Does anyone have a recommendation for Custom In-Ear Headphones that would be used by a worship drummer playing an acoustic set?
In-Ear headphones
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Hey Brent,
I don’t have custom ones, but I can comment on what I know. I use the cheaper Shure model, I think the model is an SE-215. They don’t sound pleasing to me, as they have way more mids than I like, but I ended up liking them for dealing with louder stage volumes. It allows me to hear what I need to. A lot of friends use the cheap multi-driver IEMs like the KZ-AS10s. They sound much “better” (more like I want my home stereo to sound) to my ear, but I have a harder time getting my personal mix to where I can hear everything I need. With that said, a lot of friends love them. I do notice that they have them cranked so loud that their IEMs bleed into their vocal mics when they are near.
The Shures and KZs are both cheap enough to get and use until you find the custom unit you want. I bought my Shures thinking I would use them until finding a better solution, but I never felt a need to replace them. If I used them more often, I suspect I would maybe look around a bit more, but they get the job done.
With all that said, IEMs have a bunch of advantages over wedges, but I still find them unnatural (and very limited in bass frequencies as well). It feels like playing with a CD instead of playing with other live musicians in the same room. The only reason I mention that is if you have the option of a hotspot instead of IEMs, I’d give that a shot before going with IEMs (you may find you prefer it). We use a click channel, so IEMs are the only option at this point.
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Thanks a bunch, Mike. Shure is what he uses today (my son is the drummer). He related to a lot of what you experienced. Thx again.
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