Adventures in a very loud pub band..

[wateroftyne]

6 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

And OP is currently catching a case of tinnitus while using same! The mind boggles!

 

I don't think he's using the custom moulds. An important distinction.

[dodge_bass]

2 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

 

I don't think he's using the custom moulds. An important distinction.

Ah yes. That would explain some of the issues he’s having then. 

[leroydiamond]

You are using plugs and the sound can be painful. Well whatever plugs you are using cannot be described as ear protection. If you want to protect your hearing then custom moulded plugs are the answer. ACS moulds are excellent. I used to play in a pub rock band and with the ACS' I never had a problem. The ones you are using now are thrash. 

[Bolo]

24 minutes ago, leroydiamond said:

The ones you are using now are thrash

So they're good for metal!

 

Step one: turn yourself down. Step two: all of the above.

[Norris]

A few years ago my band was playing and had a fairly long break between sets. A chap we knew quite well was playing just down the road so we went down there to check him out. We lasted about 1 1/2 songs before going outside, to join the majority of the audience, most of whom were talking about the excessive volume.

 

It's not big and it's not clever, and it will drive away any punters that have an ounce of sense. It doesn't matter what ear protection YOU have, the audience probably won't have any at all 

[bassman7755]

16 hours ago, theplumber said:

As the title say's... Been with the guys 3 or 4 months now and have been using various makes of earplugs. They do make a bit of a difference. The hissing is still in the ears after most gigs but it goes away over a few days. 

 

Sometime soon, it wont go away, ever. You have a limit window of time to protect your ears better after which the damage will be permanent. You dont get a second chance.

Edited December 7, 2021 by bassman7755

[EBS_freak]

Want your band to sound epic in a pub?

 

 

Section 7 -

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/389429-the-iem-bible-thread/?do=findComment&comment=3944337

 

It's not big - but it is clever.

 

[Muzz]

My tinnitus started (finally - I'd been mostly oblivious over the years, equating loud with good) a good while back with a dep guitard and a 112 combo, which he'd perched on a bar stool just behind me (at a ludicrously cramped O'Neills pub in Leeds), pointing away from him, so he cranked his pedals/preamp up and up. In the break I pointed it at his head, and surprise, surprise, he turned down. The damage, however, was finally done. ACS moulds and in-ear monitors from then in, but that gate has been closed to the sound of disappearing hooves (and hissing).

 

I went to see Elbow in a very small venue in Manchester the other week, and they were the quietest band I've ever heard in that (or indeed most) venues. OK, they're not exactly Motorhead, but they've played some big stadia...the clarity was terrific, the sound just...permeated the place. No trouble hearing every instrument. Fantastic. I didn't have to use my ACS plugs, and not a hint of hissing afterwards.

 

I've also seen Burt Bacharach at the Bridgewater, and that was the same; a comfortable volume, everything easily heard. The Bridgewater, though, was built for that sort of stuff, but it can still be done in any venue.

[Boodang]

Was in a jazz trio for a while, the drummer had such a light touch volume was never a problem even in the smallest of venues. I play drums occasionally but I'm a bit heavy handed and love rim shots so volume is an issue, consequently I bought an electronic kit. Not quite the same but actually really enjoyable and volume is controllable. 

Any chance of your drummer going electronic?! That would break the guitar/drums volume cycle and your audience would thank you.

[wateroftyne]

I take my ACS15's out after a gig, and my hearing is like the Cadbury's Caramel bunny has been whispering sweet nothings into my ear for 90 minutes.

 

It's still a novelty to me.

[EBS_freak]

Miriam Margolyes isn't really my type WoT, I think I'd find her a challenging w....*

Edited December 7, 2021 by EBS_freak
added clarity - Ive never tried to

[gjones]

12 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

The feedback loop of drums and guitars makes for an argument over who started it and who is too too loudest.

 

That's why I suggested having drummer balance with vocals before adding bass, then guitars.

The problem with drummers is they don't have a volume knob (unfortunately) which means they will hit their drums as loud as they need to hit them, in order to hear themselves.

 

So blame the guitarists......yet again.

[Boodang]

2 minutes ago, gjones said:

The problem with drummers is they don't have a volume knob (unfortunately) which means they will hit their drums as loud as they need to hit them, in order to hear themselves.

 

So blame the guitarists......yet again.

Drummers do have a volume control if it's an electronic kit!

[EBS_freak]

You see, I find drummers genuinely a bigger problem than guitarists. They don’t even have to do a sneaky turn around to turn the volume up.

[EBS_freak]

Just now, Boodang said:

Drummers do have a volume control if it's an electronic kit!

Find a drummer that doesn’t beach about being on an electric kit.

[wateroftyne]

59 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Miriam Margolyes isn't really my type WoT, I think I'd find her a challenging w....*

HOLY CRAP I HAD NO IDEA

[Boodang]

2 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Find a drummer that doesn’t beach about being on an electric kit.

Me!! Well, that's not quite true... given the choice I'd probably play acoustic but I have to say there are advantages to electronic besides the volume. Having a choice of sounds is quite liberating and being able to add percussion at a flick of a switch even better.

[chris_b]

44 minutes ago, gjones said:

The problem with drummers is they don't have a volume knob (unfortunately) which means they will hit their drums as loud as they need to hit them, in order to hear themselves.. . . .

 

All drummers can choose how hard they hit the drums, though many don't. The guys who can't alter their volume when they play are just very poor drummers.

[Doctor J]

48 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Find a drummer that doesn’t beach about being on an electric kit.

How do you react when a drummer asks you to play bass on a synth?

[Boodang]

2 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

How do you react when a drummer asks you to play bass on a synth?

Hmm, I get your point but in the case of drummers, the playing mechanics are the same. I play both electronic and acoustic drums and have no issue with doing either.

[Boodang]

10 minutes ago, Boodang said:

Hmm, I get your point but in the case of drummers, the playing mechanics are the same. I play both electronic and acoustic drums and have no issue with doing either.

Not, of course, that means all drummers should feel the same way but I do feel electronic drum kits have a lot to offer not least of which is an opportunity to be more musically creative which a much wider pallet of tones at your disposal. 

[Lozz196]

26 minutes ago, chris_b said:

 

All drummers can choose how hard they hit the drums, though many don't. The guys who can't alter their volume when they play are just very poor drummers.

It`s funny Chris, the drummer in the classic rock band I`m in is probably the tightest drummer I`ve ever been in a band with, his timing is impeccable, but he`s just soooooo loud. So on one part he excels, whereas the other it`s major failure. 

[Doctor J]

1 hour ago, Boodang said:

Hmm, I get your point but in the case of drummers, the playing mechanics are the same. I play both electronic and acoustic drums and have no issue with doing either.

The mechanics are the same but they're not the same instrument. There is a visceral pleasure to playing an acoustic kit which is entirely absent on an electric kit. How about telling a great Hammond player that he should be playing a Casio? The mechanics are the same but... you know what I mean? 🙂

[Boodang]

45 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

It`s funny Chris, the drummer in the classic rock band I`m in is probably the tightest drummer I`ve ever been in a band with, his timing is impeccable, but he`s just soooooo loud. So on one part he excels, whereas the other it`s major failure. 

Without wishing to derail the thread, I have a theory as to why drummers tend to play loud.... when your drummer plays a single bass drum stroke, where does he leave the beater? If you listen to old jazz drummers they feather the bass drum and bring the beater back away from the head and thus the rest of the playing dynamics are similarly brought down in sympathy. Most drummers today drive the beater into the head and leave it there. Now factor in the money the drummer has spent on a pedal with the word 'power' in it (and we don't want to waste that power do we!) and all the playing dynamics go up in response. 

Tell your drummer you think the song would best be served by feathering the bass drum and see if the overall volume goes down. Oh, and surrepticiously change his bass drum pedal cam for one that's not designed for a power stroke!

[Boodang]

26 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

The mechanics are the same but they're not the same instrument. There is a visceral pleasure to playing an acoustic kit which is entirely absent on an electric kit. How about telling a great Hammond player that he should be playing a Casio? The mechanics are the same but... you know what I mean? 🙂

Yep! A much better analogy I think.