Wearing earplugs in not ******** at all. Playing so loud at a practice that you need to is fairly stupid. I have custom molded earplugs that have interchangeable filters for 8, 12, 15 and 21 DB reduction. They use a diaphragm like a mic so it reproduces almost all frequencies fairly flat. Playing soft though is not the same as playing at correct volume, Guitarist do get a pity point that guitar amps are meant to be pushed, especially in rock/metal. If everyone is planning to use plugs for overall ear happiness, then why not notch it up one. Feel more bass is a good thing to me.
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Everyone earplugged at practice: how ******** is that?
- Thread starter NickInMesa
- Start date
I'm leaving a band because of this. One guitar player has a 100w Laney tube head and a Marshall 410 cabinet. And now the other guitar player just bought a Mesa Roadster head 100w tube and a mesa 212. all of this in a 10 x 20 garage. Last practice I took a cell phone picture to document the event. They thought I was taking the picture because it was so cool. 
Hey Illmusician, do you have a link to your earplugs?
I am interested.
The ones I use look like these ones:
I am interested.
The ones I use look like these ones:
Practice should not be at a volume that required hearing protection unless it is a dry run gig style.
I don't think it's stupid. We all wear earplugs at practice. It would be stupid not too. Our drummer hits hard and has big, loud cymbals. He´s not gonna change. The guitar amps need to be loud enough to break up a little (still using small combo amps though), so if the drummer is loud, might as well let the guitars sound good. And then the bass is loud to fill it all up.
Even if we turned all the amps down, I´m still not gonna stand next to two huge crash cymbals all night and loose my hearing. Earplugs at practice, duh.
Even if we turned all the amps down, I´m still not gonna stand next to two huge crash cymbals all night and loose my hearing. Earplugs at practice, duh.
I know we're talking about practices but a couple of weeks ago, I just saw a concert that I paid $40 (2 tickets) to see and I have to toss this in here.
I agree that at practices you should be able to turn down enough not to need hearing protection (if your drummer is good enough); but cranking your stuff at a concert so that you need hearing protection kinda sucks too. I know that what I was hearing was the mostly soundman's fault--but the concert was so shrill that I was in last row at the BACK of the auditorium and it was painful for me! My ears were ringing and painful for nearly an hour after the show. The audience comes to hear the band they love because you either A) have a good stage show or B) they loved your CD--and your great songs.
No one shows up to see how loud your $50,000 worth of wattage can get!
Bands should keep that in mind when we play smaller rooms where we are controlling our own volume.
Back to the OP, we never practiced that loudly. If you can't hear each other talking during the practice, then how are you doing to communicate things that you want to change. You'll never hear the, "dude, right there when I play this? Try playing a little of that and let's see how it goes."
Just my opinion.
Only me and the drummer wear earplugs at practice and even when we are lower on the volume, my ears can ring for 2 days if I dont have them in. The ones I got seem to reduce the frequencies more evenly than just the foam types, so I can still hear everything just at a lower volume. I think it would be dumb NOT to protect your hearing and not sure why anyone would question it???
The ones I use look like these ones:
I have ones like that, although I'm considering getting moulded ones, just when I get the cash to go get some, but those "pinecones" work quite well for me
I play in two bands and need to use my Sonic II earplugs at rehearsals.
In one band, the drummer is so loud that the guitarist and I can't help but turn up the volume to compete with him. In the other band, the guitarist is the nicest guy, but has no sense of decibel levels and just plays a Marshall as loud as possible in a room that is about 10x15. I need my earplugs to keep my ears from bleeding with this guy playing.
I say a musician should always carry a set of good quality earplugs with them for rehearsals, live gigs, and for concerts (ie. ACDC, Slipknot, Black Sabbath, etc.), because once your hearing goes, it ain't coming back. I'd rather look like a dweeb with earplugs on than an almost-deaf 'cool guy'.
In one band, the drummer is so loud that the guitarist and I can't help but turn up the volume to compete with him. In the other band, the guitarist is the nicest guy, but has no sense of decibel levels and just plays a Marshall as loud as possible in a room that is about 10x15. I need my earplugs to keep my ears from bleeding with this guy playing.
I say a musician should always carry a set of good quality earplugs with them for rehearsals, live gigs, and for concerts (ie. ACDC, Slipknot, Black Sabbath, etc.), because once your hearing goes, it ain't coming back. I'd rather look like a dweeb with earplugs on than an almost-deaf 'cool guy'.
Not ******** at all. At least they were smart enough to realize that they needed earplugs at the volumes they were playing.
Nothing wrong with rehearsing at normal stage volumes, especially for drummers to get the right dynamics and guitarists to get gain settings right.
I'm not saying that outstanding musicians can't do these things at lower volumes, but it is harder than it sounds.
For us bass players, it is almost just a matter of a volume setting - we've got it easy there.
And again, they were smart enough to wear them. So....not ******** at all.
Nothing wrong with rehearsing at normal stage volumes, especially for drummers to get the right dynamics and guitarists to get gain settings right.
I'm not saying that outstanding musicians can't do these things at lower volumes, but it is harder than it sounds.
For us bass players, it is almost just a matter of a volume setting - we've got it easy there.
And again, they were smart enough to wear them. So....not ******** at all.
hmm.i use earplugs when i practice with my band,and i can hear everything just fine,like if i didn't have them in,it would just be alot louder.that's all.i need them though,cause i have hyperacousis,and i don't need to here the full blast of everyone's amps,cause it'll just make it worse,so i use plugs
When I get back from work I will look up what place made them, I would make an appointment with your local audiologist and ask, they usually have the for material goop in office. Be sure to mention musician style plugs and multiple attenuation disks. Once the molds are made then your good for life they were $110 for the molding and every set has been $15 with shipping each of the extra attenuation disks were 5 a piece. It is an investment you will never feel bad about. I get custom colors for free, including a blacklight sensitive glow stickish color that looks cool under black light gels on stage.
Did a quick search I am almost certain that these ones are the ones I have http://www.westone.com/content/21.html.
We don't play extremely loud in our band, but still all wear earplugs. Well actually I wear a headphone, cause I'm the singer too, but it cancels out a lot of the band volume and I can just about hear all the other instruments right. Our drummer's got a mean China he loves to pound, that just hurts without protection. Better safe than sorry.
Practicing louder than you need to is not so smart. However, wearing earplugs while practicing is NOT dumb. It's VERY smart! I play in a surf band and our practices are moderate in volume, but they're also in a basement with hard, acoustically live walls. I LIKE my hearing and have managed to preserve it with minimal damage - but I have a slight bit of tinnitus and I'm losing some high frequencies, esp. in my left ear.
I have worn earplugs for practice for years, and you can darn well bet I will continue to do so. I highly recommend the practice if you're playing at any volume higher than one which allows normal conversation.
I have both the Etymotics and a pair of these: Link Removed (Alpine MusicSafe plugs). I find them more comfortable, and I believe I can follow the music better while wearing them. for $30 they're excellent. They come with three filters for varying levels of sound attenuation.
And BTW - referring to something as "********" may be currently popular slang, but it's insulting to the mentally challenged and demeaning to the person who uses it. I deeply regret its coming back into common usage in recent years - when I was a kid in the 50's, when that term it was a good way to get whacked in the head by your mom. IMO more kids need whacked in the head when they use the term today.
I'm not sure anyone is questioning whether you should protect your hearing or not (I know I'm not questioning that). I think the question is why do we need to play so loud that we NEED to protect our hearing especially just during practice time and not show time.
There's a difference between choosing to do something and NEEDING to do it for safety. You know what I mean?
I think I could try and answer that question.
The answer is that things sound different at different volumes (seems obvious, but)... guitars have more sustain, harder hit drums have more punch, the bass fills the room better.
We want to know exactly how we will sound at a show, so we practice at or near stage volume levels. You can practice quiet all day, then when you show up to a show, and suddenly you have ringing feedback during the quiet parts, or the bass is overwhelming the keyboard, or the drums are too loud... oops. Could have been avoided with a good practice.
And let's face it, bands that play loud, are going to practice loud. If they could practice quiet, they'd probably play quiet and let the PA do the work!
I NEVER do .. this would be one of my decision points if the guitars and drums could play back enough to get something accomplished.
After learning less volume makes it easier, it's tougher to go louder.
After learning less volume makes it easier, it's tougher to go louder.
