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From left: bitsa 63’ replica, classic 50’(olympic white refin) avri 63, road worn (body refin)

Just had this delivered by our resident gear tart Karl to my hotel room in Newcastle. Blown away by the bass and Karl's 50 cash back to buy the strings of my preference. What a diamond geezer.

Of course the other big price fix/anti-competitive policy is that to stock Fender (or Gibson) retailers have to buy a minimum (but large) value of stock, effectively locking out small local music shops from stocking new Fenders as the entry price is too high for them to afford. It also means the medium sized outlets would have to choose between Fender and Gibson with only the biggest outlets able to afford to stock both. Either way the chance most of us have of going in and trying instruments and comparing them and then being able to shop around is highly constrained. In the meantime both companies only need to service a limited no. of outlets who effectively become main dealers tied to policies controlled by Fender. Fining American companies is an interesting policy, I wonder if Mr Trump knows about it? If only there were some sort of Europe wide trading association we could be part of.

Livin’ on a Prayer is far from being crap. It’s a masterclass in commercial Rock songwriting, structure, performance and production.

Took a pleasant drive in the sun to chez @Clarky this morning in order to relieve said gentleman of his ACG Recurve 4 short scale. After a buffing with some carnauba wax it’s looking lovely in the afternoon sun, unlike me. This takes my count of @skelf instruments to two, it doesn’t stop there does it..?

We’ve tested the hell out of the production version over the past week so as to get the truest accurate figures. Essentially peak/burst ratings are irrelevant in the real world so we test for what the amp will produce all day long hence continuous power, it actually peaks at around 265 watts but when measuring the true RMS before clipping it will produce 196 watts happily into a 4ohm load and 140 into 8ohm. Hope that helps...

And a great bass line to play.

Jean-Michel Jarre, Equinoxe. The album that first got me into listening to music, hearing my best friend's brother playing it when it first came out. It is unknown if Jarre used roundwound or flatwound mains cables on the bass synths.

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Thanks for all the replies. I'm leaning towards keeping my cabs in the house having read all your comments. Luckily I have a couple of step kids that I can put in the garage instead. Problem solved! 😼

Just spent 10 minutes watching this, about my favourite drummer. Some quite nice things said about him by his old mate Bernie Marsden. Worth a watch, it always struck me how he could swing, but still be Cozy Powell, a talented man.

Shiny Shiny...I’m worse than a magpie 🙄

Allow me to correct that.

So would I. If I'd paid for the tickets and accommodation that is. What you going to do instead, @police squad? Watch TV?

I’d still go. I don’t know who any of the bands are, still might be a good weekend though, and the scenery around there is spectacular, it’s worth going just for that.

I've just got a Fender Rumble 500 for my return to gigging phase of life. Bloody marvellous it is... and light.

I hope there are a few more entries. I couldn't vote for just one of the above , I'd vote for them all !! Excellent stuff peoples !

Don't mention that at check-in, tho... ☹️

IMO there's no such thing as a crap song with an interesting bass line.

Of course what was I thinking

Well they won't be doing that again in a hurry then!

Uh oh, I’m in trouble. A five string medium scale P/J for under £300?

This is what GK suggest as well.

There is a saying, buy your second bass first. Many people get a cheaper bass as a starter, and upgrade to a better bass quite quickly. If you jump straight to that second bass you'll probably find it's easier to play and will sound better, which should inspire you to improve as a player. Well that's the theory! Then again, you will definitely find better deals in the classifieds.

I'm not a small chap and have fairly large hands but I find short scale basses really comfy to play. One of my current team is a Squier VM Mustang and I'd say if you can find one of these snap it up as they are very nice indeed, as long as you don't mind a fairly narrow neck. A previous owner had swapped the pickup for a Nordstrand NM4 and it sounds absolutely lovely, from a deep thud with the tone rolled off to a biting gnarly sound with the tone full on. So, yes, Mustangs can sound nice and growly. Here is an old clip of the average White Band with Hamish playing a gnarly sounding Mustang. He isn't a small guy either. On Ebay at the moment I noticed there are two Squier Vista Series Musicmasters for sale. One of them over-priced, one pretty reasonable. By Squier standards they aren't cheap but these Vista Series Musicmasters are a one of those jewels in the Squier back catalogue and very nice indeed. They have particularly growly pickups, proper adjustable bridge with a string through option and a wider neck. At one point I had a '79 Fender Musicmaster that I'd modded with a P pickup, one of these Vista series and a Squier VM Mustang, I'd say the Vista was the pick of the bunch. Sold them all, of course, when I moved to 5 string basses, now edging back to 4 string short scale again....

never tried. But as long as the part dosent get too hot it shouldnt matter. 3D printing by its very nature uses thermoplastics that melt "controlably" with heat. but it should be able to take a polish. a common finnish on ABS is to give it an acetone vapour path that smoothes out the surface which is usefull, but you loose some dimensonal controll. i have used TPLA for the pickup cover however.

Thanks Yes - Spector, this one:

I’d say get the instrument you felt most comfortable with. I learned on a short scale bass and it wasn’t a problem moving to regular scale so I wouldn’t have too many concerns in that area. The instrument you gel with best will make learning so much easier.

Printed another. Right way up. Worked better. More consistent finnish on the visual side. Less processing required.

I had exactly the same experience, singer said ‘bring your Fender next time’. I tooK the Ric and kept taking the Ric, because in a 3-piece it worked way better than the Precision.

Rehearsal number 2 with Behringer x32 and most of the band with IEM's. I upgraded to the se535 (from the se 215) and wow what a difference. Fantastic bass response. Super happy with my mix now. The ipad was a big help as well. First big test is a theatre gig in April with some smaller gigs beforehand, so I think we'll have it nailed by then. Also, the first time I've let go of the edge of the pool and used only my tech 21 bass driver as my "amp". Worked great.

As the owner of a pest control business I should probably point out that we have never seen so many field mice as we have this year. We have been inundated with calls from people who are finding mice in garages, lofts, outbuildings etc. I'd be wary about keeping expensive gear anywhere where mice can get to it. They do love a good chew.

Update at the end of the tour: I flew to Vienna with the bass in a Hiscox hard case and it was totally fine! 😊

Before we start.. For those that CBA to read... or just want a quick answer... or dealing with Myth #1 - IEMs are expensive: IEMs can be expensive for sure, however, a simple, great sounding solution can be had for less than £100... Just don't do a Macgyvered half baked approach to IEMs and then claim they don't work for you! If you are dipping your toes in the water, a Behringer P2 (or one of the similar copies that are now appearing on the market) into your mixers aux and using a set of KZ10 IEMs will be a good starting point for less than £100. Make sure the IEMs give a good seal to your ears - For an idea of what a good seal sounds like... put your fingers as deep as you can into your ears to block out as much sound as you can. If the seal on your inears don't sound comparable (or better), the fit isn't good. Wearing one IEM in and one out is a bad idea... as is building a monitoring solution where you want a leaky seal to let ambient sound in (spoiler - you lose bass response without a good seal). If you want wireless, dont understand how to run lots of wireless without drop outs and interference, want stereo (you do want stereo, you just dont think you do - but I am assuming you have the auxes available for you to do so) and want it to sound awesome, then I'd recommend getting this MiPro - https://www.mipro.com.tw/webls-en-us/mi-58.html If you want good customs, aim for a UE6 as your entry point - they'll give you the headroom with you'll need. If you haven't got a desk or aux available to you, you can try using the above with a field recorder (e.g. a Zoom recorder - others are available). See section 3.4. But please, do read on. There's loads of quality information presented here, from the most simple setups through to pro level setups - and lots of additional thoughts on things like silent stages. WELCOME TO THE IEM BIBLE! - a beginner's IEM guide. - IF YOU READ THE MAIN POSTS, CHANCES ARE THAT ALL YOUR IEM QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED. IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFICS OR UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, FEEL FREE TO DROP ME A PM. After a recommendation to me, I decided that I would start a new thread that is born out of the old super thread at : https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/205633-in-ear-monitors-help-needed/ That thread contains a whole wealth of information – however, over time it has naturally become quite fragmented or lost when the Basschat migration happened, a lot of information has been superseded and of course, recommendations change. This thread, I'll summarise everything and try and keep all the important stuff in the first few posts of the thread. I'll do a few posts on IEMs, hardware, radio, tips etc.. and build it up from there and keep chopping and changing stuff in the main posts as it happens... SO PLEASE DON'T QUOTE THE MAIN POSTS AS THE INFORMATION MAY GET CHANGED AND REFINED OVER TIME - thanks What I’ll do, is try and keep this opening posts updated with all the relevant bits and try and tie any bits of interest to posts in the other thread. This should make it easier for people looking to quickly digest information around IEMs than reading the other thread and no doubt bailing out before getting what they need out of it. I'll try and keep it at a fairly high level to make things easy to consume for the complete starter... so let me know if things aren't clear and I can refine them. So, without further ado, here's a beginners guide to IEMS! SECTIONS 1. IEMS (this post) https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/ 2. Wireless vs Radio Systems https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944326 3. The source (e.g. your mixing desk) https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944327 4. Haptic feedback for the feeling of "big air" https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944328 5. Integrating a monitor solution with other house systems https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944330 6. Additional Information about looking after your ears https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944331 7. Some thoughts on silent stages https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944337 1. IEMS OK, so you are here probably because you are interested in finding out more about IEMs or have decided to purchase some and are looking for additional information. 1.1 WHAT ARE IEMS? IEMs (In-Ear Monitors) are basically a set of earphones that are intended to replace the traditional monitor wedge. They tend to range from single driver (single speaker) through to multiple driver units and can be either referred to as a generic/universal fit or a custom fit. As the name would suggest, generic/universal fits are intended to be able to used by everybody, independent of their ear shape, whereas the latter is an earpiece that has been crafted to fit an individual’s ears perfectly (and hence cannot be shared between users). 1.2 WHY USE IEMS? Like traditional monitor wedges, IEMs are intended to provide a musician with a monitor mix that can be tailored to their individual needs. Unlike monitor wedges, as you move around the stage, the sound doesn’t change. (e.g. standing off axis to a monitor wedge, or perhaps moving around the stage and standing in front of an amp’s cab or the drum kit can significantly impact how well you can hear what is coming from that monitor). Additionally, you can run more complex stereo mixes, which can’t be replicated anywhere near as well as using wedges. This is particularly good if you are running lots of vocals or stereo instruments where panning the signal can help with the perception of width and stereo position of instruments and vocals. For example, being able to place vocals to the left and right of the central position can help with pitching and clarity in the monitor mix. IEMs are a safer way (assuming that you control the volume of the IEMS sensibly) to protect your ears. Like earplugs, IEMs significantly reduce the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of the sound entering your ears from the stage. With the ambient volume reduced (e.g. the volume that is present on stage, coming from the amps, drums and any other source of noise), a monitor feed can be fed into your ears at a safe volume, resulting in a clear mix, keeping your ears safe. Running IEMs at a safe volume means you can kiss goodbye to post gig ringing ears. Listening to anything at volume (e.g. especially loud amps right next to you on stage) tends to lead to chronic tinnitus (for which there is no cure). Protect your ears at all costs! The removing of monitor wedges from the performance area means that you can achieve a significantly higher level of gain before feedback. Less sound on stage means a reduced chance of sound from the monitor wedges entering open mics and causing the feedback loops that we all hate. Cleaner sounds onstage (or even a silent stage) can make your sound engineer happy and ultimately, your band will sound a lot better out front for it. When running a band on IEMs, you tend to close mic what you want to hear (hence taking the room out of the equation) and the monitor mixes tend to stay pretty similar from gig to gig – leading to quicker setup times and a more consistent and familiar sound in your ears. IEMs have a certain cool factor. Turning up to a gig with IEMs make it look like you know what you are doing… even if you don’t. What is also cool, is that unlike the rock n roll dinosaurs, you’ll still be able to hear in your advanced years. Another big plus - even if you aren't a confident singer, a set of IEMs will mean you can hear your vocals more clearly - and everybody else's vocals a lot clearer. Your ability to sing and tune with other vocalists will no doubt improve significantly - they really are a bit of a secret weapon on that front! Here's the thing though - IEMs can be expensive, especially if you go down the custom route. When considering IEMs, I always ask people to think like this - consider buying a wedge. What's the cost of a decent wedge that can cope with a bit of bass? Well, you're looking at circa £300. Now purchase two so you have one for each ear. Now look at a set of professional custom ear plugs (e.g. for general ear protection, with no electronics inside) - they will cost you circa £100. So in essence, a non portable version of CIEMs that don't sound as good comes in at £700. Now those ultra portable customs aren't looking quite as expensive as you first thought... 1.3 NUMBER OF DRIVERS… and DRIVER TYPE? IEMs tend to be made up of drivers, from a single drive per side, up to 12+ drivers per side. Typically, the drivers used will be one of two types, namely balanced armatures and dynamic drivers. IEMS can come loaded with just dynamic drivers, balanced armatures, or a hybrid setup of dynamic drivers and balanced armatures. Most professional IEMs are at least two drivers - and at least one of them will be a balanced armature. Dynamic drivers are typically found in cheaper units or as a hybrid setup with balanced armatures. The difference between dynamic drivers and universal drivers can be quite significant, however. Generally, dynamic drivers tend to have more headroom and have a better bass response than balanced armatures and come with a lower price tag than balanced armatures. They do, however, give up a little in detail but are perceived to have a warmer tone, or bloom in the mids, which some people can prefer. In contrast, the balanced armature is more clinical and precise in its sound but not as good at reproducing bass. Unless you are close A/Bing units of differing driver types with each other, the vast majority of people would not be able to recognise the difference between driver types. For a bit of additional science-y information, dynamic drivers are effective a miniaturised speaker as you would find in you traditional hifi, speaker cab etc. They have a moving coil, connected to a diaphragm, that moves throughs a magnetised gap, subject to the voltage that is applied to the coil. This assembly of components then moves the speaker cone that effectively vibrates and delivers the airwaves to your ear drum - which is then interpreted by our brains as sound. The way that a balanced armature operates is significantly different; there is a reed that moves within a stationary coil. This reed has a rod attached to it, which in turn is connected to a diaphragm, which consequently, like a dynamic driver, vibrates air to deliver what we perceive as sound. The physically smaller dimensions of a balanced armature, allow for more drivers to be packed inside those IEM cases - which gives a greater scope to the designer for tuning and headroom. The smaller unit allows the sound source to moved closer to the ear drum, which improves the quality of the sound and allows for greater fidelity, especially in the higher frequencies. In contrast, dynamic drivers are larger, tend not to be able to be positioned as close to the ear canal, require a greater number of coils turns (increasing mass - reducing high frequency response) and consequently lose the ability to reproduce those high frequencies to the same capacity as balanced armatures. By their nature however, dynamic drivers are very good at handling bass frequencies, so where they can't deliver in the high frequency department, a combination of driver types can make for some exceptional, low driver solutions. Some manufacturers are beginning to introduce electrostatic (EST) drivers into their designs. Usually part of a hybrid setup, these drivers have exceptional treble extension, have highly accurate reproduction of transients - all whilst being completely free of any distortion. Adding drivers primarily adds headroom and by mixing driver types and models (e.g. treble, mid, bass focused units of both balanced armature or dynamic driver types), a better response and superior sounding IEM can be built. It should be noted however, that this is not as straightforward as simply putting in extra drivers and hoping for the best. Great IEMs are the result of hours of R and D to developing crossovers and tuning the units for a desirable, great sounding output. Additionally, all these drivers must be phase aligned and most importantly, the left and right need to match - so the attention to detail and accuracy of the IEM build is of upmost importance. Of course, all drivers have their own responses in terms of how they sound, despite dampening, there is the chance that there is a limit to how good a sound a multiple driver unit can sound. The larger manufacturers then turn to custom orders of drivers to engineer their way out of the constraints that physics have put in the way of standard off the shelf drivers. This is one of the multiple reasons why the market leaders of IEMs tend to sound the best – but also have a higher price tag. All of this superior quality comes at a price! So, in short, adding drivers can improve the sound… but in some cases can cause all sorts of phasing issues if not done correctly. It should also be mentioned that adding drivers has an additional advantage. By increasing the number of drivers, the less hard the drivers must work to get to working volume. The less hard the drivers are working, the less chance there is of distortion - whether it be audible or not perceivable. The latter is quite significant; even if you can’t hear it, if distortion is present, it will fatigue the ear a lot quicker. As the ear fatigues, people tend to push up the volume to compensate – and again, this increases the risk of hearing damage. If an IEM is distorting, chances are there is something wrong with the gain structure, or you are simply pushing the IEM beyond its limit and hence into distortion. This is not a good thing for your listening enjoyment or your physical ear health - or the IEM itself! Think of it like this - which is going to distort easier - that single 1x10 cab that you are running your bass through, or that Ampeg 8x10? Obviously the 8x10 will have a lot more headroom and will be able to be driven a lot harder before it goes into distortion. This doesn't mean because you have a 8x10 you have to drive it as hard as you can until it distorts - it just means that for that clean bass sound, the drivers are not taxed very hard and everything is super controlled with lots of headroom - the same physics applies with IEMs. As we are on a bass forum, I tend to recommend at least a quad driver IEM (treble, mid, bass, bass) as the driver count to aspire to. This reduces the chance of distortion as the work is being shared between the drivers – and the drivers that are reproducing the frequencies that we are most interested in (those that are also the most difficult frequencies to reproduce) are given a helping hand by being doubled up. There is an exception to this in my opinion, and it’s a unit that I tend to recommend for its performance vs price point - and that is the UE6. The UE6 is a triple driver – but has dynamic drivers in the mids and bass. There is a balanced armature in the high. In short, the dynamics provide greater headroom and better bass response in the lows, whilst the air and detail that is most importantly found in the highs, is retained using a balanced armature. The UE6 custom gives a performance comparable to a equivalent quad balanced custom – but without the price tag. You can begin to guess (to a certain extent) what an IEM is going to sound like by it’s driver count. If there is an equal number of balanced armatures in the treble, mid and bass range, it’s likely to be more flat response than say a different unit that has a higher driver count in say the bass. That latter unit is likely to have a slight kick in the bass and additional headroom. It’s probably worth mentioning though, that due to tuning and different driver types, if you are really fussy about the native response of your IEM, you should A/B them. It’s rare for IEMs to be tuned to a reference or flat response – because mostly flat sounds boring… and each manufacturer has their own take on what an IEM should sound like. Additionally, if you want to use IEMs for critical mixing, you are probably better getting a set of headphones. You’ll pay less for not going small and portable and will certainly get a flatter response for a lot less money. I will say one thing though, once you are on stage, the native response of the IEM becomes less important. I always say I will take the IEM with headroom and are in phase, as opposed to an IEM that is reference quality but lacking in headroom or has phase issues! In short, from the larger manufacturers at least, you can’t really go wrong… they are sound great, just a bit different from one another. This also counts for drivers. As soon as you get over 4 drivers, you are looking at diminishing returns… and higher driver counts don’t necessarily sound better (they could sound worse due to poor crossover design or phasing issues) – they just sound different. Don't forget - if you have a nice digital desk with a master EQ on the aux, you can tailor the frequency response at the desk! 1.4 UNIVERSAL/GENERICS VS CUSTOMS Universal IEMs as stated above, are intended for use by anybody. In a lot of cases this is true… but for some people, universal IEMs just don’t stay in some people’s ears. This is largely down to potluck; some people just don’t have ears that are well suited to a one size fits most IEM. Some IEMs can be overly bulky or simply not shaped in an appropriate manner that fits well with your outer ear. Universal IEMs will come with tips. Some fit issues can be addressed with changing the tip size or tip material… or both. Tips generally come in two flavours, silicon and foam. Neither are inherently better than the other, they are just different. You need to find the material and size that best suits you. There is a trend on musician’s forums and Facebook groups that Comply foam tips are where it’s at. This isn’t necessarily true – foam tips can disintegrate very quickly with sweaty ears… likewise, silicon tips can easily slide out of sweaty ears. Again, it’s about finding the right tips to fit your ears (if they exist). For silicon tips, I like Spinfits (other tips are available) - they've got a good range to go through to try and find that perfect fit... and of course, if you look on something like Amazon, there are lots of cheap (and expensive) tips that you can try if you are struggling with fit. The fit - and uncomfortable or troublesome fit with generic IEMS - is the primarily reason why people tend to move to custom IEMs. Having a custom IEM made for you means that there are no fit issues - you'll be able to shake your head, do windmills, cartwheels and whatever you could ever imagine - and those custom IEMS will stay firmly in place. The commonly mentioned universals include Shure SE215s and MEE6 inears. I have to say, these aren’t the best by a long stretch, especially when you consider what you can get for your money. They are single dynamic drivers earpieces, with not a lot of headroom and a less than adequate bass response. Whilst they may sound OK listening to music that has been processed and mastered but remember live music is full of transients and not given the post processing and mastering process that recorded music has (unless you have a separate monitoring rig for your mixes – which is not likely if you are using budget IEMs for listening to your monitor mix) and a lot more taxing on IEMs. For those on a budget or taking their first steps into IEMs, I’ll tend to recommend ZS10s – they are a 5 driver per side hybrid setup that can be had for typically less than £40 and will slay most of the competition at a similar price point. Even a move from 215s to ZS10s will immediately show you the benefit of headroom, especially as a bass player. Whilst the ZS10 may not be the best sounding IEMs in isolation, on stage, they have bags of headroom and great low-end response, so for bass players especially, they are a much better investment than many of the commonly mentioned alternatives you see time and time again. Just remember to buy the version without the mic control for on stage use (the mic version being for mobile phones). Other alternatives to look at are the AS10s (non hybrid, 5 balanced armatures per side) or the new AS12 (6 drivers per side) and AS16 (8 per side, flatter sound signature). 1.4.1 HAVING IMPRESSIONS TAKEN (IMPORTANT STUFF IN HERE!) Custom IEMS are made by taking an impression of you ear canals and concha and then building the drivers inside a custom casing that fits perfectly in your ears. Traditionally, this is taken by introducing a medical grade silicon into your ear to create an impression of your ear. This impression needs to be taken by somebody suitably qualified or an audiologist. Before the impression is taken, the ear is checked for being healthy and free from wax. If there is too much wax build up, an impression cannot be taken, and your ears will need to be cleaned by a professional. This is usually called micro suction or an “ear toilet”. It doesn’t hurt – it’s literally a little vacuum cleaner that sucks wax out. I’m a bit weird and like it (and I also like impression being taken also!). If your ear is all looking good, an impression can be taken. This is quite a straightforward process; a gauze is pushed into your ear to stop the medical grade silicone going too deep into your ear (don’t worry, there is a string attached to it so that it can be retrieved post the impression) and then your ear canal is filled with the previously mentioned medical grade silicon which is left to set. Once set, the silicon is still flexible enough to be removed from your ear. The impression is then sliced and diced appropriately before being sent (either physically or as a digital 3d model that has been created via a laser scanner that scans the physical impression) to the manufacturer to be used to make your final custom IEM. There are two important things that must be observed when taking impressions. First of all, the impression needs to go past the second bend in your ear and secondly, a one inch bite block should be in place when the impression is taken. This bite block is to shape your ear canal such that the resulting impression will enable you to be able to sing and smile without the seal on the custom IEM being broken. This is really important as if the custom IEM does not seal, you will get stage sound leaking into your ear and you’ll also lose a lot of bass response… which isn’t great, especially when you have spent a lot of money ensuring that you have lots of bass drivers to give the bass response you'll be looking for. Final thing, when taking impressions, make sure you keep still. Don't talk, don't move, don't do anything... be wary of people taking your impressions and not observing these rules - you will end up with a rubbish impression that in turn will lead to a poor fitting custom. Oh... and beware, you will drool when having your impressions taken, it's normal, don't be embarrassed! (When your impression is being taken, you'll probably be given a tissue in preparation for the drool!) I've been asked of late what I think about having your impressions taken by a 3d ear impression scanner. In short, it doesn't necessarily offer up a better impression - in fact, it can be quite the opposite! Oh boy... without trying to open the Pandora's box... So here are the positives of 3d scans - there's no waste material generated from having moulds taken - it can be quicker to create impressions than through traditional methods (although, if you think like me, if you are spending a lot of money on IEMs, does saving 5 minutes on impressions really that big of a factor?) - it's a less obtrusive procedure (so those with phobias of having substance introduced into their ears may be fans.. although they are missing out on one of the best feelings ever!) - are arguably safer than an unqualified person taking impressions of your ears (although you shouldn't be letting just any Tom, Richard or Harry in your ears anyway!). An audiologist/CIEM specialist will have taken 1000+s of ear impressions without issue - this isn't new territory, hearing aids, swim plugs, ear protectors... they are all moulded using the same technique with silicone material. Conversely, anybody can use a 3d scanner... Here are the myths - 3d scanners generate a better impression - in short, they do not generate a better impression (remember that years of perfect fitting IEMs have been achieved without 3d scanners). In fact, incorrect usage of the scanner can cause unwanted peaks on the impression that can cause problems with the mould. - due to 3d scans not introducing silicone into the ear (and stretching the ear), the fit is better. Using silicone actually creates a slightly oversized mould that gives a tighter fit (fit is very important to ensure you don't get a broken seal which will ruin your IEM experience (breaks in seal will let all your bass out and let all the ambient sound that you want to protect your ears from, in) - 3d scans are universally accepted by all manufacturers. This is not true - For example, JH Audio (the second largest supplier of IEM monitors, (second only to UE - who were founded by Jerry Harvey of JH Audio)) do not currently accept 3d scans from 3d IEM impression scanners. If JH Audio, being such dominant players in the market, aren't accepting 3d scans, it's safe to say, they (and their customers) are more than content with the fitment of IEMs made from traditional silicon impressions - 3d scanned impressions create better IEMs. IEMs can't be "better" because of 3d scans. If the fit on an IEM is good, whether it bit derived from a 3d scan or a silicon impression, it's good. Talking of fit, 3d scans tend to be taken with a closed mouth. A closed mouth impression, coupled with an ear not being filled with silicon, can actually lead to a worse fitting ear impression (especially if you sing! (or smile!) - I've mentioned this previously) - 3d scanners are the only way of getting a digital impression of your ear for reuse (potentially with other manufacturers). If you must have 3d impressions, silicone impressions can be inserted into a 3d scanner to get the digital model of your ear. This is commonplace for taking postage delays out of the equation. Quicker to email than snail mail! - there are fewer errors with 3d scanners. Somebody who is certified in taking silicone impressions, know what they are doing - and will get it right first time, every time. So, whatever your choice of impression, make sure your ear is inspected beforehand and is free of wax by somebody that is certified to do so... and be informed. Both impression types are valid - just don't be swayed by marketing! Anyway, now we have impressions out of the way lets carry on with the rest of the unit - Essentially all IEM casings, independent of model, are the same, it’s the inner electronics (e.g. driver count and crossover) that largely separate them. Not only do you get a perfect fit but because the fit is so much better than a universal IEM, the isolation tends to be better (typically around -26dB) – this is the equivalent of putting your fingers into your ears. This of course, has major advantages; this means that less ambient noise from your surroundings is passing through into your ears… but also means that you don’t have to drive you IEM's drivers as hard to get over the ambient sound from the outside world. Customs are generally made of silicone (flexible) or acrylic (hard). Having had both, there is no notable advantage of one over the other, certainly in terms of fit, comfort or real-world isolation. Silicone is not more comfortable than acrylic – if it is, the acrylic mould is not a good fit in your ear. Silicone does have two disadvantages over acrylic. Over time, it tends to shrink a little and if you have clear, it tends to discolour and go cloudy (choose a smoke colour if you want a translucent colour that doesn’t show the yellowing over time). In my experience, silicone is more prone to cable failure due to the additional flex on the cable attachment. Talking of fit, customs tend to fit well for circa 5 years. After that period, they may need adjustment, a reshell or a replacement. It’s worth noting, however, that due to your ears constantly growing, this can vary from person to person… and things like losing or gaining a lot of weight can influence the fit also. Generally, for acrylic at least, adjustments can be achieved by removing or adding acrylic to perfect the fit, so isn’t really that big of a problem (although it can be a little annoying if you want to use your new IEMs straight away!). For most people, fitment is perfect the day your custom IEM arrives, however the odd fitment issue can occur – and is not something to get overly worried about – it’s fixable without too much of an issue! Modern technology has really been beneficial for the creation of acrylic custom IEMs. With the advent of 3d printing becoming more mainstream, the laborious hand pouring of moulds is a thing of a past. This means that custom IEMs are made with greater accuracy and precision than ever before and at a much-accelerated pace. Customs IEMs used to take months to arrive - now, with the improved manufacturing techniques, IEMs are typically at your doorsteps in under 3 weeks (and typically 2) from the impressions being received by the manufacturer. One of the additional appeals of custom IEMs is that they can be cosmetically altered to your design. Whether you want them made from bits of diamond, wood, bullet ends, right down to custom colours, most of the larger manufacturers are willing to entertain all sorts of design details, images, logos – but be warned, for a cost - and some of these costs can range from very reasonable to very significant! Whatever your design choice, I would always recommend clear or a translucent colour for where the bit which inserts into your ears open out - purely because it allows you to see into the IEM tubes and makes it easy for you to clean and retrieve stray bits of wax which should not be there! For those that have decision anxiety - or want to sport different looks - the UE Switch system (only available on UE inears...) may appeal; it allows you to change faceplates to your heart's desires! Other customisations that you may see, include things like soft tips on acrylic IEMs (as the name suggests, the tips that enter your idea are soft whilst the rest of the IEM is hard acrylic) that can aid comfort for those with sensitive ears (although I have never heard either complain about pain in that are, or likewise, rave about the inclusion of soft tips). Another common (albeit becoming less common) addition, is the inclusion of recessed cable connectors - the idea being that a typical two pin connector that is recessed in to the main IEM housing is more protected to those that are mounted on the edge of the IEM. 1.5 CUSTOM IEMS FROM OVERSEAS Lots of people have a worry about buying IEMs not from the UK or their home territory. A lot of IEMs originate from the USA. The world is now a small place. A build from UE and JH Audio for example, is about 2 weeks, 64 Audio about 3 weeks. The build process is not so automated compared to just a few years ago, the turn around times, as mentioned previously are now a lot, lot lower. What about any repairs and warranty work? Pro IEM builders appreciate that musicians can’t be without such an important piece of hardware. To have some sort of idea of what you can expect, I had a wax blockage in a pair of JH Audio Roxannes that had to be sent back to JH Audio to be cleaned out. They were back in my hands in less than 10 days – including the days that it was in the hands of the postage service. Not too bad considering! 1.6 AMBIENT PORTS? LIVE SYSTEM? A lot of people get anxious about being isolated from the outside world. There is a transition period as you get used to the different sound – but as a rule of thumb, I would always recommend that you want to block out as much ambient noise as possible and work on the premise of if you want to hear something in your monitor, you’ll need to mic it up. So, if you want to hear all the guitars and drums on stage, mic them up. if you want to hear the audience and the room, mic them up. Send those feed into your monitor mix and front of house - but obviously in the case of the audience feed, that should not go out of the front of house mix. So even though I’m not a fan of ambient ports, what are they? Well, as the name suggests, they add a port in the IEM that allows stage sound through the casing and into your ear canal… but at a semi reduced volume. Whilst it does put the feeling of being in the room back, the big disadvantage to having an ambient port installed is that it effectively breaks the seal in your IEM – resulting in a loss of bass, which is obviously not the best for bass players or bass junkies. You may have heard of the ACS Live! System - but what is it all about? What’s the Sensaphonic 3d sound about? They’re actually pretty cool concepts to be honest. Instead of ambient ports, these systems utilise binaural microphones that are installed in the ear pieces. The cables to the ear pieces are fed into a belt pack mixer that sums the monitor mix with the signal from the tiny microphones to enable you to blend in the ambient sound received from the mics… without having a break in the seal. Whilst this is all good in theory, its best suited to those on big stages with low SPL. I have found that with my ACS Live! system, the mics distort very easily, even when the pad on the pack is applied to them to reduce the level from the mic. I would imagine they would be great if you were a singer in the West End or similar – but for me, the results have been somewhat disappointing - the mics distort and the drivers themselves dont seem to be able to handle any bass before going into distortion... If you feel that this (the active ambient system) is the system for you but don't want to go down the custom route, ASI Audio (by Sensaphonics) have released a universal system that includes the same technology that is included in the custom ear pieces. [Just to update, ACS no longer offer the live system and are solely focusing on passive ambient solutions - but I shall leave the references in for completeness] Like the ASI Audio approach but you want customs? You could look at using your 2 pin connector of choice IEM with the Hearmix Pro. Again, very similar concept to the ACS Live! and Sensaphonic 3d systems, however the microphones are built into the cable - and again, there is a belt pack to run along side your wireless receiver or headphone amp. Most recently, JH Audio has released an ambient solution - the Ambient Pro Custom. This system differs from ACS and Sensaphonic approach as the the mics that are placed in the ear pieces do not loop back to the player directly through a belt pack that combines a monitor mix; they go back to the monitoring desk where they can be subjected to processing. The mixing of everything that the wearer hears, is down to what is being mixed (preferably in real time by an engineer) at the desk. It generally a very specialised approach that very few will take up due to cost (it requires stereo wireless transmitters for the DPA mics for starters) - but rather than write a load of stuff that won't be applicable to most, I'll post a Youtube link where Jerry himself explains the system - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5YSVtSmnto I'll also make reference to the Inearz Helyes. These are IEMs with inbuilt mics with onboard pre, amp and battery supply... a different approach to active ambient by putting what is usually in a separate pack in the IEM itself. Personally, for ambient feeds, I have found that a couple of condensers in XY configuration on stage to mix in a little ambient sound is the cheapest approach – although I actually prefer the isolated feeling to be honest - the latter is like listening to a studio CD, which I love. You have to experiment and see what works for you. Adding external mics is not a big issue - and a single or pair of cheap condensers (for stereo) will get your great results. A set of Behringer C2s on a mic stand can be had for less than £40 and will do the job just great. For a great alternative approach, check out section 3.4 under this post https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944327 which provisions an ambient mic setup but also allows for auxiliary monitoring feeds from your mixer (section 3.1). You may have seen Apex/Adel modules on IEMs. These are not ambient ports as such. They are primarily there to reduce any extra pressure that is present in your ear canal and also meant to widen the sound stage. There is some physics behind it but to some it’s snake oil. Make up your own mind. I find my IEMs equipped with the Apex modules do fatigue less – but that may be a placebo effect in action. They don’t really impact any of the bass levels – but you can block them off totally if you think they do. 1.8 WHAT ABOUT SLEEVES FOR MY SHURE 215s ETC? Yes, you can possible get sleeves that fit on your universal/generic monitors. Theses essentially replace the tips and are custom moulded to your ears. People tend to go for these after dipping their foot into the IEM game. Do they work? Well, yes... kind of. They will fit better - but still won't get you in the ball park of a true custom. My advice, given that you most people that get sleeves very quickly move onto customs anyway, is to skip this step. Given you'll have to pay for impressions (which are getting pretty expensive now anyway - London prices are now topping £80) and the cost of the sleeves themselves (circa £150), I would always recommend in saving that money to put towards some customs where you are more likely be able to negotiate some free impressions as part of a custom IEM deal. 1.9 IEM CARE Keeping your IEMs clean is very important. There are two main things that you can do to keep your IEMs clean and your ears healthy and free from infection. First up, alcohol wipes are great for cleaning your IEMs and keeping any nasties at bay. ALWAYS keep the tubes of your IEMs clean. Get into a regular cycle of cleaning your IEMs after every performance. Wax build up is the number one problem associated with IEMs. If you don’t keep your IEMs cleaned, the audio tubes can get blocked. If they get too blocked, they can’t be cleaned with a wax pick. If you can’t clean them with a wax pick, they will need to be vacuumed. If the wax has gone too far, it can damage the driver, which will require the case opening (e.g. return back to the manufacturer) and the driver to be replaced. In short, for the 30 seconds it takes, just check the IEM tubes are clean after every gig and fish out any stray wax with a wax pick. Some IEMs (e.g. 64 audio, have a gauze over the tube ends to attempt to stop the ingress of wax - beware however, if the wax melts into the gauze, it's very difficult/impossible to remove in situ - so the same applies with IEMs with this in place... clean regularly! For the obsessive, you can get UV baths which both dry and kill any nasties that may be residing on your IEMs. These are just little cases in which you put your IEMs, air circulates to dry your IEM (any moisture is taken out of the air via silica gel) and the UV light zaps any potential sources of infection. Overall though, keeping your IEMs in a clean bill of health is easy. Wipe them down and clean out any stray wax after EVERY use (without fail!). 1.8 CABLES I see people mention cable upgrades. In short, yes, you can get better cables… and very expensive cables… but what I will say, in a band environment, are your ears really bothered or able to distinguish between minute details? If you feel the answer is yes, then by all means, upgrade… however, to really be able to distinguish the difference I would say you should be an environment that is quiet and suitable for critical listening. For onstage use, any upgrades I think, should be down to stock cables being too springy, or prone to getting tangled. Most of the big manufacturers now use cable where this isn’t an issue any longer. Other things to consider when ordering cables, is to ensure they are the right length. Don’t get too long a cable such that it is dandling around your kneecaps when you are performing. Doing that is more likely going to cause the IEMs to be damaged by inadvertently being yanked out of your ear. A drummer, however, may want to use a longer cable to plug into a nearby mixer. Always coil you cable properly after IEM use. If anything is going to fail on an IEM, it’s a cable. Make sure you look after the cable, don’t just shove your IEMs and cables in your pocket, take time to store them properly in their cases and you won’t have any issues. One last thing for those people with OCD. Silver cables look great but do tend to go green over time as they age. If you can’t cope with that, play it safe and go with black sheathed cables. Finally, If you do go for an aftermarket cable, ensure that you put a set with the right connector type. Both JH Audio and Ultimate Ears make IEMs with proprietary connectors - so make sure whatever cable type you buy are compatible with your IEM's connectors. USEFUL LINKS : http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/ - UK based dealer for primarily JH Audio, 64 Audio and Ultimate Ears https://jhaudio.com/ - JH Audio website https://www.64audio.com/ - 64 Audio (formerly 1964) website https://pro.ultimateears.com/ - Ultimate Ears https://www.acscustom.com/uk/products/in-ear-monitors/live-series/ - ACS Live! system (discontinued) https://www.sensaphonics.com/products/3dme-music-enhancement-system-asi-audio-x-sensaphonics - Sensaphonics 3DME music enhancement ASI Audio X https://asiaudio.com - ASI Audio 3DME - same tech as above but housed in universal fit ear pieces https://www.inear.de/en/products/monitoring/active-ambience-sound/hearmix-pro - Hearmix Pro - same tech as above, but the microphones are housed in the cable (and can be used with 2 pin connector IEMs) https://inearz.com/collections/helyes - ambient IEM solutions with the ambient pack built into the ear piece http://www.kzacoustics.com/ - Home of ZS10s https://www.spinfiteartip.com/en - Spinfit silicone tips for generic IEMS https://www.complyfoam.com - Comply foam tips for generic IEMS https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0263 - Behringer C2 condensers - great for ambient mics on a budget http://www.robinsonhealthcare.com/5885 - Alcohol wipes (I use these alcohol wipes because they are just the right size and great on computer screens too!) *other IEM manufacturers available, these are the ones that I have used/bought etc. Paul at CIEM tends to help a lot of Basschatters out with their custom needs and you'll tend to find me at the shows with Paul to help him out. I am not employed or have shares in or anything like that with CIEM company - it's just a great and rare place in the fact that you can try all the models of CIEMs out from the top 3 manufacturers. Testing out customs you say?? How can you do that? Well, the manufacturers provide test models with tips (like on universal/generic IEMs) so you can get a flavour of their sound signature.

Welcome Bamboofrog.

Spoken like a man who has never experienced the sonic hugeness an 8 can provide. Think a 12 string guitar but enormous.😉

Nearly all of the back issues of Guitar Interactive Magazine are available for FREE to read covering over 300 HD Bass video reviews I have recorded. https://www.guitarinteractivemagazine.com/issues/