Guide · Monitoring

Stage monitoring: wedges or in-ears?

Good monitoring can make or break your show. Here is the difference between wedges and in-ears, how many mixes you need, and how to put it in your rider.

What is monitoring?

Monitoring is how you and your bandmates hear yourselves on stage. Without good monitoring you play blind: you can’t hear your voice or instrument well, and it shows in the performance. The big choice is between wedges (floor monitors) and in-ears (IEM).

Wedges (floor monitors)

Wedges are speakers angled towards you on the floor. Upside: everyone can use them, they’re familiar, and venues almost always have them. Downside: they make the stage louder, can feed back, and the mix changes as you move around.

In-ears (IEM)

With in-ears you get your own mix straight into your ears. Upside: a quieter stage, a consistent mix wherever you stand, and hearing protection. Downside: you need your own packs and sometimes a separate transmitter, and it takes getting used to because you’re sealed off from the room.

How many mixes do you need?

Count the number of separate monitor mixes you want. Often that’s one mix per musician, sometimes plus a separate drum fill. More separate mixes means more work for the crew, so ask for what you really need.

Put it straight in your rider

With RoboRider you build a clean input list, stage plot, technical and hospitality rider in one professional PDF. Free to try.

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Who mixes the monitors?

At smaller shows the monitors are usually mixed from FOH (front of house). At bigger productions there’s a dedicated monitor engineer at the side of stage. State in your rider what you expect, and whether you bring your own IEM packs.

Put it in your rider

In your technical rider, note the number of monitor mixes, whether you use wedges or in-ears, who provides the IEM, and which mix is for whom. In RoboRider you list those outputs neatly, with a stereo option where needed.