{"id":12000,"date":"2025-03-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchfront.com\/?p=12000"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:01:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T18:01:10","slug":"why-your-in-ear-mix-sounds-like-garbage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchfront.com\/2025\/03\/25\/why-your-in-ear-mix-sounds-like-garbage\/","title":{"rendered":"Why your in-ear mix sounds like GARBAGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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How to Fix Your Worship Team\u2019s In-Ear Monitor Mix<\/h1>

By Jake Gosselin<\/strong><\/p>

This past Thursday night, I was back mixing sound at my home church, Rock Harbor, here in Florida. It\u2019s been a while. We\u2019ve had a ton going on at Churchfront\u2014new installs, training sessions, and helping churches level up their worship and tech ministries all over the country. But it felt really good to just be back in the room with my team for rehearsal.<\/p>

And right away, one big issue stood out: in-ear monitor mixes.<\/p>

Here\u2019s the thing\u2014if your in-ear mixes are off, it impacts everything. The worship team doesn\u2019t feel confident. The vocals are timid. The instruments are uneven. The band sounds unsure, and the whole energy in the room feels off. You could have the best equipment in the world, but if the mix in someone\u2019s ears isn\u2019t working, it kills their ability to lead.<\/p>

Once I cleaned up the in-ear mixes mid-rehearsal, I could literally see and hear the difference. People were singing and playing more confidently. The band locked in. It just felt<\/em> better.<\/p>

So in this post, I want to walk you through exactly what I did\u2014from gain staging to vocal EQ, from wireless pack settings to how I mix in-ears using Waves LV1.<\/p>

Start with the Source<\/h2>

If you\u2019re a worship leader or musician, your signal starts at the mic\u2014or your instrument. Before we touch plugins or mixers, we need to talk mic placement.<\/p>

Too often I see people holding the mic way too far from their face and then wondering why they can\u2019t hear themselves. Get that mic close\u2014like, two inches away close. You\u2019ll sound way better in the house, online, and most importantly, in your ears.<\/p>

Same goes for instruments. With keyboards, set your master volume all the way up so you\u2019re sending a strong signal to front of house. Drummers\u2014especially on electric kits\u2014play with full confidence. Don\u2019t hold back. Soft playing throws off gain structure. Guitarists, make sure you\u2019re using a DI and that you\u2019re sending a balanced signal\u2014especially if you\u2019re running a long cable to a distant stage box.<\/p>

Don\u2019t Forget Wireless Mic Gain<\/h2>

Wireless systems throw people off because they add another gain stage\u2014right at the receiver. Last night, one of our vocalists had almost no gain coming into the console. Turns out his wireless receiver was set 10dB lower than everyone else\u2019s. His mix was a mess, and it all traced back to that tiny little setting.<\/p>

If you\u2019re using something like Shure\u2019s QLXD or ULXD systems, go into the menu, check the input level, and set it to mic level<\/strong>. Then make sure the gain is strong, but not clipping.<\/p>

How We Mix In-Ears with Waves LV1<\/h2>

At Rock Harbor, we\u2019re running a Waves LV1 64-channel setup. All audio comes through a SoundGrid stage box and into the console where we have 16 stereo aux buses for in-ear mixes.<\/p>

Our team uses the MyMon app<\/strong> to control their own mixes, but before we even let them touch their faders, I go in and inspect every channel.<\/p>

Here\u2019s what I check:<\/p>