Drums in your Monitor? Yay or Nay?

[BruceW]

I'm often surprised (and this thread reinforces that feeling) that so many want an unbalanced feed in their monitors (some instruments over others or some none at all). I like hearing the whole band, drums included. My drums are even a little heavier in the IEM mix so that I can hear the nuances of my playing on the instruments in the drum set. I listen, enjoy and practice to music with a balanced mix - why would I want anything different when playing?

I also take great pride in having ability to play with appropriate volume (medium and low when necessary). Without drums in my balanced IEM mix, it's hard to tell how loud I am relatively and also how I should be playing tactilely. Further, while I personally mix my own IEM's, I give my band's sound guy full permission to push snare drum volume up in my ears when I'm playing it too loud. That immediately gets me to quiet it down to the level it should be out front in the house.

I understand where you're coming from. I can tell the primary reason why I don't ask for everything in my mix...its a matter of practicality. If we were to have unlimited setup time, in a controlled environment, perhaps I'd try for that. Given how little time we have to arrive at a venue, unload, set up and "hopefully" a basic sound check, trying to balance everything in my monitors properly is a pipe dream. I want what absolutely have to have in my mix, and as such, its far easier to adjust on the fly throughout the night. I have an ipad where I can adjust my own mix, but I can't do that while I'm playing, and of course I can never convey what I need adjusted to the sound guy in the middle of a song, either. Less to go wrong, less to account for, less to drown out what I truly need to have.

We're a basic little bar band, with all of us having day jobs we're leaving to go perform in the evening. So, time is of the essence, I'm afraid.

 

[MCS]

I tend not to have my drums in the monitors and if I do it's just a little bass drum. My rational is if I can't hear my kit and I'm sitting right on top of it, something is way off! Same in the studio, no drums in my cans.

I do like to hear the vocals, some guitar and a wee bit of bass if required, but that's usually dictated by how far away the bass players amp is from me.