venues don't have anyone on tap to do anything other than get in the way, normally

Maybe I'm just lucky in that I play with a bunch of co-operative adults who are focused on the team goal and mostly listen when I tell them to turn the fuck down during soundcheck etc.

RocknRollDave

IEM solves problems for me.
I mean, I play in a function band but I would use them if I were playing in a pub band.
Absolutely nothing of a pose or affectation in it.

vasselmeyer

For me, it's a couple of things:

1) Overall mix...on the desks in both bands I play in I can get an individual mix to my ears. I can hear every instrument and vocal at EXACTLY the level I want for each

2) Sound level in my ears...the IEMs I use are Shure SE215s which are decent quality for the price but also have the ability to use custom molds which I have had made

Therefore, I can get exactly the mix I want, at exactly the volume I want without having to stand next to a drum kit or hearing other amps. I would never play at band volume without hearing protection and the sound quality I can get with my IEMs is way better than I'd get if I just wore my ACS 26 plugs.

When I do the above, I can concentrate on my playing and singing without any worries at all that I'm out of tune or killing others with my volume.

Danny1969

IEM's are a cheaper solution in pubs than monitors. If you use a cabled system then you only need a set of £50 IEM's and a £20 headphone amp. That will allow you to pitch your vocal better than any wedge monitor. 
i play in different bands, some ol skool but mostly IEM. I prefer IEM's in pubs but enjoy no IEM's in big venues. 

gjonesy

I play with a bunch of old lads that are getting more and more deaf, so moving to iem was (selfishly) to try and save my hearing. I took a measument on my phone one gig and (whilst not accurate) I was getting pummeled by 116db from the monitors and it all sounded like hash to me at that volume. Played our first gig with IEM this week and it was so much clearer, everyone said they could hear things much better so hopefully we played better.
It also means I'm using hx stomp instead of my head and 2x12 so it's saving my back too!
Easier load in, consistent sound and I've got the splits labelled up to make life easier for FoH

stickyfiddle

I don’t care about keeping low stage volume and I don’t play in a pub band, but hearing yourself properly is amazing (especially if you’re doing vocal harmonies) 

I wouldn’t go to clicks and (especially) backing tracks though. 

FWIW I’m a firm believer in having the appropriate volume for the context of the show:

- If it’s dinner & drinks and you’re background music, you should be pretty quiet. 
- If a wedding band, loud enough for the people on the floor to feel like it’s a proper danceable event, but not so loud that no one in the venue can talk even if they’re far from the band. 
- If people are paying to see you, it should be treated as a proper gig and no quieter than Radiohead or U2 would play 

and stage volume is only important to the extent that it makes the above difficult

Roland

IEMs and backing tracks are really two separate topics. IEMs are about hearing clearly, and not risking your hearing. My personal view on volume in a pub is that customers should be able to order drinks and talk to their neighbours. Even at this level you’re still at risk if you’re standing right next to the cymbals. The acoustics in many pubs mean that it can be difficult to hear aspects of the music. When I’ve used IEMs then I want kick and snare for timing, and the vocals. With my current band I’m not using IEMs because our sound is clear, and no one is too loud.

If you’re using recorded backing in a pub then it’s generally because you’re a small team trying to keep the cost down, or perform music which needs more than the instruments you’ve got. In the past I’ve worked with a drummer who could trigger samples, which is great because you don’t need a click to stay in synch. I’ve also worked with a drummer who used a click to keep himself on tempo. The rest of us couldn’t hear it. Personally I prefer not to work to a click. I like a song to have the freedom to move tempo slightly, maybe speeding up a few bpm for the chorus, and down for the verse.

PC_Dave

I use IEMs in my 4 piece (as does the singer and drummer - the bassist doesn't, probably because bass players are weird). We use backing tracks for some songs, and the drummer loves playing to a click for those songs, but we don't use a click for non tracked songs. We're a bloody good band, and people always compliment how tight we are and how good we sound, so it's clearly helping us do something right.

I sometimes have to resort to using the IEMs in my acoustic duo at some venues as they can be so loud (people, not the duo) that it's impossible to hear myself. It also helps to hear yourself when using a looper.

stickyfiddle

One thing to add re IEMs is it opens up band comms. In my new band we’re all on IEMs and the drummer has a talkback mic that’s setup so he can talk to us but he’s not in the FOH mix. That way he can count in changes call extensions to solos, extra repeat choruses etc. It’s utterly amazing 

He can also tell stupid jokes halfway through seriosu moments which is hilarious 

monquixote

I've done both. 

The band with the click (but not IEM) was because the synth player was also the singer and liked to be able to walk around. It was quite useful for playing more complex tracks because it allowed us to have multiple parts if required. 

IEMs were a mixed bag it's great being able to hear yourself and not having ringing ears, but it makes soundcheck and setup more complex that just playing through backline and you lose some of the energy.

Supportact

I've been tempted to go down the IEM route with one of the bands I'm in, but I'm unsure. We've got an acoustic guitar on stage,  a loud drummer (regular acoustic drums) and harmony/backing singers. Often there are problems getting the acoustic and mics loud enough in the monitors over the drums before hitting feedback.  In theory IEM would solve at least some of this. 

That said, it is possible to balance the band properly on stage with the right engineer and equipment,  it's just that we don't always have that option at every gig (sometimes using house PA and/or engineer,  limited changeover times etc) . Knowing that, my concern is that with IEM we may just be adding in an extra complication to deal with in set up when there's already a lot to do (and on occasion with a house engineer who may not be totally on it anyway). So I'm thinking maybe it will just create new problems. As I say, I'm in two minds about it. 

Snags

Danny1969 said:

IEM's are a cheaper solution in pubs than monitors.

Not when you already have all the old school kit, and moving to IEMs would necessitate a new mixer etc. etc.

bloodandtears

The IEMs thing has been pretty much covered but for me it saves my hearing somewhat when being on stage near cymbals...   but its also imperative when we use click tracks..

Click tracks.. as a power 3 piece covers band, I refuse to be limited in song choice..  if a song has subtle keys that would be missed from the track then we'll use a backer..  think DLR's Just Like Paradise and Journey's Separate Ways. I would not add guitar to a backer, and I would also think twice about attempting a song that is Keys driven, e.g  Jump by Van Halen. Where it can subtly add to a cover version then game on... Owner Of A Lonely Heart by Yes has a lot of fills and orchestral hits that help the song.  A large number of our Rush covers have click track version for gigs where we don't take keyboards or pedals.

A small number of my musical peers have been known to scorn our approach, to the point whereby they put "full live band, no backing tracks" on their promo work, but I honestly believe this is out of jealousy.

gjonesy

bloodandtears said:

A small number of my musical peers have been known to scorn our approach, to the point whereby they put "full live band, no backing tracks" on their promo work, but I honestly believe this is out of jealousy.

There's a venue that won't consider us because we use programmed drums but everything else we do is live. They consider it cheating, little do they know how unforgiving it is if any one of us makes a mistake.