Hear the In-Ear Mixes of Chris Tomlin's Band

Having the proper mix in your monitors can make all the difference in your performance. Listen as Jeff Sandstrom goes through each instrument to reveal what the members of Chris Tomlin's band hear in their in-ear monitors.

0:00 - Intro
0:55 - Vocalist Mix
1:50 - Keyboard Mix
2:40 - Drums Mix
3:23 - Bass Mix
4:05 - Lead Guitar
4:45 - Full Band Mix
6:00 - Thanks For Watching!

[photographybyliamanderson]

they need more of these on YouTube. such a cool idea to let the audience here something like this

[elguezj]

That guitar tone is the perfect amount of everything!

[robwakelin]

Interesting, surprised the click only came through on the bass mix?
As a gigging musician for the last 40 years, switching to a digital (A&H) desk and really good quality IEM set up 7 years ago was a total game changer. Now we can play anywhere with minimum fuss. No wedges, no competition on stage for sound as there's no bass amp (me), just a lead guitar amp. It's all about what the audience hears out front. With custom moulds and the "scene" set for your mix, you know what you're going to hear every gig. And as all three of us sing (sharing lead vocals/harmonies) you can relax and not worry about how much effort you're having to put in to hear yourself. This leaves us better prepared for the performance. Great video.

[worshipwithothienojulius]

I'm glad I watched this! My passion is sound engineering now because as an instrumentalist and musician, I have been disappointed multiple times by poor monitoring! I want to make mixes and atmospheres for others that I only dream about!

[sunnydeyaliofficial]

Guitar, Using reverb on chorus is a trick i learned recently.

[JamesKimSynergize]

I know this is worship music nowadays with silent stages and personal monitor mixes. But I'm still so old school and just love the amps blaring on stage and a sound engineer who knows what they are doing to deliver the best mix to the audience. I've used in ears before but it felt so artificial and I couldn't really get into expressing the music like I wanted. Oh well.

[dodmusic]

Common denominator among all mixes: A VERY loud kick drum and snare... Drummers cannot be shoddy.

[djjazzyjeff]

It's always interesting hearing what people like in their mixes vs what they don't like. Like I'm a lead singer, and I don't like having very much backing vocals in my ears, because it has a tendency to throw me off of my own part if I start listening to another voice, whereas the other singer in my band, who sings backup mostly, but does sing lead on maybe 8 songs out of the 40 or so that we do, has my voice almost as loud as his own. That would just drive me nuts usually. I don't know, just neat hearing what other people prefer. I heard an old recording of John Frusciante's in-ear mix from the mid 2000s and he has almost no lead vocal at all. In fact I think there is literally no lead vocal in the ears, but you can hear a bit coming from the ambient audience mics, and I'm sure on the stage itself there's enough coming from the wedges and sidefills and the PA itself, I guess he doesn't need any in his ears per-se, but yeah, just interesting.

[TotalSinging]

Seems kind of odd that everyone but the lead singer has so little of the vocals in their mix; mostly just their own instrument. All my members have a pretty even mix of the entire band with maybe their instrument a little more prominent. Just seems weird to not have vocals where you can hear them well -especially since it looks like guitar and keys provide backing vocals

[guydouglas]

That was very helpful. Just odd to not hear the entire band to give it a 'live' hearing experience - that's what inspires me to give my all in the band performance.

[dodjiegarcia]

The guitarplayer's mix is so... what mix a guitarplayer will ask for without In-ear monitors. :D

[nathanelder]

Not sure why nobody wants the leader’s voice in their ears.

[stefank]

Its interesting to me that each person has their part by far the loudest and that some elements are completely missing. Perhaps thats the norm, but I change how I sing / play on the guitar to support the overall sound. I would prefer to hear something much closer to the full sound 🤷‍♂️ but I understand for softer instruments like the bass it should be louder.

[Mrgazzzap]

As a drummer that sings backing vocals I like a lot of lead and my own vocal in my mix. And some of bass with guitar slightly lower.

[dominion]

ohhh they're mixer is masterfader...good program

[clementtytube]

Instead of the part they used to demonstrate here... They should've went with "You are the everlasting God" part as it sounds full.

[gatherstudio]

Hence the name Sweetwater, The Gospel wave is coming !!!

[avm_official]

Where can I get the complete video of this program?

[isaacmugunda]

The keys mix can pass as the gig mix.. He has everything

[nathanelder]

Basically, in ear monitors sound horrible compared to real stage monitors. volume- especially in smaller venues makes it a necessity. I struggle at times to really “get into” the music with ears, but I’m learning to fake it. There are more important things to consider. On the rare occasion that I get to forgo the IEM’s I enjoy it SO much!