Cuzzie Posted December 31, 2016 Posted December 31, 2016 OK, A little unofficial test as I have 3 sets of ear plus. Pro guard biker - £20 Alpine musician pro - £25 Flare audio titanium - £40-50 Pro guard, least effective, but actually still pretty good, it does just deaden sound and you lack definition, but it comes with a key ring holder, so I always have a set with me if I go to gigs etc. Sound is muffled. Alpine has a cord to link them and 3 attenuators, i put it in the highest and it does a good job, better than the above, some top end leaks through, but again definition slightly muddied. Nice plastic case to carry, has a spare plug and you have the 3 different inserts to denote how much protection you want. Flare Audio - only tested with very bassy headphones but best at volume of sound, just on the Alpine, takes off more high end than Alpine, definitely hear the bass a little more and you can feel the bone vibrations compared to alpine. I did all these with both in and a combination of one in each ear and as far as I am aware my hearing is even. What i have ended up doing is having the pro guard on the key ring, Alpine in the gig bag and the flare audio loose to remember to pack, or I may put in the other gig bag. Having it loose helps me block out the kids! Cheers Quote
SpondonBassed Posted December 31, 2016 Posted December 31, 2016 [quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1483182939' post='3205240'] OK, A little unofficial test as I have 3 sets of ear plus. Pro guard biker - £20 Alpine musician pro - £25 Flare audio titanium - £40-50 Pro guard, least effective, but actually still pretty good, it does just deaden sound and you lack definition, but it comes with a key ring holder, so I always have a set with me if I go to gigs etc. Sound is muffled. Alpine has a cord to link them and 3 attenuators, i put it in the highest and it does a good job, better than the above, some top end leaks through, but again definition slightly muddied. Nice plastic case to carry, has a spare plug and you have the 3 different inserts to denote how much protection you want. Flare Audio - only tested with very bassy headphones but best at volume of sound, just on the Alpine, takes off more high end than Alpine, definitely hear the bass a little more and you can feel the bone vibrations compared to alpine. I did all these with both in and a combination of one in each ear and as far as I am aware my hearing is even. What i have ended up doing is having the pro guard on the key ring, Alpine in the gig bag and the flare audio loose to remember to pack, or I may put in the other gig bag. Having it loose helps me block out the kids! Cheers [/quote] Many thanks. That's going to help me a lot. I hope the OP finds it as illuminating. Quote
Cuzzie Posted December 31, 2016 Posted December 31, 2016 Forgot to add comfort to wear! Pro guard, OK, i found a little tricky to get a seal and stay, sometimes popped out. Alpine, softer material and pretty good. Foam for the Flare works lovely and fits nicely, very comfortable. Obviously you can get the Flare in Aluminium and it brings the cost down, and i think the difference is minimal in sound blocking Quote
SpondonBassed Posted December 31, 2016 Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1483187031' post='3205279'] Forgot to add comfort to wear! Pro guard, OK, i found a little tricky to get a seal and stay, sometimes popped out. Alpine, softer material and pretty good. Foam for the Flare works lovely and fits nicely, very comfortable. Obviously you can get the Flare in Aluminium and it brings the cost down, and i think the difference is minimal in sound blocking [/quote] I like Flareaudio's plain titanium ones at £50. I might treat myself and take a punt. If I really like them, the gold plated titaniums might go well with my goldy looking ankle bracelets and gold lame thong. They're only £300. Edited December 31, 2016 by SpondonBassed Quote
mcnach Posted January 1, 2017 Posted January 1, 2017 Flare earplugs... my guitarist last night admitted he's not liking them after the initial honeymoon period. He says he cannot hear his guitar as clearly as he needs and that's the reason for extra loud guitar in his monitors, which is starting to throw us off.. Apparently they are very comfy, that's true... and they look great. Quote
Cuzzie Posted January 1, 2017 Posted January 1, 2017 I found the flare plugs really do attenuate the higher frequencies and I think it definitely states that. The lower frequencies will vibrate through the bone better, hence you will hear your bass enough, and probably enough guitar to keep you honest. That's what I have found anyways Quote
SpondonBassed Posted January 1, 2017 Posted January 1, 2017 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1483279470' post='3205840'] Flare earplugs... my guitarist last night admitted he's not liking them after the initial honeymoon period. He says he cannot hear his guitar as clearly as he needs and that's the reason for extra loud guitar in his monitors, which is starting to throw us off.. Apparently they are very comfy, that's true... and they look great. [/quote] I can understand the guitarist wanting more top end but unless you are slap-happy, as a bassist I'd imagine it isn't such a problem. Let us know what you think? I like the idea that you aren't injecting sound into your ear with those. Additionally, taking the eardrum out of the process altogether might turn out to be advantageous in my case. Quote
mcnach Posted January 2, 2017 Posted January 2, 2017 [quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1483282457' post='3205873'] I can understand the guitarist wanting more top end but unless you are slap-happy, as a bassist I'd imagine it isn't such a problem. Let us know what you think? I like the idea that you aren't injecting sound into your ear with those. Additionally, taking the eardrum out of the process altogether might turn out to be advantageous in my case. [/quote] Well, I want to hear everything, not just myself ;)It's an issue for everyone in the band, not just the guitarist, if it means he ends up turning his amp or his monitor higher. Las gig was at a place with a very bad stage, very boomy box type of stage... I turn down the low end in my bass a lot onstage and we generally avoid a lot of bass frequencies onstage or everything becomes mush. If you have high volume onstage there you have the same effect. It's just not ideal. As for hearing the bass better... I don't know about you but what I need to hear from my bass is something that gives me a good pitch recognition, not masses of low end. Pitch recognition is all on the midrange. It may sound bassier overall, but if the pitch recognition is not improved... Quote
markstuk Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 Last night at rehearsal was the final straw for me - have ordered a pair of the Flare ear thingies... Quote
markstuk Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 [quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1484335451' post='3214854'] Poor you Hope it works for you [/quote] Thanks.. it's the bloody snare drum that's doing me in .. Quote
Cuzzie Posted January 13, 2017 Posted January 13, 2017 If it's not the geetard it's the snare. You could always get a subharmoniser pedal and hit the brown note to pay them all back and suck all the air out the room Quote
markstuk Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 Tried the Flare aluminium plugs out last night (£25 direct) and worked luvverly.. more high end attenuation than low end - plus an unexpectedly benefit of being able to hear myself sing much better.. Quote
Cuzzie Posted January 19, 2017 Posted January 19, 2017 Yep, I had them the other night, but my guitarist is not as brash as yours so I could only just hear him! Quote
mep Posted January 29, 2017 Posted January 29, 2017 Interesting thread this. My story is that 2 years ago i had my 1st hearing test and have moderate hearing loss in the higher frequencies. i am borderline having hearing aids. Fast forward to the recent NYE gig and and the next day i experienced tinnitus for the first time. It has lasted for most of the month in varying degrees. I have been to the doctor and will be referred back to the audiologist for another hearing test and further examination. I decided to get the Flare Isolates in aluminum in order to get me though the next few gigs and see if they can help me. Well, what a revelation. I am really impressed with them. It's just like having a volume control in your ears. I could still hear everything clearly. No major loss of the high frequencies, which was my concern. Vocals and guitar in the monitors. Vocals were fine. Guitar generally good with the solos and riffs etc, although i had to listed out a bit for some of the other parts but that was to be expected. My bass and the drums sounded great. They will be used all the time now. I was a bit freaked out at first doing BV's as they are really loud but for the 2nd set i was ok with it. They are very comfortable indeed. The tinnitus has reduced down now to a very low level so it will be interesting to hear what the audiologist has to say. I took a dB reading on my phone during the gig where i stand and it was averaging around 90 with a the odd peak just above that. Lower than i thought but still plenty for an hours set. Quote
Painy Posted January 29, 2017 Posted January 29, 2017 [quote name='alexmoore10' timestamp='1483176451' post='3205161'] Just thought that I would mention the Musicians Hearing Health Scheme. If you are a working player (and I'm not sure how loosely that needs to fit) then this scheme is brilliant! http://www.musicianshearingservices.co.uk/musicians-union/musicans-hearing-health-scheme/ Hearing check and custom made moulded earplugs for £40. Definitely worth investigating!!! [/quote] Well I for one will be looking into this. Recently started using IEMs and have been thinking about getting custom molds to use with them so this could be an affordable way to go about it - not to mention the hearing check as I already suffer with tinnitus and fairly significant hearing loss which I'd prefer to halt in its tracks. Quote
Cuzzie Posted January 29, 2017 Posted January 29, 2017 Glad they are working for you, they have done the job for me thus far Quote
chris_b Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 I'm seeing more musicians wearing hearing aids when they're not playing. No one who has played in a loud band gets out of this with their hearing intact. It is critical to protect your hearing [i]before[/i] you have problems. When you have issues like tinnitus etc it's already too late. Quote
mcnach Posted April 29, 2017 Posted April 29, 2017 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1483279470' post='3205840'] Flare earplugs... my guitarist last night admitted he's not liking them after the initial honeymoon period. He says he cannot hear his guitar as clearly as he needs and that's the reason for extra loud guitar in his monitors, which is starting to throw us off.. Apparently they are very comfy, that's true... and they look great. [/quote] well... update: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/303944-flare-audio-isolates-tip-longevity/page__p__3288659#entry3288659"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/303944-flare-audio-isolates-tip-longevity/page__p__3288659#entry3288659[/url] (post 26 in this thread if the link fails to take you to the right post) in short: I tried them and didn't hate them Quote
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