Should metal bands turn down the volume?

[sccaldwell]

So, should they turn it down a bit? I think so.

Agree 100000%. I HATE wearing earplugs to concerts, as they distort the sound (even the good ones...and thanks to AMBR for the recommendation), but I refuse to damage my hearing for a concert (OK, OK...I *did* take my earplugs out during Pain of Salvation's set at ProgPower I...and it was worth it).

As far as people talking during a show "like a couple of old ladies," my word to them is "shut up and listen to the show." (BIG pet peeve is people talking during movies).

Craig

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

you mean people are actually POSTING on this topic?

here's my 2 cents
i wear earplugs. period.

 

[Cheiron]

you mean people are actually POSTING on this topic?

here's my 2 cents
i wear earplugs. period.

Earplugs save your ears sure. And can actually help to 'improve' the sound by removing some of the bass. But... they only do so much to 'improve' the sound of bands who have drowned out many of the frequencies by having their volume up too high.

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

amen

 

[AMBR]

I have one person that handles 80% of the bands for the past three years. I fly him in from Germany because he is considered the best in Europe and all the bands respect him. However, headliners bring in their own guy(s) and guess who catches shit for the *loud* or *muffled* sound they have compared to the other bands?

Thank you. That was very interesting and explains a question I've been pondering on why the earlier bands usually have awesome sound and it sometimes gets muddled for the headliner. Too bad they don't just use the one guy. He clearly knows his stuff.

 

[7thSaviour]

All men play on 10! As a diehard Manowarrior, I must say that if it's too loud, you're too damn old. The louder the better. After all, you only hear once!

 

[Jibrille]

All men play on 10! As a diehard Manowarrior, I must say that if it's too loud, you're too damn old. The louder the better. After all, you only hear once!

And I'd like my "one time" to last as long as possible. I'd hate to be deaf by the time I'm 40.

 

[mloanna]

Call me Senorita Wuss, but I have ear plugs with me all the time now at shows. I carry about 3 pars with me when I go out either to clubs for live music or concerts. Usually someone will come up and say Wow, I wish I thought of that, so I carry extras for anyone who may need them. I want to continue going to shows and having fun so plugs are necessary.

 

[FatesFan]

All men play on 10! As a diehard Manowarrior, I must say that if it's too loud, you're too damn old. The louder the better. After all, you only hear once!

I will be the first to admit that I hate to wear earplugs becasue of what it does to the sound. Having said that, I am 39 and my hearing is suffering becasue of it. The smart thing to do is to wear the plugs. I am just not smart yet.

Speaking of Manowar. When I saw them at Ziggy's this last go round, the sound was terrible. It was very loud and very muddy. I know just about every Manowar song and I had a hard time telling what song was being played most of the night. The band before them ( Rhapsody of Fire ) sounded awsome.....volume and clearity was great.

 

[adaher]

Pop singers and groups don't all have expensive soundmen. "Pop" does not necessarily equal wealthy. Lots of struggling pop singers and groups running around, and somehow they manage to mostly sound good(speaking of sound quality here, not the actual music, which more often than not stinks).

 

[Bryan316]

My brother has been using Hearos ear plugs with the removable cores. You can either have a gentle muffling of the sound and sharpness of cymbals, or you can put the cores in and get full industrial noise protection. Problem is, my ear canals are so goofy-shaped, I can't find ANY quality earplugs that give a gentle amount of dB reduction, only standard industrial 33dB foam earplugs stay in my ears. Everything else either hurts like a sumbitch or fall out from all my headbanging, or slip out from the heat and sweat.

If a manufacturer could make foam earplugs with a less dense foam to give a more gentle, more musical amount of sound reduction, I'd be in heaven.

 

[Bryan316]

Just a word of advice...you are not going to get the exact sound you want in a festival setting and you are not going to make everyone happy.

In a single show, you have a single soundman/monitor, dedicated channels on the board, and all day to soundcheck those levels. Even with that, they soundman has to adjust once the acoustics change due to crowd influx.

In a festival, you alternate your FOH, monitors, and you share channels. Soundchecks are essentially line checks so you cannot play with the sound. Just as soon as you get one band right, *everything* changes and a new guy takes over.

I have one person that handles 80% of the bands for the past three years. I fly him in from Germany because he is considered the best in Europe and all the bands respect him. However, headliners bring in their own guy(s) and guess who catches shit for the *loud* or *muffled* sound they have compared to the other bands?

You roll with punches. Same shit with the lights...

Do your best, listen to complaints, improve what you can, and ignore the rest.

Absolute truth. Totally understood, experienced more than once, and always tried my best to solve them asap. As long as the guitarists are happy with their tone while it's not harsh on the ears without earplugs, it always comes through the PA mix better. All I gotta do is convince them that it DOES sound just as brutal out there... heh heh....

 

[Magius]

If a manufacturer could make foam earplugs with a less dense foam to give a more gentle, more musical amount of sound reduction, I'd be in heaven.

Have you tried cutting some for yourself from sponge? Auto parts stores carry pretty dense car wash sponges that work well for someone I know with a similar problem.

 

[Pellaz]

I carry about 3 pars with me when I go out either to clubs for live music or concerts. Usually someone will come up and say Wow, I wish I thought of that, so I carry extras for anyone who may need them.

Hahaha, same here! I usually have a bag with 2 or 3 extra pairs in my pocket, since many clubs don't sell earplugs. (Many do, and don't advertise it...kinda weird.)

Agree 100000%. I HATE wearing earplugs to concerts, as they distort the sound (even the good ones...and thanks to AMBR for the recommendation), but I refuse to damage my hearing for a concert (OK, OK...I *did* take my earplugs out during Pain of Salvation's set at ProgPower I...and it was worth it).

Yep, it was worth it. I took mine out during their set, too. Still one of the Top 5 live performances I'll ever witness.

 

[7thSaviour]

Thanks for the replies to my response. I'll admit to occasionally wearing earplugs at a show, but I refused to wear 'em to the Manowar show. No way!

 

[7thSaviour]

Pop singers and groups don't all have expensive soundmen. "Pop" does not necessarily equal wealthy. Lots of struggling pop singers and groups running around, and somehow they manage to mostly sound good(speaking of sound quality here, not the actual music, which more often than not stinks).

Manowar hires only the best sound engineers and has all the best equipment. It may be loud, but it's clear and clean.

 

[7thSaviour]

I will be the first to admit that I hate to wear earplugs becasue of what it does to the sound. Having said that, I am 39 and my hearing is suffering becasue of it. The smart thing to do is to wear the plugs. I am just not smart yet.

Speaking of Manowar. When I saw them at Ziggy's this last go round, the sound was terrible. It was very loud and very muddy. I know just about every Manowar song and I had a hard time telling what song was being played most of the night. The band before them ( Rhapsody of Fire ) sounded awsome.....volume and clearity was great.

I saw Manowar at Masquerade and I thought they sounded awesome! Also, Rhapsody's sound quality was superb as well.

 

[LunaTEKKE]

Definitely disagree with SharkBlack. I am paying the price for not wearing ear plugs in the first 10-15 years of my concert going life. My hearing definitely has been affected.

I’m in the same boat. I had my hearing tested recently and already have quite a bit of loss at the higher frequencies. The audiologist said that the first place you start to notice that level of loss is while trying to understand a speaker if there is background noise going on, like in a bar or restaurant.

Then it gets much worse when the natural aging process starts to kick in, which causes our hearing to deteriorate even further.

With the exception of TSO, I wear earplugs at concerts these days, but the damage has already been done. (I also need to wean myself off of my iPod earbud headphones, which aren’t good for your hearing either…)

 

[Greykiller]

As far as people talking during a show "like a couple of old ladies," my word to them is "shut up and listen to the show." (BIG pet peeve is people talking during movies).

Craig

Try and tell that to them. And try to tell the people who have to sing every note right along with the vocalists, that they don't have the right--even if it is screwing with YOUR enjoyment of the show. They have paid their money, and can do what they want, I guess.

I do know that if I ask them nicely to STFU and they don't, that leads downhill to a place neither they (hospital) nor I (jail) want to be.

Beating civility into a person is such a pain in the ass.