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Most bands too loud?

Regarding volume of lives bands, most are...

  • Too darn loud. Folks can't talk, and earing damage abounds.

    Votes: 59 71.1%

  • Eh...just about right really.

    Votes: 15 18.1%

  • Not loud enough! More, more!

    Votes: 5 6.0%

  • I don't know. I plug my ears with carrots.

    Votes: 4 4.8%
  • Total voters
    83
#3
I think most bands are too loud. Our sound guy uses a Db meter and sometimes I think we get too loud as well.

I think the worst offenders are usually bands that run their own sound from the stage.
 
#5
I would say, most bands have too much in the way of 1.5-3 kHz. Vocals are too midrangey, and guitars are too loud, and since they sound nasty and hurt ears, people say, "the band's too loud." I have a wireless so I go out front to see how bad we're punishing the audience throughout the night.

IME, a good mix, with a mild scoop in the mids, can be cranked pretty loud with good thumpy bass frequencies, and people don't mind.

The cold hard truth is that even if people complain, no one dances to quiet music. Plus, some people will sit right next to a PA and complain when they have to raise their voices to talk.
 
#6
It depends on the band and the genre, some music is just simply better when it's intensely loud. I wouldn't want to see a Doom band playing at cocktail bar levels and I don't want to see a Top 40 cover band playing on cranked full stacks.
 
#7
i dont think bands are always loud. most of the time, drummers are loud and everyone has to match their volume.

and in the case of my band, we arent loud, but cincinnati soundguys are loud. our drummer plays jazz in a heavy rock band, and he does it pretty quietly. he actually hates loud stage volumes.
 
#12
Dertygen said:
Sometimes bands are too loud if it's just a block of sound... where you can't distinguish between the instruments or notes played.

You're not too old when it's too loud to hear the music.
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I completely agree with what he said!

I would be curious to see how the poll would break down if each one of the choices had several different age brackets attached to it. :D
 
#13
I find there to be a pretty fair corelation between a bands ability to play and their ability to play without knocking things off the walls.

But then I'm a little too old for the chain saw, anger rock thing.
 
#16
Depends on the venue. If you go to a bar with a stage and there's a band playing on that stage, and you can't hear anything but the band, they're too loud. In a small venue (like a bar) the band shouldn't be very loud. But if you go to an actual venue (even if it's just a larger bar, but more geared toward music) then expect loud music.
 
#17
Deluge Of Sound said:
If it's too loud, you're too old. :p
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^^^

baalroo said:
It depends on the band and the genre, some music is just simply better when it's intensely loud. I wouldn't want to see a Doom band playing at cocktail bar levels and I don't want to see a Top 40 cover band playing on cranked full stacks.
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Agreed 100% on the genre comment. I don't even care about the venue a band is playing. If they feel their music should be loud, then it should be and they should play places that aren't going to stop them from doing what they want to do. If my band ever plays a venue that tells me that my 4x10, 1x18, 2x15 and 4x12 and my two Sunn amps are too much, we'll be sure to never play there again. There are plenty of places where loud bands can play, and places they can't. A venue/promoter should also look into the bands they book a little bit before booking them. The local bar, looking for a live jukebox probably shouldn't book the metal band that has "sounds like: your ears being raped" in their profile. ;)

Obviously I don't care if people in the crowd can hear each other talk. That's not what shows are for.
 
#18
IME, most rock related bands, that I've had the 'pleasure' of hearing (A lot in over 30 years), are way too loud! I guess it's just the nature of the genre! And I disagree that it's an age thing! I felt that way when I was a teenager and in my 20's! If I'm in a bar, restaurant or club and I can't have a conversation without having to yell, it's way too loud dude! Bring it down a notch!
 
#19
Carrots. Some bands are too loud, others are not.

In order to get people dancing you need to move some air. In order to avoid "you're too loud" comments - be sure your mix is good. The vocals need to be clear and upfront in the mix, that's what most of the people in the audience will care about. The volume of the other instruments will need to be lower than the vocals. Avoid micing instruments that are heard without amplification. Sure you "spread the sound" better from a guitar amp if you mic it, but you will bring up its volume when you do that. Same with drums and bass.

My band play with only vocals and keys through the PA (2xRCF ART 322A, no subs) at small-mid size venues, and we don't play softly. We're actually pretty loud. However, with this setup we've never received complaints on the volume. And people dance. I can't remember when we played a song last time when no-one danced. The music is rock/pop/soul mainly, from Billy Joel to Billy Idol to Rolling Stones to Stevie Wonder...
 
#20
DWBass said:
IME, most rock related bands, that I've had the 'pleasure' of hearing (A lot in over 30 years), are way too loud! I guess it's just the nature of the genre! And I disagree that it's an age thing! I felt that way when I was a teenager and in my 20's! If I'm in a bar, restaurant or club and I can't have a conversation without having to yell, it's way too loud dude! Bring it down a notch!
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IMO nothing is more obnoxious than people at a known music venue or bar carrying on a conversation while a band is on stage playing their and hearts out and their ***es off.

OTOH, I do tend to get annoyed at overly loud music when it's a "DJ," a jukebox, or a cover band.
 

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