dB doesn't translate directly into wattage, especially since a 65 watt tube amp can sometimes be louder than a 200W solid state amp, and a 100W guitar amp might need a 400W bass amp to keep up.
In general, every 10 dB doubles the amount of volume. So a 20dB cut equals roughly 1/4 of the original volume.
Here's the chart from the American Tinnitus Association:
20 dB Ticking watch
30 dB Quiet whisper
40 dB Refrigerator hum
50 dB Rainfall
60 dB Sewing machine
70 sB Washing machine
80 dB Alarm clock at two feet
85 dB Average traffic
95 dB MRI
100 dB Blow dryer, subway train
105 dB Power mower, chainsaw
110 dB Screaming child
120 dB Rock Concert, thunderclap
130 dB Jackhammer, jet engine plane (100 ft. away)
140 dB Shotgun blast, airbag deployment, firecracker
They say anything over 85dB can do damage with enough exposure. Here's how much exposure you can get away with (more or less):
Hours Per Day @ Sound Level
8 @ 90 dB
6 @ 92 dB
3 @ 90 dB
2 @ 100 dB
1.5 @ 102 dB
1 @ 105 dB
.5 @ 110 dB
.25 or less @ 115 dB
Notice at they rate a rock concert at 120dB (assuming that they're talking about FOH)? Meaning that you really don't want to spend TEN MINUTES in a rock show without ear protection.
I bought a dB meter from Radio Shack just to check and see exactly how loud we were. To my surprise, the interior of my vehicle on the highway approaches 90 dB! Then I have a tendency to turn up the radio to be heard over that, which further pushes the volume level up to damaging levels.
When my band was practicing later that day at "moderate" volume, we averaged about 105 dB. This was in a very large and open room. I popped the earplugs in and felt much better.
We did a gig later that week and, armed with my new dB meter, we did as much as we could to reduce the sound level onstage - running as much as possible through the PA, thinning out the monitor mixes, etc... We were able to maintain an onstage average of about 110 dB, even with the drummer banging away. Thus, with my 25 dB earplugs, stage volume becomes 85 dB, which I can listen to safely, assuming that I'm not listening to it for 12+ hours daily.
The hardest thing I've found is to detach my energy level from the perceived volume. It's quite natural to feel more "power" with louder music. Thus, when the earplugs go in, energy almost inevitably goes down because you don't *think* that you're rocking hard. Trust me, you are. With some practice, you can detach yourself from your volume knob and still rock at any volume.
One more thing. Your audience will likely not have earplugs. It's just not something that the average concertgoer thinks about. I'm amazed at the number of touring bands and professional venues who have the volume simply TOO LOUD. You know what I mean. Just too loud for the room. When you can't get away from the pounding headache anywhere in the room, the sound is too loud.
You like your audience? You wish for them to become fans? You really need to protect their ears as much as you'd protect your own. For the most part, they can unconsciously detect where they can be in relation to the stage without *quickly* hurting themselves, but make sure that there's somewhere in the venue where sound levels aren't above 100 dB. If not, you're assaulting your fan base, and they will eventually stop coming out to see you.
Or....... start handing out earplugs at the door...
In general, every 10 dB doubles the amount of volume. So a 20dB cut equals roughly 1/4 of the original volume.
Here's the chart from the American Tinnitus Association:
20 dB Ticking watch
30 dB Quiet whisper
40 dB Refrigerator hum
50 dB Rainfall
60 dB Sewing machine
70 sB Washing machine
80 dB Alarm clock at two feet
85 dB Average traffic
95 dB MRI
100 dB Blow dryer, subway train
105 dB Power mower, chainsaw
110 dB Screaming child
120 dB Rock Concert, thunderclap
130 dB Jackhammer, jet engine plane (100 ft. away)
140 dB Shotgun blast, airbag deployment, firecracker
They say anything over 85dB can do damage with enough exposure. Here's how much exposure you can get away with (more or less):
Hours Per Day @ Sound Level
8 @ 90 dB
6 @ 92 dB
3 @ 90 dB
2 @ 100 dB
1.5 @ 102 dB
1 @ 105 dB
.5 @ 110 dB
.25 or less @ 115 dB
Notice at they rate a rock concert at 120dB (assuming that they're talking about FOH)? Meaning that you really don't want to spend TEN MINUTES in a rock show without ear protection.
I bought a dB meter from Radio Shack just to check and see exactly how loud we were. To my surprise, the interior of my vehicle on the highway approaches 90 dB! Then I have a tendency to turn up the radio to be heard over that, which further pushes the volume level up to damaging levels.
When my band was practicing later that day at "moderate" volume, we averaged about 105 dB. This was in a very large and open room. I popped the earplugs in and felt much better.
We did a gig later that week and, armed with my new dB meter, we did as much as we could to reduce the sound level onstage - running as much as possible through the PA, thinning out the monitor mixes, etc... We were able to maintain an onstage average of about 110 dB, even with the drummer banging away. Thus, with my 25 dB earplugs, stage volume becomes 85 dB, which I can listen to safely, assuming that I'm not listening to it for 12+ hours daily.
The hardest thing I've found is to detach my energy level from the perceived volume. It's quite natural to feel more "power" with louder music. Thus, when the earplugs go in, energy almost inevitably goes down because you don't *think* that you're rocking hard. Trust me, you are. With some practice, you can detach yourself from your volume knob and still rock at any volume.
One more thing. Your audience will likely not have earplugs. It's just not something that the average concertgoer thinks about. I'm amazed at the number of touring bands and professional venues who have the volume simply TOO LOUD. You know what I mean. Just too loud for the room. When you can't get away from the pounding headache anywhere in the room, the sound is too loud.
You like your audience? You wish for them to become fans? You really need to protect their ears as much as you'd protect your own. For the most part, they can unconsciously detect where they can be in relation to the stage without *quickly* hurting themselves, but make sure that there's somewhere in the venue where sound levels aren't above 100 dB. If not, you're assaulting your fan base, and they will eventually stop coming out to see you.
Or....... start handing out earplugs at the door...
