I never understood why people do this, and then crank their amps way too loud because they can't hear themselves very well. It's not like we have ears down there or something.
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Drummer with sensitive ears - What to do??
- Thread starter Sub300Hertz
- Start date
I never understood why people do this, and then crank their amps way too loud because they can't hear themselves very well. It's not like we have ears down there or something.
I don't understand why people who complain about loudness won't wear earplugs.
Just damage your hearing, it's cool, it'll come back.
Just damage your hearing, it's cool, it'll come back.
I for one HATE ear plughs, I have tried everything from .25 cent cheapies to 140 dollar customs molded from my ears, none feel ok to me, hate the feeling of anything in my ears (hence why I wear over the ear phones instead of ear buds when I listen to tunes) but volume doesn't bother me in the least. Could be this is why he wont go the plugs route, an acrylic kit screen would probably do you guys wonders
I'll call it hearing protection then, it doesn't have to be plugs. My old drummer hated plugs too, so he (as well as the rest of us in the band) would wear noise cancelling headphones as personal monitors.
There is more to loudness than just hearing damage. We used to practice so loud it was just a roar. So it we tried to jam or play a new song there where no chords for me to catch on to: just noise :scowl:
I always wear earplugs at practice.
First, I'd adjust sound levels down. Second, check for amp placement and make sure he's not getting speared by high frequencies from a guitar amp.
If neither of those work tell him it's earplugs or noise canceling headphones, or you'll find another drummer. I have custom molded earplugs with light attenuation because the commercial ones all cut sound too much. They only take a few minutes to get used to.
If neither of those work tell him it's earplugs or noise canceling headphones, or you'll find another drummer. I have custom molded earplugs with light attenuation because the commercial ones all cut sound too much. They only take a few minutes to get used to.
I've never been at a rehersal where people don't use some form of hearing protection if there are drums involved, and I/we don't play that loud at all.
In my bands:
- Drummer A: Uses either plugs or IEM's (for a metronome when needed)
- Drummer B: Uses decent noise cancelling headphones. Also he needs to hear the backing tracks.
- Everyone uses at least some form of hearing protection.
- Band A's guitar combo is elevated, Band B's half-stack is well positioned and kept at rational levels.
Every now and then we do a soundcheck/volume check of sorts, just to keep our levels balanced and the volume at a rational level etc. Drums and vocals -> add bass, guitar and synth -> balance it -> drop all the levels a bit.
To me it sounds like the drummer's just being a brat. Good or at least decent plugs/IEM's/headphones(/ even cotton balls ffs.) are relatively cheap and there is no solid reason to risk damage to your hearing. If that's too much to ask, I'd just let him go.
(I've got tinnitus, definitely not as bad as it could be, but annoying enough. Seeing/hearing about people who don't protect their hearing at all pisses me off
)
In my bands:
- Drummer A: Uses either plugs or IEM's (for a metronome when needed)
- Drummer B: Uses decent noise cancelling headphones. Also he needs to hear the backing tracks.
- Everyone uses at least some form of hearing protection.
- Band A's guitar combo is elevated, Band B's half-stack is well positioned and kept at rational levels.
Every now and then we do a soundcheck/volume check of sorts, just to keep our levels balanced and the volume at a rational level etc. Drums and vocals -> add bass, guitar and synth -> balance it -> drop all the levels a bit.
To me it sounds like the drummer's just being a brat. Good or at least decent plugs/IEM's/headphones(/ even cotton balls ffs.) are relatively cheap and there is no solid reason to risk damage to your hearing. If that's too much to ask, I'd just let him go.
(I've got tinnitus, definitely not as bad as it could be, but annoying enough. Seeing/hearing about people who don't protect their hearing at all pisses me off
)
are you guys playing too loud, or to horribly? having a ton of treble on the amp makes it very unpleasant to the ear. believe it or not, drums should be on top of everything but the vocals. guitars need to be at a volume right under the cymbals. bass should "punch" with the bass drum. it makes a nice live mix and keeps everyone happy as long as the guitar eq isnt clashing.
