[Fender Doll]

Hell there guys,

I've always found this place really helpful and informative with regards gear and stuff so hopefully you all may be able to shed some light into a dilemma I'm having.

The singer in my band uses in ear monitors and swears by them and has suggested I need them as during rehearsal I have found myself struggling to hear certain cues the singer "sings" for me to know exactly where I'm at. I know in a stage mix I'd want to hear, besides my guitar, vocals first then drums second. Also I do provide backing vocals and am working on harmonies as well, so hearing the singer to harmonise is key. That being said my forte is the guitar.

My concern comes admittedly from lack of experience, in all my other bands and performing even in bigger theatres we never used them as there were wedges. If I had I.E.M's would that give more control to the sound guy over my guitar sound? I'm thinking as in turning me down etc? I play through 2X12 or 4X12 cabs as they give a depth and fullness to the sound I'm going for and don't want someone turning me down just because I've got ear pieces in.

Also what are the benefits of in ear monitors, having never used them I don't really know what I'd be buying into, and I'd rather hear from anyone specifically guitar players with any experience of them what they think of them and why they use them and or like to use them.

Any help advice would be greatly appreciated, with guitars, amps pedals and pickups I can talk about and kind of hold my own but this is completely new to me!

[gtrjunior]

This is just my opinion but I’m not a fan of IEM’s.
Now, admittedly I haven’t tried the high end ones. But I will tell you this.

If you buy a set like the low end basic Shure 215 set you’re going to hate them. They are a single driver set and while vocals sound great your guitar tone that you have worked really hard at to sound pro, will sound like you’re playing inside of a tin can.
For guitar/bass/drums you’ll need a set of IEM’s with more drivers. Now, more doesn’t always equal better. It all depends on the application and what you want to hear in your mix. For guitar you’re probably looking at a quad driver set or minimum 3 drivers from a quality brand....and that’s going to cost a pretty penny.

As far as a sound man wanting to turn you down, I’d suggest looking into a small plexiglass sheild. You can get them at guitar center for about $100.  This way you can turn up enough to get your tone and because the amp is essentially blocked you aren’t ripping people’s heads off with volume.
Then you can turn up your mix in your IEM’s or floor wedge monitors.

Spend some time looking through this website...you’ll learn a lot.

https://alclair.com/driver-ed-driver/

[buddroyce]

IEM's are hit or miss. Some people love them some hate them. The lower end ones aren't that good though.

[Strobe]

I personally think they are a godsend. They function both as ear plugs to reduce the stage volume while piping your preferred mix directly into your ears. As long as your sound guy can handle it, they really help. I primarily just use them when doing vocals - those can get lost on a lot of stages, and if you are too quiet you can end up blowing out your voice by trying to sing louder.

[Fender Doll]

Thank you for the response guys I really appreciate that. I'm going to dig a bit deeper because I don't want to end up forking out lots of money for the wrong set yet at the same time get a really cheap set that won't do what I need it to.
Another one of my concerns to stem from the fact I don't want to loose that "live" feeling you get from being in a Live band context. I'm admittedly a little worried in ears would disconnect me from what's really going on and produce more of a studio sound in my ears which I don't want. I really find it easier, when it is my turn to step forward and solo to hear everything that's going on so I can play the right thing for the situation.