The Best way to use In-Ear Monitors with a Click Track

I’m a drummer and I want to use a click track. I’ve heard in-ears are good for this. Any advice?

In-Ear Monitors are what you you’re looking for. In addition to your click, you’ll be able to mix in any support tracks and personalize your mix as well. But before we talk about which in-ears will work best for you, let’s talk about your setup.

Ideally you want to be hard-wired. In the unlikely event of RF (radio frequency) interruption while you’re drumming and playing to and track you might lose signal. At least you’ll still keep the beat and the rest of the band can keep the groove!

There are many in-ear solutions but here are two hard-wired options that we are partial to:

The Shure P6-HW, which is a portable headphone amp

If you decide to go with the hard-wired belt pack, be aware it only has two inputs. You will be able to run a mono mix down one side and the click down the other side. There is a balance knob to blend between both inputs so you could still change the click level on a per song basis. But the knob is not easy to adjust while starting another song. Also, you’ll only have one click source and you’ll lose the stereo mix.

A small dedicated mixer for the drummer like the EURORACK PRO RX1602

The mixer is usually the better option as it has more inputs which means more flexibility. You can get a stereo mix, a mono click from the track playback. For songs without a track you can also get a click from a metronome.. It is easy to put the small mixer on a snare stand or box next to the drummer and it is much faster to change levels if needed. I have found that most drummers that play to track need more or less click on a per song basis. The added versatility is a great asset.

As for your in-ear check choices, buy what you can afford. Custom in-ears make a world of difference — especially for drummers who tend to sweat a lot during shows. Custom in-ears stay locked in place. You don’t have to worry about losing your seal while you do your best Keith Moon impression.

More bands use UE 7 PRO worldwide than any other in-ear monitor. If you are going to spend your hard earned money on something, buy the right product the first time. Don’t buy stuff twice. At least, that’s that my opinion.