German reality TV talent show Sing meinen Song musicians have adopted an Allen & Heath ME Personal Mixing System to handle their in-ear monitoring. For Sascha Kohl, the show’s sound engineer, this has had a significant impact on his daily production routine, particularly as he previously controlled both FOH and monitor mixes simultaneously and singlehandedly via an A&H dLive mixing surface.

During the production of the show, an 11-piece band, featuring various stars of the German music scene, plays in a living room setting in South Africa. The line-up of the band remains the same, with well-known singers taking turns on the main mic. With a production of this size, the time frame is tight, as two shows are recorded each day, and so musicians taking care of their own IEM mix saves time both during rehearsals and performances.

The particular challenge was that flexible monitoring was needed both during rehearsals in Mannheim and on location in South Africa. All audio, including the FOH mix, the band’s monitoring and the singers’ in-ear monitoring, had to be managed from a single console. The monitoring also had to be easy to set up and deliver results quickly.

These requirements steered the choice of solution towards the ME Personal Mixing System, with a total of 11 ME-1s and two ME hubs in use. The cabling is configured in a star in order to feed all devices with Power-over-Ethernet (PoE). The system is integrated via a dLive S7000 console in conjunction with a Allen & Heath DM64 MixRack and DX32 Expander. Since the introduction of the dLive system, it has been the preferred choice for the production of Sing meinen Song.

Pairing the ME Personal Mixing System and dLive went without a hitch, and no complications arose during set-up. The system has proved easy for the musicians to use and is extremely stable. In use, the ME system not only saved time and streamlined the production process, but also helped the musicians in their work by giving them a better monitoring experience.
‘Allowing the musicians to control their own monitoring took a lot of pressure off me,’ Kohl says. ‘We were able to save a lot of time during rehearsals and I was able to concentrate fully on the FOH mix. The musicians also like being able to adjust their own monitoring. This way, everyone can put together their own personal mix, which in turn inspires the musical performance.’

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