Practicing Loud

[s.m.80808]

Do you guys feel the need to practice loud (whether by yourself or with your band). With a band I can see the need to practice as loud as the drummer. . . and some drummers feel the need to hit as hard as possible. I think a problem with that is that everyone gradually gets louder.

How neccesary do you think it is to practice at gig volumes?

How many of you use hearing protection?

[iplaybassguitar]

i think you should practice quietly as a band
for 1, when you practice loud, if someday you get a gig where they dont want you going full bore, it will be very hard to tone it down, yet it wont be hard at all to crank it up if the need be.
also it will allow you to hear your mistakes more.

practicing alone, i like to crank my amp and guitar but still not play super loud, this allows you to hear even the smallest flaws...turn the treble way up too, even if u hate the tone, it will bring out a lot of your flaws and it will be easier to hear what you need work on

[Rattman]

Yep...

I feel your pain. I've wasted many an hour in practices with guys with half-stacks that feel they HAVE to get their money's worth by turning rehearsal time into their own private blood-bath that I've renamed "Battle of the Amps". Nothing get accomplished except an upward progression of resentment, DB gain and stressed frustration towards the offenders who are wasting everyone's time.

At home? a totally relaxed session by myself.. I can still even hear my rommie's TV in the next room. So, I'm in no particular hurry to join another band at this point.

[thewanderer24]

One: I ALWAYS wear hearing protection if I am playing with drums, or at comparable volumes.

Two: Practices always seem to get louder than they need to be. In my situations, this seems to have more to do with people that just don't know what they're doing on the PA.

[fretless Bob]

i practise by myself louder when i can, but in a band situation i hate it when you get guys that turn up, it isnt a gig so why play at gig volumes,

I use hearing protection in rehearsal and on a gig when i am near the drummer because those cymbals especially a crash or china can take a lot of your high end off without you even knowing it, so beware!

also if you can afford it i recomend getting a set of molded earplugs as they are most comfortable and give you the best results.


Dave

[Rattman]

Originally Posted by fretless Bob

I use hearing protection in rehearsal and on a gig when i am near the drummer because those cymbals especially a crash or china can take a lot of your high end off without you even knowing it, so beware!

also if you can afford it i recomend getting a set of molded earplugs as they are most comfortable and give you the best results.

Why didn't I think of that before? thank-you!

[MarkMyWordsXx]

Originally Posted by s.m.80808

Do you guys feel the need to practice loud (whether by yourself or with your band). With a band I can see the need to practice as loud as the drummer. . . and some drummers feel the need to hit as hard as possible. I think a problem with that is that everyone gradually gets louder.

How neccesary do you think it is to practice at gig volumes?

How many of you use hearing protection?

i think it just sounds better at higher volumes. with my combo its obviously less loud then with my main rig but its still not quiet. just sounds better to me

[mkettner]

Pretty funny story. I was participating at a battle of the bands show there was this one band, who had their volume cranked up way to high. So high infact you could not hear them sing. They kept getting mad at the sound guy for not turning their mics up, when infact they were maxed out. Yet they refused to turn down their amps. Needless to say, no one voted for them.

[nicoli]

I also go by the philosophy that if drums are being played, I'm going to have hearing protection. I have the custom earplugs in most of the time, except for the occasional practice with headphones.

In a band situation, turning down will definitely enable you to hear mistakes more clearly - especially from the vocals. However I don't think it's beneficial to the drummer to have to play differently in practice than they would at a gig. Maybe do a little of each?

In my basement by myself, just loud enough to hear everything well.

[Libertad]

Dynamics is key to everything IMO. So if you are playing at high decibals all the time then you better be wearing some plugs. If your style of music is more Dynamic, then the decibals wont be attacking your ears constantly.

If everyone starts gradually getting louder throughout the practice that is not good either. Someone just needs to speak up and say "yo lets tone it down a bit"

Everyone has thier take on what music and style they like to play. So if you like it hard and loud so be it.

[The Golden Boy]

As you get more experience- you'll figure out that "gig level" isn't different than "rehearsal level." The experienced guys will figure out how to judiciously use the power and volume available to them. It's not a "guitar player with a half-stack" thing- it's somebody realizing they're a part of a BAND.

Besides I've got 900w and 2x15 that says I can dominate 2 100w SS half stacks. I just don't need to prove it.

[s.m.80808]

Originally Posted by Libertad

Dynamics is key to everything IMO. So if you are playing at high decibals all the time then you better be wearing some plugs. If your style of music is more Dynamic, then the decibals wont be attacking your ears constantly.

If everyone starts gradually getting louder throughout the practice that is not good either. Someone just needs to speak up and say "yo lets tone it down a bit"

Everyone has thier take on what music and style they like to play. So if you like it hard and loud so be it.

I think it is unneccesary to practice really loud. I agree about dynamics. I think some of the other guys are still in the "it is so cool to play in a band and be loud and obnoxious" mode... not thinking about making good music.. (I think I need new bandmates. . . )

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

As you get more experience- you'll figure out that "gig level" isn't different than "rehearsal level." The experienced guys will figure out how to judiciously use the power and volume available to them. It's not a "guitar player with a half-stack" thing- it's somebody realizing they're a part of a BAND.

Besides I've got 900w and 2x15 that says I can dominate 2 100w SS half stacks. I just don't need to prove it.

Well by gig level i mean playing loud enough to be heard over noisy drunk people and such in a big room etc.. Definitely a bit louder than practice in a residential area should be. Rehearsing at that level is not neccesary. Actually I think the main problem (for me at least) is that the drummer has no sense of dynamics.

I remember reading about the guitarist Jim Hall and how he plays really really quietly even while plugged in. I wish more people thought like him and made people want to listen instead of forcing them to.

[Libertad]

Originally Posted by s.m.80808

I remember reading about the guitarist Jim Hall and how he plays really really quietly even while plugged in. I wish more people thought like him and made people want to listen instead of forcing them to.

Thats exactly it. Do you want to be background (jukebox) music or music that grabs the soul and makes people come together and take a closer listen.

About your drummer maybe explain to him that he is part of a band and not playing solo and that you all have to be a cohesive unit like a well oiled machine, not one that has a rod knocking. If you look at latin afro-cuban (for example salsa) music, you have many musicians playing all over the (syncopation) beats of the music and it is still a cohesive sounding train. That is what you want to strive for. Sure you will throw tasetful accents in here and there but noone likes a ton of Salt on their meal, or maybe they do

Take Care and good luck

[ldiezman]

I usually practice pretty quietly when i'm home. Even when playing a live show now, the stage volume is very quiet. We all have our ears in so the onlything that comes out of my cabinet is just enough so that I can feel it ever so slightly. Let the PA system do the work for you.

[The Golden Boy]

Originally Posted by s.m.80808

Well by gig level i mean playing loud enough to be heard over noisy drunk people and such in a big room etc.. Definitely a bit louder than practice in a residential area should be. Rehearsing at that level is not neccesary. Actually I think the main problem (for me at least) is that the drummer has no sense of dynamics.

With the exception of parties and very small bars, every establishment I've played has run the band through the PA. So, in effect, the audience isn't listening directly to your amps at all. You're really only using your amps as monitors for yourselves.

If you think the problem is someone in particular- communication is key to making ANY relationship work. Let him know, just don't make it a 'bitch fest.'

[tlwaps]

We practice very loud in my band for some strange reason. All the drums are triggered and the guitarist aren't competing with each other to see who's loudest. So naturally we have to wear ear protection. They forgot to tell me to bring ear protection when I first jammed with them, I wound up having tinitus for 4 days

When re-hearsing by myself I play loud enough for me to hear it but not loud enough so the whole neighborhood can hear.

[Joe Nerve]

To practice loud by oneself seems pointless and silly to me. If it gets ya going though, and there's no neighbors to contend with, then whatever floats your boat.

As for band rehearsals, I think it's important that the drummer play as loud as he/she'd be playing at a gig - which would mean practicing loudly. I was in a studio once where they miked the drums though, and to me that's kinda absurd. Don't see no point in that. Although unrelated I'm one of those guys who's also all for rehearsal rooms that sound like total crap. To me it's like warmig up witha doughnut on the baseball bat. If you can make it sound good when it'd gonna sound bad no matter what, you're in good shape.

I always wear earplugs at rehearsal now. Didn't for many years and I lost some of my hearing because of it. It really sucks saying "what" all the time. At gigs I have loosly fitting earplugs that I use. I really don't like muffling out all the sound. The volume gets my adrenaline pumping.

[fretless Bob]

im only 18 and sometimes i will get very quiet ringing when im in a quiet room,

it kinda comes and goes, i didnt think it was anything to worry about until i read a guitar magazine and there was this whole section showing what actually happens to your ears after hearing damage, (basically all the little hairs and muscles turn to mush) and that scared te hell out of me, so i will even take ear plugs to a loud concert now.

so in closing im gonna say this, either tell your drummer to shut up very politely or always carry ear plugs in your gig bag.


Dave

[s.m.80808]

Originally Posted by Libertad

Thats exactly it. Do you want to be background (jukebox) music or music that grabs the soul and makes people come together and take a closer listen.

About your drummer maybe explain to him that he is part of a band and not playing solo and that you all have to be a cohesive unit like a well oiled machine, not one that has a rod knocking. If you look at latin afro-cuban (for example salsa) music, you have many musicians playing all over the (syncopation) beats of the music and it is still a cohesive sounding train. That is what you want to strive for. Sure you will throw tasetful accents in here and there but noone likes a ton of Salt on their meal, or maybe they do

Take Care and good luck

I agree. I wish I could convey that very message to them.

I think there is a bigger issue at play though too. Half of our band (the guitarist and I) have more experience in other forms of music besides rock and have played in jazz settings together so we tend to have a better understanding about things. The other two only know rock and reggae and they play hard all the time. I suppose it is a matter of taste though.

We talked about it, but I think at the root of it is over compensating by constantly turning up/playing loud. Can anyone else relate?

Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

With the exception of parties and very small bars, every establishment I've played has run the band through the PA. So, in effect, the audience isn't listening directly to your amps at all. You're really only using your amps as monitors for yourselves.

If you think the problem is someone in particular- communication is key to making ANY relationship work. Let him know, just don't make it a 'bitch fest.'

Good advice again. They usually mic the drums live too in bigger places. I am not a drummer but I think that his problem is he only knows one volume and it is ok for the style of music we play but not so ok for the fact that everyone else has to be loud to be heard too.

Maybe it isn't as simple as just playing softer and there is a "feel" issue too. I have played with drummer that had more skill though that didn't have to hit 100% all the time. It doesn't help that he is kind of insecure about his playing and the guitar player happens to be a really good drummer as well.

Thanks for the replies. I am sure it will work out somehow.

[bigtexashonk]

Rehearsing at full concert volume is fine if it lasts for 20 minutes. Anything past that and everyone's ears are dead. It's fun to play loud, but it's useless in tightening arrangements.