Which Outboard Compressor/Limiter do you use in your IEM rack?

[Rocksolid]

Interested to know which units people use. For a while I used a Symetrix 501 which was amazing. I had a little Comp on there so the bass didn't clip my buds, and the limiter set just above where I was operating, but it was only mono unit. I changed to a Beh'r MDX 1600 Pro XL so I had a stereo Comp/Limiter. With it's dynamic enhancer, Peak limiter it works pretty well.

I quite often take a FOH mix from the parallel send off the sub on my side of the stage and mix in my bass and vocal for my IEM so I am completely self sufficient, and that sometimes means I need to eq my mix to drop vocal levels or knock some top end off, so I am considering adding a a stereo 15 band eq to my IEM rack.

I have a Presonus Bluemax sitting here which I used to use. It's a half rack unit which I could sit next to my wireless IEM. It is either Comp or Limiter, but not both, so I would set it up as a limiter which would be set just above my operating level.

Just wondering what everyone else is using?

 

[Wasnex]

Interested to know which units people use. For a while I used a Symetrix 501 which was amazing. I had a little Comp on there so the bass didn't clip my buds, and the limiter set just above where I was operating, but it was only mono unit. I changed to a Beh'r MDX 1600 Pro XL so I had a stereo Comp/Limiter. With it's dynamic enhancer, Peak limiter it works pretty well.

I quite often take a FOH mix from the parallel send off the sub on my side of the stage and mix in my bass and vocal for my IEM so I am completely self sufficient, and that sometimes means I need to eq my mix to drop vocal levels or knock some top end off, so I am considering adding a a stereo 15 band eq to my IEM rack.

I have a Presonus Bluemax sitting here which I used to use. It's a half rack unit which I could sit next to my wireless IEM. It is either Comp or Limiter, but not both, so I would set it up as a limiter which would be set just above my operating level.

Just wondering what everyone else is using?

Back when I ran IEMs I used multi-band brick wall limiters. The amount of energy varies across the audio spectrum and multi-band limiters have separate threshold settings for each band. The benefit of multiband is you can run each band up near the limiter threshold so you get maximum protection. Also when a band is pushed into limiting it doesn't cause pumping or other negative artifacts in the other bands. The systems I built had Aphex Dominator IIs or DBX IEMs. I believe both are discontinued, but available used.

 

[Rocksolid]

Back when I ran IEMs I used multi-band brick wall limiters. The amount of energy varies across the audio spectrum and multi-band limiters have separate threshold settings for each band. The benefit of multiband is you can run each band up near the limiter threshold so you get maximum protection. Also when a band is pushed into limiting it doesn't cause pumping or other negative artifacts in the other bands. The systems I built had Aphex Dominator IIs or DBX IEMs. I believe both are discontinued, but available used.

I'll go hunting for these! I have sometimes run an eq in the sidechain of the compressor so I could play with which frequencies were being compressed hard in relation to others. Not quite the same, but a similar principal.

 

[walterw]

I quite often take a FOH mix from the parallel send off the sub on my side of the stage and mix in my bass and vocal for my IEM so I am completely self sufficient

huh

i do have a shure P4M mixer in my EIM rack bag so i can cobble together something like that in case of emergency, but in this age of everybody having a digital board i basically always get a real monitor mix, usually stereo, which i then control with an ipad mini. i don't have a comp in my own stuff but i try to set up the board's aux outs for my IEMs to have hard limiters set just above my normal operating level, just in case.

i'm a firm believer in no compression of myself in my monitors, but i could see having everybody else squashed a little bit in my mix

 

[Rocksolid]

huh

i do have a shure P4M mixer in my EIM rack bag so i can cobble together something like that in case of emergency, but in this age of everybody having a digital board i basically always get a real monitor mix, usually stereo, which i then control with an ipad mini. i don't have a comp in my own stuff but i try to set up the board's aux outs for my IEMs to have hard limiters set just above my normal operating level, just in case.

i'm a firm believer in no compression of myself in my monitors, but i could see having everybody else squashed a little bit in my mix

The reality is that with some gigs I have the luxury of a full mix from a digital board that i can control, but not always. My IEM is in a rack anyway, so i may as well set up the rack for all scenarios. I don't really run compression these days, so I'm really just setting up a hard limiter and EQ.

 

[s0c9]

It's a half rack unit which I could sit next to my wireless IEM.
Just wondering what everyone else is using?

Which wireless IEM ??
I'm asking because EVERY wireless IEM system I have come across has a built-in brick-wall limiter in the receiver pack.
The "cheaper" brands have fixed limiting - and not always great - but the more expensive units have adjustable limiters.
My Senn G3 has a good one that I have set to suit and never need anything between the console mix buss feeds and my ears!

 

[Rocksolid]

Which wireless IEM ??
I'm asking because EVERY wireless IEM system I have come across has a built-in brick-wall limiter in the receiver pack.
The "cheaper" brands have fixed limiting - and not always great - but the more expensive units have adjustable limiters.
My Senn G3 has a good one that I have set to suit and never need anything between the console mix buss feeds and my ears!

MiPro Mi 808R. It has a limiter on the belt pack but I find it pumps before it gets to my desired volume.

 

[Rocksolid]

Thought I might post a finished set up pic after rejigging. This is setup stereo, but I use a Y cable to run mono to feed both sides of the the Comp/Limiter (set up as a limiter), or I can quickly reconfigure in the back if I want to run into one side of the Comp/limiter to run light compression, into the other side as a limiter, then thru 1 side of the Stereo EQ.

Incidentally - this is the only stereo eq that I can find that uses one set of controls for both channels, which is so much easier for IEM. It's nice being able to drop out some 500k to stop ear fatigue from guitars sometimes. Boosting the lows a little gets the kick triggering the limiter which fattens it a bit in my ears.

Ended up reracking my SVP Pro with tuner and Wireless. This is a great ampless set up for me. (I could use a pedalboard instead of the Ampeg Pre rack if I wish) I can add my Bergantino IP310 and run it with the other Preamp out from the SVP should I wish to have a bass amp on stage also.

Thoughts welcome.

 

[s0c9]

MiPro Mi 808R. It has a limiter on the belt pack but I find it pumps before it gets to my desired volume.

You might need to gain stage your IEM feeds a little better then. True, I don't have a MiPro system, but triggering the limiter before it reached "desired volume" indicates mismatched audio levels.
At least you have an in-line limiter in place that works instead of the built-in.

Read your post immediately above.. seems like a lot of gear to haul around/configure if gigging regularly (who is these days?).
As @walterw stated above about digital consoles and stereo feeds... should be able to control your own mix from console, get stereo and put a limiter on the output buss.
Even the Behringer XR series can do that. On my X32 rack (+SD8).. we run our own stereo IEM mixes, controlled via tablet/phone, splitting from (or to) house PA feeds.
Works great..
But good to see yours is working for you.. that's what it's all about.

 

[Wasnex]

MiPro Mi 808R. It has a limiter on the belt pack but I find it pumps before it gets to my desired volume.

The manual is a bit confusing, but I believe the problem is because the limiter has a fixed threshold that is applied to the Mi 808R's output and calibrated to the included ear buds. In other words, the limiter is calibrated to a voltage that drives the stock ear buds to a certain SPL. If you use ear buds with a different sensitivity rating the limiter threshold is no longer valid.

The included ear plug is listed as the E-8P. Stated Sensitivity is 116dB and impedance is 30ohms. MiPro does not specify the drive level for the sensitivity rating.

I checked the sensitivity rating for the Shure SE215M and it is listed as 107dB/mW and impedance is listed as 17ohms. If the E-8P Sensitivity rating is based on 1mW, I think the difference would be >3dB. In other words the E-8P would be >3db louder than the SE215M before the limiter kicked in.

 

[Rocksolid]

You might need to gain stage your IEM feeds a little better then. True, I don't have a MiPro system, but triggering the limiter before it reached "desired volume" indicates mismatched audio levels.
At least you have an in-line limiter in place that works instead of the built-in.

Read your post immediately above.. seems like a lot of gear to haul around/configure if gigging regularly (who is these days?).
As @walterw stated above about digital consoles and stereo feeds... should be able to control your own mix from console, get stereo and put a limiter on the output buss.
Even the Behringer XR series can do that. On my X32 rack (+SD8).. we run our own stereo IEM mixes, controlled via tablet/phone, splitting from (or to) house PA feeds.
Works great..
But good to see yours is working for you.. that's what it's all about.

Thanks for that reply @Wasnex

The problem I have is that I play with numerous different bands that have different set ups.

If I play with my PA I have an XR18. Sadly that's rare these days
One band has a Soundcraft Qi which I get 1 line and I have control over my mix.
One band usually runs an Analogue Mackie desk which I can get an aux out from, but I might not be able to access the desk mid set
One band runs Foldback with no spare sends, so I take a line off the FOH sub on my side of stage and mix extra bass, vocals in with my desk, and put an Rode M3 over the drums for myself.
Then there are the function centres around town that could have full Digital right down to an Allen Heath Mix wizard depending what room you are in.

So I suppose I'm trying to set up for any scenario.

 

[Wasnex]

Thanks for that reply @Wasnex

The problem I have is that I play with numerous different bands that have different set ups.

If I play with my PA I have an XR18. Sadly that's rare these days
One band has a Soundcraft Qi which I get 1 line and I have control over my mix.
One band usually runs an Analogue Mackie desk which I can get an aux out from, but I might not be able to access the desk mid set
One band runs Foldback with no spare sends, so I take a line off the FOH sub on my side of stage and mix extra bass, vocals in with my desk, and put an Rode M3 over the drums for myself.
Then there are the function centres around town that could have full Digital right down to an Allen Heath Mix wizard depending what room you are in.

So I suppose I'm trying to set up for any scenario.

Do you have a mic splitter. If you sing, it would be beneficial to split your mic signal so you have local control. A mic splitter works sort of like a DI for a microphone...one signal goes to your little local mixer and the other goes to FOH. Microphone Splitters - Radial Engineering

Course if you don't sing...never mind .

 

[Rocksolid]

Do you have a mic splitter. If you sing, it would be beneficial to split your mic signal so you have local control. A mic splitter works sort of like a DI for a microphone...one signal goes to your little local mixer and the other goes to FOH. Microphone Splitters - Radial Engineering

Course if you don't sing...never mind .

Yeah I have a passive mic splitter box with a phase switch on it. When I add my vocals back into the FOH mix in my ears it cancels out unless I flip the phase switch 180°

 

[Wasnex]

Yeah I have a passive mic splitter box with a phase switch on it. When I add my vocals back into the FOH mix in my ears it cancels out unless I flip the phase switch 180°

Which splitter are you using?

 

[Rocksolid]

Which splitter are you using?

Alctron passive mic splitter. I bought 2 of these, they were dirt cheap. These ones seem to be discontinued, the replacements look nicer but are more expensive. I just sit it at the base of my mic stand. They used to do a line splitter too.

 

[s0c9]

Thanks for that reply @Wasnex

The problem I have is that I play with numerous different bands that have different set ups.

If I play with my PA I have an XR18. Sadly that's rare these days
One band has a Soundcraft Qi which I get 1 line and I have control over my mix.
One band usually runs an Analogue Mackie desk which I can get an aux out from, but I might not be able to access the desk mid set
One band runs Foldback with no spare sends, so I take a line off the FOH sub on my side of stage and mix extra bass, vocals in with my desk, and put an Rode M3 over the drums for myself.
Then there are the function centres around town that could have full Digital right down to an Allen Heath Mix wizard depending what room you are in.

So I suppose I'm trying to set up for any scenario.

Ugh.. issue better understood now. No easy solution to this.
Sounds like you need a small mixer (your XR18?) into which you can split your vox, bass and any feed from the console. Would allow you full control over your mix (could be stereo and panned), and you can adjust the gain levels to avoid the pumping with the fixed limiter in the Mipro. Would work for all scenarios?

 

[Rocksolid]

Ugh.. issue better understood now. No easy solution to this.
Sounds like you need a small mixer (your XR18?) into which you can split your vox, bass and any feed from the console. Would allow you full control over your mix (could be stereo and panned), and you can adjust the gain levels to avoid the pumping with the fixed limiter in the Mipro. Would work for all scenarios?

I purchase an 8 way splitter snake a while back to delve into the possibility of this. Even set up a scene on the XR18 so it was ready to go. Haven't taken the plunge and tried it yet. Some Engineers get a bit twitchy when you walk up to their stage box and pull out 8 cables and attach them to a splitter snake!

 

[s0c9]

I purchase an 8 way splitter snake a while back to delve into the possibility of this. Even set up a scene on the XR18 so it was ready to go. Haven't taken the plunge and tried it yet. Some Engineers get a bit twitchy when you walk up to their stage box and pull out 8 cables and attach them to a splitter snake!

Yeah, I would be too, unless you front it with me/them. As a FOH guy myself (ran FOH for a Nashville recording artist at a private gig Sat night), I have no issues with splitter's, as long as the band approaches me about them instead of yanking cables!
One venue my own band plays, requires my 16-ch splitter connected to their snake because it's the only way to get feeds into our IEM's. I discussed best approach with FOH guy before doing that the first time.
If you know what you want to do, most FOH guys I know have no issues with you taking a split for your mix.. LESS work for them!~