Your In-Ear Mix

For musicians. Control only your own in-ear (IEM) mix. First-time setup takes about 5 minutes – do it before rehearsal, not during the service.

Start here: were you given a personal mixer?

Some musicians get an Allen & Heath personal mixer (a small box with keys and a volume knob at your spot). Everyone else uses their phone.

Not sure? Ask the Production Lead. Both paths: also read Build your mix the right way and Protect your hearing.

Path A: Personal mixer (Allen & Heath ME)

Model at Cypress: Allen & Heath ME-1.

A1. Plug in

1. Check that the network cable is plugged into Link In on the back and the screen/keys are lit. No lights? Tell the sound person. Don't move cables yourself.
2. Connect your ears: [CONFIRM: what the personal mixer's Phones output feeds – wired earbuds straight into the mixer, OR a cable to an IEM transmitter/beltpack]. The Phones output is on the back: a small 3.5 mm jack and a large ¼″ jack.
3. Turn the master volume all the way down before you put your earpieces in.

A2. The keys

• Each numbered key controls one thing: a channel (like "Keys" or "Vocal 1"), a stereo pair, or a group (like the whole drum kit). Channel names come from the Avantis.
• To change a level: press a key, then turn the knob. Press the next key to adjust something else.
• Master volume = your whole mix. Use it the way section "Set your pack volume" below describes.
• Keys can be set up as groups (for example, all drums on one key). There's also master EQ and a limiter. Want EQ changes? Ask the sound person. [CONFIRM: are musicians allowed to adjust master EQ?]

A3. Save your mix (presets)

• Up to 16 presets. A preset saves which channel is on each key, your levels, pan and mutes. It does not save master volume or EQ. Whether you can store or only recall depends on how the sound team set up the key.
• Which preset slot is yours: [CONFIRM: preset slot per musician/position, e.g. "Keys = preset 3"].

Then go to Build your mix the right way.

Path B: Mixing Station on your phone

Control your own Aux (in-ear) mix from your phone or tablet.

B1. Get the app & get on the Wi-Fi

• Install "Mixing Station". iPhone/iPad: App Store. Android: Google Play. Windows/Mac: mixingstation.app. Look for Mixing Station (by Mixing Station GmbH / dev-core).
• It costs money to connect. The download is free, but you must buy the A&H Avantis license in the app (one-time; the US App Store lists it at US$11.99, checked Oct 2026; Android price [CONFIRM]). On the Allen&Heath Avantis entry, tap Buy Pro. A license only works on the platform you bought it on (an iPhone license won't work on Android).
• Join the church Wi-Fi [CONFIRM: Cypress production Wi-Fi name]. Your phone must be on the same network as the Avantis. For the Wi-Fi password, ask the Production Lead.

B2. Know your mix number

• Your mix = the label on TODAY'S pack. On the Avantis, each in-ear mix is an Aux.
• [CONFIRM: number and type of packs, and how pack labels map to Aux numbers, e.g. "IEM 1 = Aux 1"]
• Check it every Sunday. You may get a different pack than last week. Picking someone else's number changes their ears.

B3. First time: add the mixer & pick your mix

1. Open the app, find "Allen&Heath Avantis". You'll see the Mixers list. Not there? Tap Add Mixer and choose Allen&Heath Avantis.
2. Pick YOUR mix on this first screen – before you connect. Where you select (or add) the Avantis, pick the Aux that matches your pack. [CONFIRM: exact wording of this mix picker on Avantis]
3. Tap the gear icon on the Avantis entry. The Edit entry box opens. Under Access Mode tap Personal Monitoring. Under Connection Mode tap Search. Only if search doesn't work: tap Direct connect and type the address – ask the Production Lead. [CONFIRM: these Access Mode / Connection Mode labels look the same for Avantis]
   Good: Personal Monitoring has a green outline.
4. Tap Save & Connect, pick the mixer. The app lists the mixers it found. Tap [CONFIRM: Avantis name as it appears in search]. More than one? Ask the audio engineer.
   Good: the mixer opens, and the fader on the right is your mix.

B4. If your pack changes later

1. Disconnect. Go back to the Mixers list (disconnect, or close and reopen the app).
2. Pick the NEW mix on the first screen. Choose the Aux that matches today's pack.
3. Reconnect. Gear icon > keep Personal Monitoring > Save & Connect > pick the mixer.

What good looks like: the fader on the right shows your new mix.

B5. Make your own layer (one time)

A layer is the set of faders you see on screen. Make your own layer so you only see the channels you care about – no scrolling during a song.

1. Open Layers: App Setup (gear icon in the top menu) > Layers tab.
2. Tap + to add a new layer (top right). A new layer appears at the bottom of the list. Tap its Edit button (gear).
3. Give it a name you'll recognize in Layer Setup, like "Sam – Keys".
4. Add only your channels: your instrument, your vocal, the vocals you follow, Keys, Click, MD Talkback. Leave Target Mix on Any (it then follows your mix).
5. Put them in order: your channels show at the bottom of Layer Setup. Drag them into the order you like (for example: you first, Click last).
6. Layers screen: move to top, set size. Back on App Setup > Layers: drag the handle of your new layer to the top of the list. At the top of the list, set the Channels per layer dropdown to Fit channels. Optional: turn off Visible for layers you don't need.
7. Go back and pick your layer: tap back < (top left), then tap your new layer button on the right side of the mixer.
   Good: only your channels, in your order.

Host & teaching mics: add the mic group [CONFIRM: is there a combined mic bus/group, and its number]. Singers: also add the Reverb FX return.

More than one layer is fine – split things up, e.g. vocals on one, band on another, Click / MD / extras on their own. Your layers are saved on your phone – still there next week, even if your mix number changes.

Avantis channels you'll see

B6. Band changed? Edit your layer

1. Press and hold your layer button (right side of the mixer) to open Layer Setup. (Or: App Setup > Layers > Edit.)
2. Add, remove, reorder. Add: tap the new player's channel. Remove: take the old channel out of the bottom list. Reorder: drag. Tap <.

What good looks like: your layer matches this week's band.

Build your mix the right way (start clean) – both paths

★ Do these steps in order – every time you build a new mix.

1. Start with a clean slate: turn every channel in your mix all the way down.
2. Your own channel to Unity (0 dB): your vocal mic or your instrument. (Personal mixer: a solid middle level.)
3. Set your pack volume: turn the volume knob on your IEM pack (or the personal mixer's master) until your own channel is at a comfortable level. This is your loudest channel.
4. Add everything else, one at a time. Bring up each other channel you need to hear. Don't make anything louder than your own channel.
5. Adjust: DOWN before UP. In rehearsal, when something needs to change, try turning other things down before turning anything up.

✓ Tips

• First: add Click/Cues (if you use them) and what you lock to (Kick, Bass, Keys).
• Click: just loud enough to lock in – not louder than the band.
• Less is more. Only add what you actually need to hear.
• Small moves – a few dB at a time. In the app, tap just above or below a fader knob to nudge it.
• All quiet? Lower the others – don't push your own channel past Unity. Only then raise the pack.
• Check your pack every Sunday and match the app to it (section B4).
• Channel missing or distorted? Ask the sound person.
• EQ (phone app): each pack's mix has its own EQ. You can't change it in Personal Monitoring mode – ask the audio engineer for more or less bass or highs. [CONFIRM on Avantis]

⚠ Quick fixes

• Avantis not found? On the [CONFIRM Wi-Fi name] Wi-Fi? (iPhone) Local Network allowed? Then try Direct connect – ask the Production Lead.
• Names say "Ch 1, Ch 2" / nothing moves? You're probably Offline. Go back and connect again.
• Dropped out? iPhones disconnect when the screen turns off. Keep it on; reconnect.
• Personal mixer dark or silent? Check the master volume and the earpiece/pack cable, then tell the sound person.

⚠ Protect your hearing

• Pack (or personal mixer) volume down (low) before you put your earpieces in, then bring it up slowly.
• Keep it comfortable, not loud.
• Wear both earpieces – one ear makes you turn up much louder.
• Ears ringing or feeling "full" afterwards = too loud. Turn down next time.
• Loud pop or feedback? Pull the earpieces out, then tell the sound person.