Loud Practices....really necessary

[lowlandtrees]

Reeeally p____d off with band playing at number 11 on weekly practices. Reheasal room is 6m x 5m. Tried complaining but I seem to be in a minority of one. Could barely hear the drums last night and was standing 1.5m from him. What is it about guitarists and volume? I remember from my first band (more than 20 years ago ....the decibel duels. Recent bands I have made a policy of .....you must all be able to hear every other person playing in the room and if you can t hear yourself then everyone else has to turn down. Seems really amateur to me to be returning to white noise and tinnitus. Just a rant ...

[cheddatom]

protect your hearing!!! I assume you're not wearing ear plugs? You've probably already done permanent damage to your hearing.

[gary mac]

A tight band doesn't have to be loud to sound good. Tight = powerful for me

[chris_b]

Very high volume in small rehearsal rooms is pointless, damaging everyone's hearing, achieves little and is [i]very[/i] amateurish, even immature.

Hearing protection is essential.

Whether you carry on with this is up to you, but I wouldn't be playing with these guys.

[Happy Jack]

IMHO you should always play at the volume that's appropriate for your location.

The Junkyard Dogs rehearse in my converted (single) garage, so we play without a PA and set overall volume at the unamplified voice.

If we were to rehearse in a large village hall or something then we'd rehearse at gig volume.

Playing at full blast in a smallish rehearsal space is barking mad. Not only does it destroy your hearing but you can't actually hear what you're doing, spot the mistakes, improve the song. If that's not why you're rehearsing then what's the point?

[KevB]

Yep it's down to the PA and the room provided. In most rehearsal places neither are big enough for any sort of rocking out shenanigans so better to keep a lid on it and do your hearing a favour. It's not a public performance, you need to hear each other properly first and foremost if you are working on stuff.

[mikel]

We rehearse at a volume where we can all hear what is going on and any mistake is obvious to all. Thats why we rehearse, to learn new stuff and to iron out mistakes and work up arrangements. I sometimes practice harmonies without a mic and I can hear if I am on it or not. Volume simply masks errors in a rehearsal room space.

[FinnDave]

I rehearsed recently with a band whose drummer used an electronic kit. We were able to play at a comfortable level and for the first time since i bought them, I didn't need my earplugs. My regular band allows the volume to be dictated by the drums, and earplugs are definitely required!

[ROConnell]

As long as you're in a room with decent acoustics and hearing protection I don't see the problem with playing loud, it's amateurish if the whole band thinks turning up will solve everything, but if you're a group who all know where your instrument sits in the frequencies and you e.q right I don't see a problem with turning up and having a blast, if you take the time to set up properly you should be able to hear most clearly. This depends all on the room and what equipment you have available though.

[LewisK1975]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1481104915' post='3189671']
......Playing at full blast in a smallish rehearsal space is barking mad. Not only does it destroy your hearing but you can't actually hear what you're doing, spot the mistakes, improve the song. If that's not why you're rehearsing then what's the point?
[/quote]

This is it in a nutshell. Rehearsal is just that - rehearsal - not a gig. Sure, rehearsal can be 'enjoyed'. But it's not why you're all there, you're there to get the song(s) nailed, nothing else.

[Monkey Steve]

My last lot had an ongoing issue - the studio had 4 x 12s for guitars on each side and an 8 x 10's for bass, so everybody could hear the bass easily as it was at head height, could hear the guitars on the other side of the room, but struggled to hear their guitars because they were standing too close to their cabs (and also had ear plugs) so up the guitar volumes.

We finally agreed that we set the volume by what the singer needed to hear, and that was driven by the volume of the drums and vocals. The guitarists started off quite grumpy about not being able to hear themselves but quickly got used to it, or rather, quickly got worn down by everybody shouting at them each time they tried to turn their amps up.

[Lozz196]

We rehearse at the same volume as we gig, which is to the volume of unamplified drums. That`s what we`ll hear on stage and any further volume to hear our own instruments will come from the monitors. No need to ever be louder than the drums imo.

[stingrayPete1977]

I've never understood why rehearsal rooms tend to have bigger amps than most of us gig with!

I've grown bored of playing in bands that have a weekly practice and ones that do it at full volume.

[Dan Dare]

People who play stupidly loud at rehearsals are either dick waving or trying to conceal the fact that they're making cock-ups all over the place. if they won't stop it when asked reasonably , walk. No point in working with idiots, especially deaf ones.

[Coilte]

A lot of people seem to think the volume knob only goes clockwise ( as in ...up). If band members are not mature enough to keep the volume at a reasonable level, then IMO it is not worth being in that band.

[JTUK]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1481104762' post='3189669']
Very high volume in small rehearsal rooms is pointless, damaging everyone's hearing, achieves little and is [i]very[/i] amateurish, even immature.

Hearing protection is essential.

Whether you carry on with this is up to you, but I wouldn't be playing with these guys.
[/quote]

I'd agree... but you shouldn't continue with this even with plugs in... I can't see what you hope to achieve if you can't hear anything.

[MacDaddy]

tbf some guitar amps do need to cranked up to hit the sweet spot. But if that's the case maybe a power brake could be used at rehearsals?

[Coilte]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1481115237' post='3189790']
tbf some guitar amps do need to cranked up to hit the sweet spot. But if that's the case maybe a power brake could be used at rehearsals?
[/quote]

I agree that something should be done. Everyone else should not be expected to adjust to (translate...put up with..!!) the guitarist's "sweet spot".

[skidder652003]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1481115237' post='3189790']
tbf some guitar amps do need to cranked up to hit the sweet spot. But if that's the case maybe a power brake could be used at rehearsals?
[/quote]
yep this. At least thats what our guitarist claims, drummers too feckin loud too, I wear plugs which I hate.

[Japhet]

Have had the same issue in the past. I unplugged the guitar and started packing my gear up. When I was asked what I was doing I said 'I can't hear what I'm playing and neither can anyone else so this isn't a rehearsal - so I'm going home. Anything else can be dealt with by email'. They got the message.

[radiophonic]

I went through all of this and it does seem to be a rock guitar player thing. Very annoying. I don't miss those days at all. The only upside is that at least it prepares you for the reality of small gigs where you need to be able to deliver the set without being able to hear a single note you are playing. My advice is to use the power of No. Just tell them you aren't having it. Then just don't show up if they still insist on being dicks about it.

I used to practice with a 12 piece band with 4 horns and 3 singers, in my office at work (at a University, you can get away with it)! I used a 1 x 15 combo, the guitarist used a Fender Champ and everything was clean and clear. 4 horns are pretty loud - but the guitar player knew enough to not try and drown them out and even with a small combo could cut through. Once the volume goes too high, the reflections in the room just turn everything to mooosh anyway. Pointless.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1481115856' post='3189796']
yep this. At least thats what our guitarist claims, drummers too feckin loud too, I wear plugs which I hate.
[/quote]

Most of the sensible guitarists I know use either a modelling amp (where volume is immaterial to the sound) or a small amp (30 watts or less). Your unlikely to be able to crank a 50/100 watt guitar amp into its sweet spot without reaching deafening volume.

[Monkey Steve]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1481115237' post='3189790']
tbf some guitar amps do need to cranked up to hit the sweet spot. But if that's the case maybe a power brake could be used at rehearsals?
[/quote]

this misunderstands the purpose of a rehearsal - it's for the band to learn how to play the songs better, which does not require the guitarist to have his ideal amp sound. One advantage I have found of using a studio that provides the amps is that as long as the gear is working and you get a reasonable enough sound, nobody tends to worry too much about the guitar/bass/drum sound because it's not the sound we'll have when playing live.

[Coilte]

Just a word about wearing earplugs. At rehearsals, even at "low" volume, it is still advisable to wear plugs, as it is still loud enough to do hearing damage.

http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html

[JTUK]

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1481115237' post='3189790']
tbf some guitar amps do need to cranked up to hit the sweet spot. But if that's the case maybe a power brake could be used at rehearsals?
[/quote]

I'd question that need myself as I'm sure they'd have the issue elsewhere and on gigs so he should provision for it.

As for rehearsals, I'd top and tail the song and would say this isn't the sound I'll use so the band should still be able to work with the track without silly volumes.
It is acceptable to use another sound as the key is getting the work done in a band context. The sound isn't that important at this point, IMO.