Threshold of pain, Thunder!

[B-string]

I'm in the most requested and well-paid band in town, why? Variety, don't drive people away by being too loud and I guess we're pretty good too.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I used to play in a crazy loud biker band...

Okay, that answers a lot of questions, now.

 

[Rick James]

85 db is the loudest SPL safe for 8 hours of exposure - anything louder has to be even more limited in time:
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That's A weighted, which is meaningless with music, because it doesn't measure bass. You have to add 10 to 15dB to that to get a real world C weighted figure for music. 95dBC isn't AC/DC loud , it's Boston Pops loud, unless they fire the cannons.

I have always used 120db at about 20 feet without distortion, as my standard measure of a loud clean bass amp.

Thats about 127db at one meter. You need about 1000 watts and speakers that can handle 1000 watts with no mechanical or electrical power compression to get that loud, so I don't think your figure is realistic. It takes good PA to get that loud.

 

[Chef]

I wouldn't stay for two minutes worth of any show that was 120db worth of loud.

I have always used 120db at about 20 feet without distortion, as my standard measure of a loud clean bass amp.

I have now discovered that is when hearing damage starts...

Is there an industry standard? Is that too loud,? (I don't necessarily play that loud, I just like to know the headroom is there)
Is 20 feet a good place to measure?

When people bring kids, we always supply those colored foam rubber ear pkugs. Have a little plastic fishbowl of em. Always also try to keep some on edge of stage for speaker tweakers.

 

[buldog5151bass]

If you can't talk to each other while playing, it's too $%&%$#in loud. I'd rather be told to turn up than turn down. Nothing (almost) is more annoying than a band playing too loud for the venue.

 

[jamro217]

If you can't talk to each other while playing, it's too $%&%$#in loud. I'd rather be told to turn up than turn down. Nothing (almost) is more annoying than a band playing too loud for the venue.

If you can't talk to each while not playing, it's time to find another band.

 

[iiipopes]

It's fine to use that as your personal standard. Just three things:
1) use ear plugs
2) volume knobs have zeros as well as tens, and all the numbers in between
3) use them.

 

[Haji]

I don't have hearing loss, but I do have a little tenitus.

If your ears are ringing, that's permanent damage. Once the ringing stops, that's cillia dead and never to be recovered.

I've been shooting even longer than I've been playing music, so I'm rather fanatical about protecting my hearing. I rehearse with ear pro, even though we're not that loud; its a small room so its louder in there than most anywhere else. I have a bigger rig than I need, but I run it not for the SPL, but for the tone. Luckily, I have a guitarist who's not really interested in using all 100 of the watts in his head, so I don't have to use all 450 in mine.

There is no "I can get away with it this time". You don't get second chances not to damage hearing.

 

[friendlybass]

I'm 21 and because I've been gigging, working construction, and in the army reserves I've got some pretty bad hearing loss. 120 db is real loud. 85-95 is the only time I measured it to where people weren't complaining. And earplugs are very important.

 

[ChefKen]

I am still pissed of at the P-Funk Allstars from a show at the New Ritz NYC 1990. The band was so loud that my ear drums were rippling everytime the Keys or Guitar played. At the time I was in the Biz managing a touring band and ran a concert hall.....I went to many shows and was used to crazy bar volumes.

When the band finally took a break, the house system which was built into the walls, was even LOUDER. Even worse was there was no escape. The zillion dollar sound system was equally loud front or back of room. I left midway thru the second set. My ears rang for nearly 6 days and nights. I had never had ringing last more then a few hours. I knew damage had been done and am pissed off to this day. I still have good hearing but I believe I have lost any margin of error. I am bringing earplugs to Living Colour in two weeks!!

 

[Feral Feline]

From the first school dance I attended in Junior High, the band was too loud. I'd never experienced ringing before that, and I didn't like that my ears were ringing for the remainder of my evening when I got home. Since then, I've always taken along ear plugs to any concert and yet I still have a bit of hearing loss and mild tinnitus.

What I don't get is if I'm wearing earplugs, then so too should the audience. Why is it okay for band members to wear earplugs yet blast out the eardrums of the patrons?

 

[spectorfreak]

Ask Paul Gilbert about hearing loss Link Removed

I'm known for my over the top bass rigs, 1200 watt rms power amps were common in my racks in the 80's and early 90's, my large rig is running off an Ashdown ABM 900 right now, but 120 db is just stupid, that's like passenger jet loud.

 

[EastCoastThump]

I have always used 120db at about 20 feet without distortion, as my standard measure of a loud clean bass amp.

Just curious: if—on its own—your bass amp is 120 dB @ 20 ft, what kind of SPL are you swimming in at your mic position once the rest of the band starts playing? And how loud is your band at FOH, when the PA adds to the fun?

 

[Feral Feline]

^ Just 'cause Flameworker uses the 120db @20' as a reference, doesn't mean that he's running that level all the time, or even part of the time.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I have plugs in every bass case, but the goal is for them to gather dust.

 

[Ewo]

Not intending to threadjack with this, but I'm unclear about something that's been mentioned a couple times.

(And +1 to all the warnings about damage to hearing from exposure to high SPL. It's easy for musicians to rack up a lot of hours over the threshold of long-term damage. I've worn whatever plugs were available through my entire playing career--the new ACS Pros are great, IME--and I'm daggoned glad I did.)

My question has to do with which sound level scale, the A scale or the C scale, is best for accurately getting a sense of SPL in a band context. I have an inexpensive meter (+1 to that recommendation, above) which does both. So, which should I use to measure live music?

 

[Coolhandjjl]

How does the OP know there is no distortion at 120dB?
All it takes is one hard cymbal crash or overdriven guitar lick to permanently damage one's hearing on stage.
I hope the OP takes all this info seriously. I have seen his other posts about wanting to build speakers, make cables, etc. He definitely needs some basic eduction in sound and engineering before he hurts himself, others, or someones gear. He's an accident waiting to happen. This stuff is nothing to mess around with unless you know what your doing.

 

[Hopkins]

If you have to raise your voice for a person next to you to hear you, hearing damage is occurring.

 

[RustyAxe]

If the band tops 90db I'm using ear plugs. Top 100 and I'm going home. No sh!t. I have a SPL meter app (has sensitivity settings so as not to overload the mic) on my iPhone and my iPad, and I use it. Fortunately, it's not a problem for me any more, none of what I do these days is too loud.

 

[ddnidd1]

^ Just 'cause Flameworker uses the 120db @20' as a reference, doesn't mean that he's running that level all the time, or even part of the time.

You're right. What were the rest of us thinking ???