Wireless Personal Monitor systems

[jazzyvee]

Over the last year I've been thinking of getting a wireless personal monitoring system. Most of the gigs we play are at large venues and outdoor festivals and the reasons are as follows.
The sound on stage just seems to be getting louder and louder, and since none of the band other than me and the lead vocalist have guitar in their on-stage mix, I'm limited to where I can move on stage and still hear myself.
 
I do use earplugs and oddly enough with ear plugs in I can hear a better balance of sound with the band. Where I find the earplugs lacking is when the dynamics of the music changes from loud to soft or vice versa, especially when I'm using overdrive for solo's I find it hard to balance my sound with the bands overall sound using the earplugs as it appears their response is not flat so the relative volume of each instrument is not equal.
 
I wonder if having personal in-ear monitors would help me  to (a) reduce my exposure to the volume on stage (b) enable me to confidently balance my sound with the band by being able to hear myself and them clearer.
 
What happens if  there is feedback on-stage will i get blasted with that by the in-ear monitors? At the moment if that happens I can stop playing and put my fingers in my ears.
 
Any experience you can share with me would be great as we will probably start touring this year around March/April.  
 
I'm also looking at the possibility of sponsorship deals, if you know any companies who are musician friendly in this matter also please pass on the details.
 
I know Alembic don't but then I take my Orion guitar on the road with me anyway. :-)
 
Jazzyvee
 
www.karmasound.com

[alembic_doctor]

Dude.  The wireless in ear monitor is the way to go.  I use the Shure PSM600 setup with E5 ear monitors.  It's not cheap.  But it's really made a difference in my hearing and my playing.
 
Besides getting the setup, you should also see an Ear Doctor or find out if you have a Musicians Hearing Services or something like it in your area.  You wann get custom ear molds for whatever in ear monitor you want to get.  These will insure the best fit, you can wear them for hours on end, and you get better bass response.
 
Now here is another part of the deal.  If you go cheap on this, you will most likely be very dissapointed.  I do not recommend that you use anything less than the Shure PSM600 system with either Westone UM2 (which I'm about to switch to) or the Shure E5.
 
Now, I do not have an amplifier at all.  I run my Series II directly into the console and rely strictly on the IEM for monitoring the band.  At my Church, the subwoofers are under the stage and I play barefooted.  So I feel everything too.  It's really awesome.  If you don't have the luxary of subs like I do,l then I would recommend a Buttkicker Platform  http://www.thebuttkicker.com/images/Bass%20Station%20Platform.jpg
 
I played a gig with only one of these.  No Amp, No Monitors, No IEM.  I just stood on the platform.
 
OK I could go on about this for days, because I use it a s a bass player, a professional sound engineer, and I sell the stuff.
 
I don't normally like to hawk my wears here, but if you're interested, shoot me an email and I'll give you some pricing. (special Alembic Club Pricing)
 
www.zamarmedia.com