dB meters at clubs?

[roccobass]

I subbed on an event where one of the organizers was monitoring with an iPhone dB meter, and any time we got too loud he'd come waiving his hands like there was a fire. His volume requirement was so low that the drummer put his sticks away and literally started finger-tapping his kit. For context, this was in an exhibition hall that had a capacity of over 1,000 for an event attended by maybe 200 people. Definitely the kind of thing where you want the band at whisper volume.

Many years ago in the 90s I had a gig experience that was almost dead on to yours. I was in a 6 piece rock and soul outfit. Just your typical bass, drums,keys,guitar, sax and vocalist. Great outfit and we did have a sense of dynamics. However, this just took the cake.

We were doing a 3 night stint at our one of our regular club/restaurant haunts. We never got a volume complaint until then. New assistant manager was on duty. Decides we're too loud. No db meter or anything, he just called it. Yep, our drummer put away his sticks and was playing ala conga like. The sax player is facing the BACK OF THE STAGE when blowing. Me, the guitarist and keys amps are like on 1 and the vocalist is singing to the crowd mic free. It couldn't get more ridiculous, but it did. The idiot then asked if we could come down even lower.

Same night same gig around the 3d set. Same idiot asst manager comes up to our drummer (who perspires just naturally) and asks him "do you have to sweat so much?" Verbatim it was.

We had a long talk with the general manager the next day who set things right.

 

[Five or Six]

They have been part of the animal kingdom around here for some time. People don't need to scream at each other to attempt a conversation in a club. They will leave. You start blowing people out and they usually won't return if you are playing. If you are invited back? Ever been requested (told) to turn down by a bartender or owner?

I "always" go out front during sound checks if I'm running sound. Then I know what's going on and can make adjustments from there. Oh, I've been told one time to please turn up!

 

[Pings Bass]

Laurelthirst pub in Portland has one that lights up red when you're too loud. Never a problem for the band I'm working with now, but I've seen other bands hitting red all night

 

[eniac]

I still have my radio shack db meter from 35 years ago. Used it a month ago at a church I was asked to mix at. Tried to keep it under 90.

A multi-site church I used to play at used one at their main site every Sunday during run-through because that's when people of the "silver-and-bald-headed persuasion" were most likely going to be there and the ones most likely to get bent out of shape by loud music because that's how they are anyway. Thursday nights were the big shows, strangely enough. That's when the younger people were there. I don't recall dB meters in use those nights. Actually the sound system wasn't capable of much heavy lifting anyway, so I never saw the point. My two cents regarding volume was and still is: that's what the seats in back are for. Plus they're closer to the rest rooms for those with bladder control issues which are typically the same ones who squawk about loud music and fun and having a good time and all that.

 

[retslock]

Has anyone encountered this? I have seen it at a few clubs we play recently! They have installed a digital dB meter with a sign that read DO NOT EXCEED 104 dB, for an example. I have seen the signs say 99 dB up to 105 dB!

Yes, a few times. At one club, they had a three level coloured light indicator - green, amber and red. Green = ok, amber = watch out, red = power would be cut. At this particular club stomping heavily on the floor would take it into amber. We had a guitarist who belonged in the 'am I too loud enough' category. Several times through the night our drummer would suddenly be the only one you'd be hearing. It was not fun.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Has anyone encountered this? I have seen it at a few clubs we play recently! They have installed a digital dB meter with a sign that read DO NOT EXCEED 104 dB, for an example. I have seen the signs say 99 dB up to 105 dB!

Yes I have, the meter was facing the stage with a a similar sign. Also some clubs doing this insist on original music being played only, to not have to pay the ASCAP fees.

 

[DRBP]

Soap Box time :

Perhaps we should explore the importance of playing at an SPL level that actually suits the needs of patrons and their customers.

In the 90s, I built a system that resulted in essentially a silent stage. We used E-drums and ran ampless with IEMs. After implementing the system, we could deliver a concert at a really low SPL. As a result, we started getting significantly more performance requests.

IME, it is common for pro musicians to say something like, "Live music has to be loud and the audience simply has to accept and deal with it." IMHO this may serve some musician's performance ideals, but it does not always serve the audience's needs.

IMHO most musicians are more like service providers than artists. In order to better meet their customer's needs, they should figure out how to keep the SPL reasonably low. If the audience wants it loud, then by all means crank it up. But IME, many audiences prefer performances with fairly modest volume levels.

There are definitely ways to deliver live music at a fairly low volume. Does it sound exactly the same as playing loud, no. For example, beating the crap out of drums produces a certain sound that you don't get from striking the drums lightly. However while this may be important to a drummer, it won't necessarily be important to the audience, or possibly other musicians who don't appreciate working with a basher.

On a more basic level, let's keep in mind that the sensitivity contour of our ears changes as the volume goes up. So even the way recorded music sounds varies somewhat as the volume increases. A related factor is loud sound tends to excite the bodies fight or flight response, which IMHO can be addictive. In other words, playing loud may give you sort of a high, that you don't get at low volume.

I remember how it felt when I was in my early teens to crank up a stereo. It was exhilarating. I also noticed that my ears rang afterwards, which is something I did not particularly like. As I aged, exposure to loud become progressively less pleasant, and eventually it started to become downright unpleasant .

Throughout my career as a pro musician, I used ER15s and ER20s for the vast majority of performances. My hearing is probably a bit above average for someone my age, but my ears ring across a spectrum of frequencies and exposure to even modest SPL tends to make the ringing worse.

if i could like this a million times i would. i love loud music as much or more as the next person (hey, i’m a bass player!) BUT too many bands have no idea how much business they drive away by playing at uncomfortable volumes. i am definitely NOT advocating for Muzak low level background noise here. but i have been in clubs and even wedding-type events with ear splitting volume (inc. my sisters several years ago where most of the family asked where they could go to enjoy each others company and left the venue). crazy volume drives many (certainly not all!) drink and food buying customers away. we always shoot to have pretty good volume near stage (and always set up a plexiglass shield around the drummer so they can get a bit more into it and then mic them for FOH) but yet allow the back of house volume to be so that moderately loud (but not shouting) conversations are still easily possible. i know, easier in some venues more than others! anyway i think this is way more important than a lot of people think and i believe it does have some effect on why some venues go for recorded music rather than live. well, anyway, my .02. all the best to everyone!

 

[aglide]

The craziest thing I've heard about this is a thread someone posted (either here, or somewhere else on the internet), where they said they played a club that had a dB meter hooked up to the stage power, and if it got above a certain level, it would actually cut power to the stage!

 

[emal]

In my last Doom Metal band we were at 110.
We got complaints...gotta admit we were pretty proud as a 3 piece doom band...

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I occasionally play a place that's smack in the middle of a suburban neighborhood. To appease the neighbors they have mounted 2 meters on a pillar at the corner of the bar, one facing the band side, the other facing the bartender. There's about 4 or 5 dB difference between the two because the pillar blocks the sound to the one the bartender sees! That's fine with me!

BBB

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

All things considered I tell the bands I work with that the goal I aspire to is to be asked to turn up. Never happens...

BBB

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Used to be a jazz/r&b club in Asheville called Tressa's. One of our few in-town gigs, I might add. Played there about two, maybe three times a year. Tressa had her db meter, and if we were over 100db we heard about it. Guitarist groused that's if what she wanted, we should just stop playing. Separately: Saturday night gigs were nuts. After midnight, it was all ladies. They did things to each other on the dance floor...I did my best to avert my eyes. Once in a while, they'd buy us shots of tequila. Really couldn't complain: They kept the place rockin' until 1:30.

 

[Ostie]

I have seen an SPL meter used at an outdoor event in response to complaints from the neighbors. Even though the SPL was within tolerance, the neighbors were unaccepting, and continued to call in complaints, both to the authorities and to the venue organizer. Some people are just immediately offended when they hear live music, even when noise ordinance and curfew is being obeyed.

 

[N4860]

Ive seen it at outdoor wedding venues that have to keep volume in check for neighbour's in the area (out in the country too where the closest neighbour's aren't really all that close).

 

[robert_stuart]

Laurelthirst pub in Portland has one that lights up red when you're too loud. Never a problem for the band I'm working with now, but I've seen other bands hitting red all night

My favorite place - used to go for “church” on Sundays. That band had a perfect volume. We could talk to each other while sitting close to the front.

 

[TeaTime]

I hate to admit it, but for some venues I really like a meter. It mitigates mid-set arguments about whether or not we are too loud. Venue management says 95, we're 95. It's not down to the whim of whichever bartender is on shift, or the patron who complains the most.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Laurelthirst pub in Portland has one that lights up red when you're too loud. Never a problem for the band I'm working with now, but I've seen other bands hitting red all night

Laurel Thirst Pub, slowly I turned, inch by inch, step by step…

Mock Crest Tavern Is another one.

 

[erratick]

Definitely a last 5 years thing. It's not prevalent, but it happens. DB meter mounted facing the band. And some amount they want you to stay at or below.

In some bands it's not a problem. But if you have a hard hitting drummer, and play rock, punk or metal-it's a problem.

 

[logdrum]

AFAIK, if A-weighting is used, the meter is not sensitive to lower frequencies. With C and Z weighting the meter becomes more and more sensitive to low frequencies.

Bass players should lobby for A weighted DB meters only and should put in their backline rider that they will only play on venues that use A-weighted meters

 

[rocu]

Can anyone recommend a reasonably accurate db meter with a large display in the sub $200 range?