Meet Jay Harder—a church member who experienced firsthand how Unity IEMs could breathe new life into his worship team’s sound. After moving to a new city, Jay joined a church where inconsistent IEM use and low-quality gear were affecting the band’s overall performance. Eager to support the team, Jay lent his personal Unity IEMs to the worship leader. The results? Let’s just say some exciting changes were in store for their worship setup. Read Jay’s full journey below to find out how our Team Kit made all the difference!
"I moved to a new city recently to step into a ‘new to us’ business, PlugsPlus.com, and as a result had to find a new church. The first church we checked out just felt like home. It was a good-sized church of around 2500 people, the worship band was great: energetic, musically tight, great singers with dynamic vocals – most of the time.
Prior to buying the theatrical lighting business I had been introduced to the world of IEMs by Justin Kudding and Simon Fisk of Plunge Audio. Being a curious guy, I picked their brains on the benefits of IEMs and started to notice things about the performance of the worship leaders at our church. First off, half of the band – musicians included, only wore one IEM. The gear ranged widely from custom monitors to what looked like cheap Amazon specials. Week by week it looked like the singers were using different gear. When the worship leader sang, he would usually take out one IEM. He had perfect pitch in his upper register but on the lower end he was consistently flat – and he knew it, you could feel his discomfort.
I was shocked to find out that wearing one IEM requires a volume approximately 40% higher in the remaining ear – which can lead to damaged hearing!
Justin and I had discussed the cons of wearing only one IEM. I was shocked to find out that wearing one IEM requires a volume approximately 40% higher in the remaining ear – which can lead to damaged hearing! The reason for only wearing one IEM was that the musician can’t necessarily hear well enough through their IEMs. I decided to try an experiment. I contacted the worship leader, Grayson, and asked for a meeting. You must realize that I am new at this church and know only a handful of people, having only been there a couple months. Grayson had no idea who I was or what I wanted. All I told him was I had some gear. Grayson and Bo, the production head, met me and I brought out the toys... I showed Bo some of the power cables and connectors my company makes and for Grayson I brought out my personal Gen 1 and Gen 2 PlungeAudio Unity IEMs.
Grayson shared that keeping a large worship band in gear was difficult. At any time, there are up to 12 musicians and singers on the stage. A lot of times someone forgets their IEMs, or they get damaged, and they are left scrambling. He further shared that they had a Youth Worship Band where it was 10 times more challenging getting them to bring their IEMs, and church-supplied sets were often returned broken. Grayson was constantly buying twenty-dollar headphones to meet the need. Additionally, someone had stolen his wife’s custom fit IEMs, and she has unusually small ear canals – he couldn’t find replacements without spending another $2 grand. His pair of customs had been at the shop for over 3 months.
After we tried out the Plunge Audio Unity I made Grayson a deal. I told him I was going to loan him both pairs of my IEMs for 3 weeks PROVIDED he and his wife wear them in both ears while on stage, at all times. He was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to hear the ambient noise or the band properly, as this was a problem with his $2000 customs, but agreed to the deal. Three weeks went by, and he hadn’t hit a flat note. I know this because what church doesn’t repeat the same songs over, and over and over and OVER again! During this time, Justin and I were discussing what would constitute a great IEM Kit for larger churches.
After 3 weeks Grayson BEGGED me for a couple more weeks to spread the IEMs around with the other band members.
After 3 weeks Grayson BEGGED me for a couple more weeks to spread the IEMs around with the other band members. I let them use my personal gear for another 2 weeks while Justin, Simon and their team at Plunge Audio put together a great team Kit including: 5 pairs of Unity IEMs, 1 pair of Unity Micro IEMs, 3 extra cables, 180 silicon tips in different sizes and cleaning supplies all wrapped up in a lockable Pelican case.
The soloists are using the Unity IEMs, and they have never sounded better.
Grayson and Bo LOVED IT! They presented it to the church leadership with benefits that even I hadn’t thought about, like being able to take a full set of gear for retreats, camps, special events, etc. Our church was able to fit the purchase of one IEM kit into this year’s budget. The soloists are using the Unity IEMs, and they have never sounded better. From what I hear, there are two singers that race each other to grab the Unity Micro’s, they’ve never been able to find IEM’s that actually fit! Next year’s budget is right around the corner, and I know that Grayson will be calling!" - Jay Harder
If you’re looking to elevate your church’s worship experience or have any questions about how our Unity IEM Team Kit can benefit your worship team, we're here to help! Reach out to us via email and we'll help you get started.
