Alcohol, volume and gigging - an article

[Funky Dunky]

https://reverb.com/blog/alcohol-and-the-loud-bassist-a-cautionary-tale?_aid=fb

I've never had a drink before going onstage anyway, but I found this interesting nonetheless.

[JapanAxe]

Very interesting article, thanks for linking Dunky. I don't think I've ever experienced this as a player, or indeed noticed it as an audience member - but the point is, you probably wouldn't know it was happening.

Personally I rarely drink on gigs and then never more than a pint of beer - it takes the edge off my playing, and I'm usually driving anyway. Also I suffer some distortion in the hearing of my right ear, which is made worse by alcohol and tiredness. If I am working with or listening to a loud band I use ear plugs.

[cheddatom]

I would have thought the effect of fatigue on your ears from the support band, or maybe the first set if you're on one of these long "bar gigs", would have just as much effect. I just remember not to tweak the sound once we've checked.

[KevB]

As with most things it's a matter of moderation. I usually get a pint in after setting up and that lasts until the end of the first set. I tend to go for weaker strength beers when I'm playing anyway (under 4% usually) and maybe a half in the second set, so over the time I'm at the pub 1 to 2 pints by the time I'm cleared away isn't going to affect my playing nor trouble the breathaliser.

[neepheid]

At my last gig I turned myself down on stage because I thought I was being obnoxious. I was still nursing the one pint I got when I came in. I never have more than one drink before I play (I tried two once and I thought it made me sloppy). I don't think I'm in danger of this.

[ColinB]

Pints on stage invariably get knocked over sooner or later. We have a "bottle-with-tops" only rule for drinks on the floor.

[Lozz196]

Luckily being teetotal this doesn`t affect me anymore, but in all honesty I used to notive the effect more on vocals than on instruments. Looking back at vids where we were all drunk, the vox were always slightly off-pitch to the flat side. Likewise on the beds on lead guitar solos.

[njr911]

Pint of shandy in each set, and I don't mess with my amp after sound check. I might step on a few pedals though

[cheddatom]

the point is more about how alcohol affects your hearing, as opposed to your playing. I'm surprised that the alcohol would have more of an effect than the deafening sound levels at most gigs these days. If you're not wearing ear plugs then your ears will be as good as a drunks' within a few minutes IMO

[Raggy]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1430209720' post='2758848']
As with most things it's a matter of moderation. I usually get a pint in after setting up and that lasts until the end of the first set. I tend to go for weaker strength beers when I'm playing anyway (under 4% usually) and maybe a half in the second set, so over the time I'm at the pub 1 to 2 pints by the time I'm cleared away isn't going to affect my playing nor trouble the breathaliser.
[/quote]

Same here.

[TimR]

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1430216376' post='2758967']
the point is more about how alcohol affects your hearing, as opposed to your playing. I'm surprised that the alcohol would have more of an effect than the deafening sound levels at most gigs these days. If you're not wearing ear plugs then your ears will be as good as a drunks' within a few minutes IMO
[/quote]

Yes. It's a well known phenomen for a while.

I used to have a singer who complained that at some gigs the sound would gradually get worse throughout the gig and by the end she couldn't hear herself and at others it was fine.

The gigs she was driving to were always fine but she didn't like my explanation.

[TimR]

Here's a more detailed study.

http://m.alcalc.oxfordjournals.org/content/34/5/741.full.pdf

Alcohol is a depressant and affects your frequency discrimination. So you start to have trouble picking out individual parts of the band. And it'll all turn to mush. It starts very quickly as well (well below the legal driving limits) and affects frequencies above 1000Hz which are the components of the bass (and other instruments) we use to determine pitch and definition.

Probably why it gets impossible to have a conversation in a big pub as the night progresses.

Also partly why drunk people shout a lot.

[Marc S]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1430209720' post='2758848']
As with most things it's a matter of moderation. I usually get a pint in after setting up and that lasts until the end of the first set. I tend to go for weaker strength beers when I'm playing anyway (under 4% usually) and maybe a half in the second set, so over the time I'm at the pub 1 to 2 pints by the time I'm cleared away isn't going to affect my playing nor trouble the breathaliser.
[/quote]

I'm usually driving when I play
So this reply pretty much sums up my evening at a gig
It's usually just the one pint, after setting up
and maybe a half at the interval

I once gigged and had 3 pints beforehand (someone else drove)
and it definitely affected my playing, albeit slightly - but I was aware of this
....so I won't do that again

[tom skool]

wouldn't the audience be losing their perseption of bass also anyway? and probably more so! I had a drunk girl come and turn me up near the end of our set the other week, which fits with the findings.

[TimR]

[quote name='tom skool' timestamp='1430257006' post='2759665']
wouldn't the audience be losing their perseption of bass also anyway? and probably more so! I had a drunk girl come and turn me up near the end of our set the other week, which fits with the findings.
[/quote]

Yes. But they're not in control of the volume knob.

What happens, if the whole band has had a beer each, is each member loses their ability to discriminate their own instrument and so turns up. This can't solve the problem because it's their perception that has altered, not the acoustics.

The volume just gets louder and still no one can hear anything. I've witnessed it happen lots of times since I became aware of what was going on.

It's fatal to your practice if you're drinking in a small room.

[blue]

I came up in the 60s and had my share of fun with every substance you can think of. However I stopped everything at age 23 and performing became a lot clearer, better playing and more fun. That was over 40 years ago.

Blue

Edited April 29, 2015 by blue