Three years ago I made one of the most controversial videos I've ever put out: What's Wrong With Using Ableton to Run In-Ear Monitors? Looking back at the comments, I think I made the wrong video.

So this week I read the pushback out loud — the people running everything from one machine, the keyboardist who's done ten years and multiple European tours from one Logic session and whose only two failures were a photographer stepping on a power cable, and the guy whose bassist and drummer felt latency he couldn't — and I say what I should have said the first time.

It comes down to two things. It isn't can you, it's should you. And what happens when that computer crashes — which isn't a matter of if.

Next week: how we practically apply redundancy and division of labor when we don't have unlimited budget, aren't traveling, and aren't playing arenas with giant teams.

The video this episode is about: What's Wrong With Using Ableton to Run In-Ear Monitors?

Listener-exclusive: a 14-day free trial of a full paid Pliris account — fromstudiotostage.com/pliris/friend. It isn't linked or advertised anywhere on the site; it's for people who listen.

Chapters

0:00 The video I got wrong
0:53 Why I made it — and why it was off-subject
1:44 The eight reasons, and what they missed
3:15 "I run IEMs through my interface without problems"
4:02 Ten years, one Logic session, European festivals
5:19 It's not can you — it's should you
6:40 The line I should have opened with
7:35 What a stepped-on power cable actually costs you
10:08 When your drummer feels latency and you don't
11:05 What it really takes, part one: 32 inputs
14:20 Ten outputs — and the problem front-of-house can't fix
16:35 The split snake
18:22 Scaling it to a full band
20:10 Why would you manage all of this?
21:32 Where this video ended up: the bootcamps
23:20 It comes down to two things
23:46 A listener-only offer
26:01 Jonny's comment — and what's next week