Using & MIxing In Ear Monitors and Avioms

Using in ears and Aviom systems in churches has become very common. The name of the game on stage for a sound engineer has always been keeping stage volume as low as possible. Doing so allows you to have a clean mix and not have muddy signals competing with each other on stage. Using in ears is the logical next step to achieve a quiet stage. I have used in ears in a variety of situations from premixed at the board with a wireless to a self mixed on stage Aviom.
Avioms can be fairly dreaded by musicians for a few reasons. First, you are chained down to the box from the small amount of cable attached. Secondly, you are responsible for your own mix which seems like a great idea, but it's easy to create a bad mix for yourself. Finally, these can sound very compressed and have an unrealistic sound from how the audience actually hears what you are playing.

Here are a few basics to getting a good aviom mix:

Get a good set of in ears
Buying a custom molded in ear is great if you are on a loud stage and need isolation to be able to hear yourself best. If you are on a quiet stage, more than likely the in ears themselves will provide enough isolation for you to hear yourself well. I recommend getting at minimal a dual driver set of in ears. The addition of an extra driver will allow there to be more speakers handling different frequencies of the mix which will result in more clarity and you being able to hear crystal clear. I currently use the Shure SE535, but have also had the Shure SE315 and M Audio IE30s and IE10s.

Learn how to mix your in ears

There is a lot you can do to keep your mix from being muddy and help yourself to hear the instruments you need clearly. Taking a less is more approach to your mix will help with this. First, what do you need to hear to play? If there is an instrument you don't need in the mix as an reference? Then turn it off in your mix. Having less playing in your ears will keep everything crisp and clear. Secondly, get each instrument in their own layer in volume. Your guitar should be one of the loudest instruments in the mix. Next choose what you want to hear more of, and begin to work downwards to create volume layers. Finally, use the stereo space you have to keep the mix sounding open and clear. Pan your instrument a little of center. Pan similiar instruments hard the other direction. Instruments that are in stereo use pan hard left and right to get the full spectrum of what they are doing to create fullness. Start panning the other instruments left, right, or slightly off center to use all of the stereo space you have.
Here is a visual of what my current mix looks like:

Here are some helpful hints on how to achieve the best mix possible: 

• If you have your amp on stage, leave one of the ears out so you can listen to yourself from the amp. 
• Get a good set of in ears as quick as quick as you can.
• If you are regularly playing the same place with an aviom, save your mix in a few different channels on the box so it doesn't get lost or over written. I save my on channel 1, 16, & the channel of my guitar.
• Ask the sound guy if there are any ambient mics that can go in the Aviom mix. This is especially helpful on a very silent stage in a large room. You can get a feeling of isolation and have very little ability to hear the audience. 
• Playing with in ears can be like playing in the studio. You can hear every little mistake, flub, bum note, or bad technique. This can help improve your playing, but don't be over critical on yourself; the mix in the PA is more forgiving than your Aviom mix will be. 
• Know what your guitar rig sounds like at your amp and be confident in your sound. The in ear mix can give a false impression of your sound and may make you feel like you need to adjust your effects, levels, and compression.