Too old to rock? I'm only 30!

[Whitey80]

Went to see Hell's Belles (google it if you don't know them) last night......my ears are still ringing. I have damaged my hearing and am not enjoying it! At least there's no hangover, I guess.

I suppose I'll order a Craftmatic bed and a Life alert necklace today....

 

[GO-NAD!]

Went to see Hell's Belles (google it if you don't know them) last night......my ears are still ringing. I have damaged my hearing and am not enjoying it! At least there's no hangover, I guess.

I suppose I'll order a Craftmatic bed and a Life alert necklace today....

I can appreciate your concern. Youngsters don't seem to understand the consequences of extremely loud music. I love to crank it at times, but I keep it within reason. I went to see Ozzy Osborne a few months ago and it was LOUD. If I ever go to another rock concert again, I think I'll bring some earplugs and my SPL meter, just in case.

 

[oppman99]

I know exactly what you mean Whitey. I saw Cold and Nonpoint rock a small venue (200 people) a couple months back and noticed the same thing. I may have experienced a small touch of hangover though. The next day was a little rough at work. I have about 5 years on you, but felt the same way.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

If you made your ears ring then you have done permanent damage to your hearing. It is incremental so be careful.

 

[JerryLove]

also, be careful of ear damage FROM LOUD FORUM POSTS!!!

 

[highfigh]

also, be careful of ear damage FROM LOUD FORUM POSTS!!!

I went blind from one of those. Good thing it was temporary.

 

[highfigh]

Ear plugs aren't just for noisy workplace environments. Ringing is bad. If it's slight, it may partially go away but as posted, hearing damage is incremental and other than temporary threshold shifts, it's NOT reversable.

Music stores sell plugs called 'Hearoes' and they have different attenuation levels. Some actually allow more wide-band frequency response than generic foam or silicon rubber plugs and that can make listening to music more enjoyable.

If you listen to loud music and your ears feel stuffed up after it stops, it's not safe. OSHA has exposure rules that can be seen online- IIRC, 100dB has a 30 minute/day limit.

Enjoy your music as loud as you want, but above 90dB, think about wearing plugs or limit the time.

 

[billy p]

I saw ACDC the last time they rolled through town and they where loud but not as loud as the Metallica show here last October. Needless to say our next concert we'll be seeing the Eagles in June and I can't imagine they'll be that loud....but I'll bring some ear plugs just in case.

 

[Alex2507]

If I ever go to another rock concert again, I think I'll bring some earplugs and my SPL meter, just in case.

I think you should just stay home and enjoy some nice Lawrence Welk ... and prune juice.

 

[jamie2112]

huh?..............did you say something?...I don't hear so good.I wear earplugs always for opening acts and any time I go to a show that I am not getting paid to mix.My ears are my paycheck so I must take care of them as should everyone who goes to see live music.I myself have 2 pairs or custom molds that I use every time.I cannot stress enough the damage that can be done from a single concert if its mixed too loud.I hate to see that as well.At Coachella last year My Bloody Valentine was 133db at peaks and the soundguy was laughing and there were kids in the crowd.I was pissed to say the least.The old metal guy who mixed them had to be deaf and all I could think about was the poor crowd are getting pummeled by 1k to 14k at 133db and I had to leave.The sound engineers who were house guys for the PA company were saying that they felt that even with ear plugs in they got some damage.......point of the story= Don't go see My Bloody Valentine if you value your hearing......

 

[highfigh]

huh?..............did you say something?...I don't hear so good.I wear earplugs always for opening acts and any time I go to a show that I am not getting paid to mix.My ears are my paycheck so I must take care of them as should everyone who goes to see live music.I myself have 2 pairs or custom molds that I use every time.I cannot stress enough the damage that can be done from a single concert if its mixed too loud.I hate to see that as well.At Coachella last year My Bloody Valentine was 133db at peaks and the soundguy was laughing and there were kids in the crowd.I was pissed to say the least.The old metal guy who mixed them had to be deaf and all I could think about was the poor crowd are getting pummeled by 1k to 14k at 133db and I had to leave.The sound engineers who were house guys for the PA company were saying that they felt that even with ear plugs in they got some damage.......point of the story= Don't go see My Bloody Valentine if you value your hearing......

I saw Wishbone Ash in about '83- my ears were screwed up for about three days and I shoved paper towel in during the first set. That was freakin loud and it was a pretty good-sized place. I did sound for a local band and a guy from another band sat in one night. First thing he did was come over and tell me to crank his channel up so everyone could hear him. Well, in a small club and the fact that he was playing through a Peavey Mace, this was totally unnecessary. It was also completely annoying to me and EVERYONE else in the club. The other guys playing guitar were using a Marshall 18W combo and a Roland JC-60 and using the PA to get the right level because they understood that they weren't playing the Fillmore.

There's a difference between being loud and sounding loud. I have also heard this at some gigs- the guy running the PA is also a recording engineer and it seemed extremely loud but it was still possible to talk to other people and when I left, my ears didn't feel like I had sheep stuffed in them, like they have in other cases. That 180Hz-500Hz range does it to me every time if I can't put plugs in soon enough.

I get really pissed when I see people carrying their little kid on their shoulder while they walk through the area when a really loud band is playing. They clearly have no freakin' idea that they're deafening the kid and they probably don't give a rat's ***, either.

What's the name of the band you're working with?

E=MC²±3dB

 

[highfigh]

I think you should just stay home and enjoy some nice Lawrence Welk ... and prune juice.

I just hope they have Alvino Rey! Now dat's some nice playin'! And the Lennon Sisters! Vat a bunch of beauties!

 

[GO-NAD!]

I think you should just stay home and enjoy some nice Lawrence Welk ... and prune juice.

Who the hell is Lawrence Welk? Why would I want to listen to him? And, what's prune juice got to do with this thread.

Besides, every minute you waste here is a minute you could spend shagging up the wiring at your place...

 

[just-some-guy]

huh?..............did you say something?...I don't hear so good.I wear earplugs always for opening acts and any time I go to a show that I am not getting paid to mix.My ears are my paycheck so I must take care of them as should everyone who goes to see live music.I myself have 2 pairs or custom molds that I use every time.I cannot stress enough the damage that can be done from a single concert if its mixed too loud.I hate to see that as well.At Coachella last year My Bloody Valentine was 133db at peaks and the soundguy was laughing and there were kids in the crowd.I was pissed to say the least.The old metal guy who mixed them had to be deaf and all I could think about was the poor crowd are getting pummeled by 1k to 14k at 133db and I had to leave.The sound engineers who were house guys for the PA company were saying that they felt that even with ear plugs in they got some damage.......point of the story= Don't go see My Bloody Valentine if you value your hearing......

what about the band ? seems these days the speakers are more towards the crowd. but back in the day, the bands stood right in front of the stacks

i have been to lots of concerts. i know my ears are not better for it. but i know my work is not doing my ears any good.

 

[highfigh]

seems these days the speakers are more towards the crowd. but back in the day, the bands stood right in front of the stacks

Back then, they didn't have a choice because PA systems like the ones we have now didn't exist. Public Address meant "make the speaker audible to the crowd, but not so their hair and scarf blow backward like the guy in the Maxell ads". They had no way to deal with 16 channels of anything and 24 channels just for the drums would have been completely out of the question. A large venue system can have two 48 channel boards and some bands use all of them. Cream and other bands from those days had Marshall, Ampeg and HiWatt stacks and only the vocals came through the PA at that time. This is also the reason most of the old rock stars are basically stone deaf. Now, with in-ear monitors and good isolation, the musician doesn't need extreme volume just to hear their instrument or voice over the drums and let's face it, in smaller clubs, the only reason a PA is needed is to match the level of the
drums because so few drummers can control their pounding.

I know a guitarist who has been on world tours for over 35 years and about 20 years ago, I asked how his ears were holding up. Some of their gigs were in front of 500K fans and he said the stage volume isn't really all that bad. Now that in-ear monitors are being used, it's even better for them.

 

[Whitey80]

.point of the story= Don't go see My Bloody Valentine if you value your hearing......

or if you value your reputation as a man

 

[j_garcia]

I go to more concerts than both of my kids combined And we aren't talking about "mellow" concerts. The last 3 shows I went to were Evanescensce, Porcupine Tree and Nine Inch Nails.