My main argument in favor of IEMs is that you can save your hearing! With a great mix it can sound like a record and you can have the levels much lower than the pummeling your ears would otherwise take standing next to the drum kit. The second big upside is that if you have a loud bass amp onstage, bass in the drum monitors, bass in people's wedges, etc, there are so many sources leaking into all the open microphones at different times (slightly out of phase with each other) that the FOH can end up with a mushy, undefined bass sound. If most or all of the band is using IEMs then the PA is YOUR AMP and the FOH sound can be much improved.
The downside is the time it takes to get the balance set the way you want it. If you're not carrying your own monitor rig and operator it can be a tedious affair trying to get the balance right while everybody else in the band is yelling about the same thing.
So Jazzy, it's a long chain from your bass to your ears so it's a process of elimination to find what's clipping. Try starting at the other end: what IEMs have you got, how many internal drivers? How do they sound when listening to another source like your phone / computer / cassette player? Can you get plenty of volume with a clean result? How loud are you driving them when you play with the band? Is it possible you are simply running them too loud in that situation and overloading them? It takes some getting used to having the levels lower in a live situation because from the very first time we play with others, volume can equal excitement. Bring a good set of headphones or generic earbuds to rehearsal, plug into the pack and see if it's loud and clear.
Next, is it a wireless belt-pack? How's the battery in that?
Then, is the transmitter for your belt-pack clipping? Check for input/output level indicators on that device.
You say the levels at FOH and monitor board look ok, but ask somebody to listen to your sound at those points to be sure what you're sending is clean.
As you know, our onboard volume controls do not change the tone of our basses, only the level. So you should be able to set the output level of the Orion to whatever your rig wants to see for a good result. (I actually have two marks on my master volume control for different situations...)
I'll also say that while I'm in favor of IEMs in some situations they just aren't practical. If you're playing a club or small venue with a house sound crew and don't have time to get them dialed in then it can be really tough. But in a huge venue with your own crew they can really be great for the players, singers, and the overall sound to the audience. On my road gig most of the band are now on IEMs but some just can't make the move. It took the guitarist years but he finally made the switch and now loves it - speaker in a box with a mic so no sound onstage. The drummer still uses wedges (plus a sub, plus a throne "kicker"). And they rarely work for horn players because the insides of their heads vibrate too much (that might explain a few things about these guys!) so they're are still on wedges. Sometimes the percussionists go with wedges because it's hard to tell what sounds they're making into their many mics... But I do love my IEMs, as do the singers and our sound crew!
You'll figure it out!
Jimmy J
