How to Fix Your Worship Team’s In-Ear Monitor Mix

By Jake Gosselin

This past Thursday night, I was back mixing sound at my home church, Rock Harbor, here in Florida. It’s been a while. We’ve had a ton going on at Churchfront—new installs, training sessions, and helping churches level up their worship and tech ministries all over the country. But it felt really good to just be back in the room with my team for rehearsal.

And right away, one big issue stood out: in-ear monitor mixes.

Here’s the thing—if your in-ear mixes are off, it impacts everything. The worship team doesn’t feel confident. The vocals are timid. The instruments are uneven. The band sounds unsure, and the whole energy in the room feels off. You could have the best equipment in the world, but if the mix in someone’s ears isn’t working, it kills their ability to lead.

Once I cleaned up the in-ear mixes mid-rehearsal, I could literally see and hear the difference. People were singing and playing more confidently. The band locked in. It just felt better.

So in this post, I want to walk you through exactly what I did—from gain staging to vocal EQ, from wireless pack settings to how I mix in-ears using Waves LV1.

Start with the Source

If you’re a worship leader or musician, your signal starts at the mic—or your instrument. Before we touch plugins or mixers, we need to talk mic placement.

Too often I see people holding the mic way too far from their face and then wondering why they can’t hear themselves. Get that mic close—like, two inches away close. You’ll sound way better in the house, online, and most importantly, in your ears.

Same goes for instruments. With keyboards, set your master volume all the way up so you’re sending a strong signal to front of house. Drummers—especially on electric kits—play with full confidence. Don’t hold back. Soft playing throws off gain structure. Guitarists, make sure you’re using a DI and that you’re sending a balanced signal—especially if you’re running a long cable to a distant stage box.

Don’t Forget Wireless Mic Gain

Wireless systems throw people off because they add another gain stage—right at the receiver. Last night, one of our vocalists had almost no gain coming into the console. Turns out his wireless receiver was set 10dB lower than everyone else’s. His mix was a mess, and it all traced back to that tiny little setting.

If you’re using something like Shure’s QLXD or ULXD systems, go into the menu, check the input level, and set it to mic level. Then make sure the gain is strong, but not clipping.

How We Mix In-Ears with Waves LV1

At Rock Harbor, we’re running a Waves LV1 64-channel setup. All audio comes through a SoundGrid stage box and into the console where we have 16 stereo aux buses for in-ear mixes.

Our team uses the MyMon app to control their own mixes, but before we even let them touch their faders, I go in and inspect every channel.

Here’s what I check:

• Is the gain staging solid?

• Are compressors working as expected?

• Are vocals tuned (for FOH only)?

• Are EQs clean and not overcooked?

And then, for in-ear mixes, I take a less is more approach. We actually duplicate the vocal channels—one set for front of house (with all the fancy Waves plugins and tuning), and a second set just for the in-ears with basic EQ and compression.

Why?

Because auto-tune in your in-ears is weird. Nobody wants to hear a corrected version of their voice while they’re trying to sing. Just a touch of EQ and a transparent compressor can go a long way toward clarity and confidence.

Pan Your Vocals

If you’ve got a stereo in-ear system, take advantage of it.

I like to pan vocalists apart in the stereo field. It gives them space in the mix and helps them hear themselves without cranking volume. In the app, it’s a simple slider—but the results are huge.

Just make sure everyone is actually in stereo mode—both in the MyMon app and on their wireless packs.

Reset Your Mixes

Here’s one of the best tips I can give you: reset the mix.

If someone’s mix is messy and they can’t figure out what’s wrong, just zero everything out and start over. Turn everything down. Add vocal and instrument first. Then click. Then snare. Then bass. One element at a time, with intention.

You can save this as a preset in MyMon, or just rebuild it each week. I rebuild mine often because I don’t want to hear someone else’s version of what they need—I want to hear what I need.

Don’t Overcomplicate Bus Processing

Yes, you can throw plugins on your stereo aux buses too. But unless you know exactly why you’re doing it, it’s usually not worth it. Keep it clean. I disabled a couple of bus plugins last night because I could tell they were doing more harm than good. Your goal should be transparency, not fancy.

Wired or Wireless?

Both can work.

If you’re in the backline—keys, bass, drums—a wired headphone amp is great. You avoid dropouts and save money. Just make sure the amp isn’t clipping and that it’s set to stereo if you’re running a stereo mix.

If you’re using wireless, make sure:

• It has fresh batteries

• It’s set to stereo (if applicable)

• The pack EQ isn’t throwing everything off

Final Thoughts

A great in-ear mix changes everything.

It boosts your team’s confidence, tightens your sound, and brings life to the room. But it doesn’t happen by accident. You’ve got to take the time during rehearsal to inspect, adjust, and coach.

Musicians don’t always know what they’re hearing—or not hearing. That’s your job as the engineer or tech lead: help them hear clearly so they can lead confidently.

If this video helped you out, share it with your team. And if you want even more help dialing in your church’s worship tech, check out Churchfront Premium or our Pro services. Whether it’s training, consulting, or full system installs, we’d love to help you.

Thanks for reading—and happy mixing.