I normally play other players while using some form of auto accompaniment and luckily have never had problems with musicians not being able to lock in. I normally play with a percussionist, sax/flute, singer and, guitar. I've also worked with trombone, trumpet, violin, vibes, drum set and bass players. I wish I could provide them with in ear monitors but like I said it really has never been a problem for them to lock in. I'm blessed to know many very good musicians that have always practiced with metronomes, and have experience on stage playing with some sort of sequence. In a perfect world all the musicians I work with including myself would rather just play completely live but budgets are so tight and clients needs are so different,. The arranger keyboard gives me the flexibility play solo , duo or full band with so many types of configurations, it's a great tool!