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Hearing protection

bobdabilder

bobdabilder

Feb 5, 2013
3,316
2,782
mississippi, usa
#1
mods: please move if necessary.

I've been practicing with guitarist for a while. He is very generous with the volume knob. instead of him turning down to where I'm at, volume wise, I have to turn up even after repeated discussions. Now to the point of the thread: I've been wearing ear plugs and they are very good ear plugs, apparently. I have a hard time hearing my bass' lows. These are cheap walmart foam plugs. What do others wear to let some of the sound in?
it's not a bass issue. with no plugs the g&l cuts through just fine. probably a little too much for guitarist (hence the volume wars).
all replies about hearing protection welcome.
 
#2
I spent the big money on a custom molded set of Westone earplugs, that have frequency attenuators, that cut just the highs out of the signal. I can hear everything just fine with them in, which for small theatre pits can get quite loud with all of us sharing real estate.

You can also get some of the nicer earplugs from Hearos, which do the same thing (but are generic sized), for a lot less. I'd recommend those over the regular foam ones.
 
#3
I'll give a "plus one" to the custom molded set mentioned above by Jon Moody. IMO it is prudent to spend as much as you can afford on the best plugs. Musicians often dont think twice about spending lots of $$$$$ on other "accessories", but always either neglect or scrimp on one of the most important ones...ear plugs.
 
#5
so my next question is: is it worth the cost. I've found 135 up to 200 for the westone's.and yeah, i already made an appointment.

Jon Moody said:
I spent the big money on a custom molded set of Westone earplugs, that have frequency attenuators, that cut just the highs out of the signal. I can hear everything just fine with them in, which for small theatre pits can get quite loud with all of us sharing real estate.

You can also get some of the nicer earplugs from Hearos, which do the same thing (but are generic sized), for a lot less. I'd recommend those over the regular foam ones.
Click to expand...
 
#6
bobdabilder said:
so my next question is: is it worth the cost. I've found 135 up to 200 for the westone's.and yeah, i already made an appointment.
Click to expand...

This sounds trite, but what is your hearing worth? For me, paying $150 (for the molds and the earplugs) meant not having any ringing in my ears for 15-20 minutes after a show, because as quiet as we try to play in a theatre pit, when your ears are next to the cymbals, everything is loud.

So yes, totally worth it. I'd pay twice that, if that's what it cost.
 
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#8
I bought the cheap foam ones, found the sound a bit muddy, and wondered if I could benefit from more expensive ones.
I bought more expensive ones, and they might have sounded better. But I lost them eventually.

Truth is, for the venues we played, the finer details of my tone were lost between guitars and cymbals anyhow.
If I can hear the pitch well enough, even if muddy, I'm good.
So I bought a tub of cheap foam ones, and stopped worrying.

I also make sure my speakers are up off the floor near my head.
 
#13
Much like a musical instrument, it's personal taste. Some people swear by customs, some by foam or reusable non-molded ear plugs. As long as they fit right, don't hurt your ears while they're in, and work correctly, you can get away with non-customs. As long as you're wearing ear plugs and your ears don't ring after a gig or rehearsal that's all you can ask for really.
 

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