Hands up all those who haven't had an issue with volume!!
Small crowd.
There's a thread in the bassists' forum for stoner/doom/sludge where they hang out. Unintelligible anything is seemingly a goal. I say that because any attempt at solving a issue of inaudible bass by application of engineering is met with derision. The only solution is MOAR, stupid!!!
That is, actually, completely untrue.
Several of the members use Greenboy-designed cabs.
None of us have issues of inaudible bass. We're loud, not stupid. We know how to EQ so that everyone in the band is heard.
Loud does not mean unintelligible.
I'm actually a bit disappointed to see this sort of judgmental nonsense coming from you.
Thanks for thinking of us, that's nice!
More than a few of the folks on that thread use FearFull/FearLess/Greenboy ENGINEERED cabinets. Intelligent, thoughtful use of EQ is another avenue that most of us use to be heard in a band mix. Also - loud doesn't always equal unintelligable.
How many S/D thread member's bands have you seen live? One? None?
Yep. Just because we're loud doesn't mean we've not put any thought into our sounds. I guess the instinct to go "I don't understand this! Therefore I hate it and am going to put it down!" is pretty strong in people.
Playing super loud is in my opinion simply not musical - unless your music genre doesn't need dynamics. I don't personally listen to any such genre though, I may have missed some example of when volume constantly at max is a good thing.
It's really hard to hear any details in the music when your eardrums are slammed together in the middke of your head.
Huge assumption on your part that we don't use dynamics. Completely incorrect.
My stoner/doom band's first album, which at most shows we've played in its entirety, is one 38 minute long song. Sometimes it's obscenely loud and there are tons of things going on. Sometimes it's very quiet, and there's almost nothing happening, very sparse. Much of the time, it's somewhere between the two. Just because we have the ability to be ridiculously loud doesn't mean that we play at that volume level during the entire set.
the whole point of playing that loud is for dynamics when you come down. for example if were doing a part that is really quiet, and you build gradually into something huge and loud, thats cool dynamics.
not sure ive ever heard a band in the doom/stoner genre that is just blaring loud 100% of the time, its usually mixed in with quieter parts and parts with soloed out instruments. hell even Sunn who is considered the loudest band brings it down quite a bit - its what makes the loud even louder.
Yep. I've never seen a doom band that doesn't sometimes play quietly. Just saw Yob on saturday night, and they're excellent at the use of dynamics. Hell, even Sea of Bones, who we played with on sunday night, and who are absurdly loud, don't play at a constant volume.
Somehow I'm guessing that either you don't actually want to gig or maybe you aren't the one booking dates. The attitude expressed in your post is pretty much guaranteed to get you fired as a band. Maybe thats OK if your band was just a bad fit for the room. If a player in one of my bands exhibited that lack of respect for the venue and audience it would be an opportunity for counselling. If twice, they would be gone. We like to work, we want to be asked back and to be able to ask for open dates... If we are a bad fit for the room, we'll find a way to get through the night without needlessly annoying the venue or audience. We just won't go back...
This assumption that he doesn't gig is pretty hilarious. Maybe if playing loud would get your band fired, your band isn't very good.
Most of us do, in fact, gig. I just played a gig on sunday night, after one the previous saturday night. That one was at a place we've played three times. At the gig on sunday, we weren't even the loudest band.
People come to see our shows. On saturday night I went to see one of doom metal's more well known bands at the Oakland Metro, which is a fairly big room. The place was full.
The kind of music we play has an audience. It doesn't get us "fired," despite the fact that you, personally, don't like it. That audience would also be disappointed if they saw a doom metal band that
wasn't very loud.
Hi,
I've got nothing against "loud".
Excess volume is what I don't appreciate, volume for volume's sake. Sometimes the acoustics of the room will limit your acceptable decibel levels and no amount of EQ will "fix" it. I don't care what kind of music you play, if you are hurting your audience you are not doing them a service and need to turn down.
Dynamics are more exciting than just "loud". I don't care what genre you are playing, too loud is too loud... even when the patrons, club owners, sound guys, or band members don't realize it.
Yes, I'm an old fuddy duddy who's played all kinds of music in all kinds of venues at all kinds of volumes. I now suffer from tinnitus and urge everyone to be reasonable, unless you don't care about your hearing.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Nothing exceeds like excess.
Also, again, just because our maximum volume level is very, very high, doesn't mean that we don't have dynamics.
As for our hearing, we wear earplugs. Most of the classic rock covers band that everyone on talkbass seems to play in are also loud enough that really they should be wearing earplugs... just they don't tend to be aware of it as often as we in the doom metal community are. We know we play at volumes that are dangerous for unprotected ears. That's why we protect ours. Much of the audience does, too, most of the time.
Before you bother posting "so what's the point of the high volume if you just are going to wear ear plugs?", music
feels different at really high volumes. Unfortunately, the volumes required to get to that point are dangerous. Earplugs are the answer.
Hi,
I do believe in using hearing protection, especially when attending venues where I have no control over the volume. But when you get right down to it, wearing ear plugs to go hear live music is like kissing through a screen door.
Thank you for your indulgence,
BassCliff
Maybe you should stop using crappy earplugs then.
Also, you should check yourself for STDs if you have the same attitude when it comes to physical intimacy.
