How loud do you practice?

[Poop-Loops]

My old boss said he used to practice guitar so loud that the pictures on his walls would shift.

Some people here say they play so that stuff moves off shelves.

So how loud do you play? Giving a wattage and "o'clock" I guess would be fine.

I play fairly quietly. I have a 15w amp and turn it up to about 9 o'clock, when it's silent at about 6:30. So basically, people in the room next to me can't really hear me.

Is that good or bad? Should I play louder?

[bubinga5]

I dont see the point in playing loud if your practising. I like to play so i can hear it enough to concentrate. I do like to use the 150 watts sometimes but it scares the cat..

[FrigginChris]

loud enough to hear my many, many mistakes when i'm learning soemthing new haha

[Jumbotron]

I actually practice most of the time unplugged. I remember reading that suggestion in a Billy Sheehan interview a long time ago, and it's a great idea. It really helps you get a good tone where it starts--out of your fingers alone.

[spudmaster34]

I usually practice with an unplugged semi acoustic. when I use an electric for practice, its a 15 watt at about 12 o'clock (about half power)

[mike phillips]

i dont play very loud. 50w at 7-8 o clock. for some reason when i play dio its gotta be loud.

[Adam Barkley]

Far too loud to keep up with a bonehead drummer and guitarist. Who doesn't need a full Marshall/Mesa stack and mic-ed drums to practice in a 15x15 room? It's so loud that we have maxed out our PA just on the drums and vocals. I can't fathom why they feel they need to be so loud. The only thing it does is cover up mistakes.

The rest of the band will have hearing problems in a few years. I use earplugs.

[tplyons]

Usually unplugged.

[Kronos]

At home, I practice with headphones, and not too loud. But, when I practice with the band, we practice at stage volume. Otherwise, all we'll hear is drums.

[Mark Wilson]

As loud as I want. I have concrete walls in my dorm.

Also, if it's too much I have headphones.

-Mark

[Jazzin']

750 Watts at 9 o'clock.

[SuperDuck]

Quietly. Living in an apartment doesn't allow for much else.

[seanm]

I mainly use headphones to practice, or the speakers with the volume down low.

Every once in a while when the wife is away I crank the volume, but not too often.

Band practices are louder but still at a reasonable level.

[Freaky Fender]

Either unplugged, or loud enough to get good tone.

[leftyforlife]

practice with drummer and guitars, 200w at about 9-8:30.
practice with just guitars,around 7.
practice alone, around 6i:30sh

[CROZ]

Late at night headphones, during normal hours I just turn it up to the point where the amp drowns out most of the acoustic clack from the bass.

[Cerb]

Unplugged.

My small Behringer practice amp can't keep up with the tone of my fretless, my main bass.

[Poop-Loops]

How do you hear what you're playing when you're unplugged? I can only hear stuff when I start playing higher notes.

I practice guitar with my headphones, but they just can't get the low notes on my bass and it starts buzzing. =/

[Jiggybass]

Too loud

200 watts around 12 o.clock. yup, I can feel myself vibrate, I play the same loudness than as if I were playing with my band.

I think I'm gonna go deaf

[lemur821]

As quietly as possible. Sometimes if I turn down too much I just can't get the tone I want, or I can't hear my amp very well over my bass's natural sound, so I have to crank it up a little. I'm not big on loud noises. I often wear earplugs when I practice the trumpet, since it's just so loud.