IEM - Pre or Post

[walterw]

Perhaps you missed the minor detail there are no floor monitors only IEM's.

Compression for singers no way most don't have enough dynamic range to begin with.

i think the same rules apply, compressed vox in IEMs will cause the same problem, over-singing and blown-out voices.

out front, a bit of vocal compression is a wonderful thing if you want the vocals to stay just above the mix without getting too loud, and if you want the nuanced stuff to not disappear under the drums. more of a pop/rock mixing thing, i think.

[WK154]

I'm glad we agree on compression not being good for vox in general. In forums with the usual lack of detail such as genre etc. generalizations have a habit of not being the best advise. The "general wisdom" regarding floor monitors of not using compression stems from the fact that the loudness (rms) increases with compression and elevate stage loudness causing feedback sooner. IEM's eliminate that particular problem. This has less to do with the FOH balance which can be controlled. The DL is weak in this area (no DCA's or groups). Weak vox will benefit more from judicious use of reverb with pre-delay than from some compression for bringing the vocal forward. At least that's what I would try.

[walterw]

I'm glad we agree on compression not being good for vox in general.

we did?

judicious comp on "pop" vocals (which means pop/rock/country etc.) is wonderful out front. it just needs to stay out of the monitors, whether wedges or IEMs.

[JMc]

Just curious, is everyone in the band sharing the same monitor mix?  If so, prepare yourself for a lot of dissent.  It's highly unusual for everyone to agree on the levels "they" want to hear from the individual instruments, vocals, etc. 

[Wynnd]

Agreed on that.  Had a singer who only wanted himself in his IEM.  And every time he put them in his vocal volume dropped about 8 db.  No one telling him that he did that convinced him that it was happening.  (Think the first person to mention it was the bassist.  Ah, who listens to bass players anyhow?)

[sam.spoons]

Best answer to a quiet singer is to turn their monitor down   

Seriously, that doesn't surprise me at all, HTF can he hear the rest of the band if he has IEM's without them in his mix (good IEMs can give 27dB attenuation to external sound levels)? Of course he sang quietly so he could hear the band!!! I'm surprised he could sing at all!

[musicman7722]

Just curious, is everyone in the band sharing the same monitor mix?  If so, prepare yourself for a lot of dissent.  It's highly unusual for everyone to agree on the levels "they" want to hear from the individual instruments, vocals, etc.

Each person has a dedicated mix and not compression or gate.  I have a FOH fold back in channel 15 for those that want a taste of the front mix but nobody uses it full.