Author Topic: Live Sound Tips (Read 556 times)

rustyg61 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 05, 2014, 01:50:17 PM »

My lead player wears ear plugs & plays way too loud! We tell him to take the ear plugs out so he can hear how loud he is, but he says No, I don't want to damage my hearing! We tell him that is the point, he is damaging our hearing with his amp too loud!

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #16 on:** March 05, 2014, 03:01:14 PM »

Uh oh...we've gone there.

Speaking as both a bassist and a guitarist, I can relate to the sound challenges faced by the players of both instruments.

Electric guitar is loud in its immediate proximity and tends to be very directional - ie: the speaker cab throws the sound out about 20 - 50 feet in a beam. Step out of the beam and it is almost inaudible compared to the bass & drums.

Electric bass is not as loud in its immediate proximity but is much louder in the room (and beyond).

Drums are another issue altogether - they have no volume knob and most drummers that I've played with are quick to point out the harder I hit, the better the tone. So that usually sets the bar for everyone else.

At the risk of being overly simplistic, there is little or nothing that can be done to compensate for any of this as it is directly related to size of the sound waves produced by each instrument.

So, the most important thing you can do (besides controlling your volume) is to aim your speaker cab / monitor up at you and step away from it. If your cab is aimed at your feet and you are standing right next to it, you will perceive less high end and, since the sound is blowing right by you, less volume. This will make you want to compensate for both and it's game on.

Also, it is deadly to set up facing each other as your sound is gonna be killing someone and vice versa. If you must set up facing each other, a better thing to do would be to stand near another person's amp so yours is facing you.

Along those lines, an interesting thing to do if you have a wireless is to set up as you normally would for your gig and dial in what you think are ideal tone & volume settings for the situation and then walk around the room while playing during a sound check. You'll be amazed at the change in the way you perceive your golden tone.

And - when the audience shows up, that's another variable in play. People are like giant pillows, they absorb high end. as such, you may need to recalibrate slightly at the end of the first set to compensate.

One last thing - I believe it was Miles Davis who said If you can hear yourself, you're too loud.

sonicus · « **Reply #17 on:** March 05, 2014, 03:20:06 PM »

Miles really said that ? I am a Trumpet player as well , and a big Miles Davis fan .

sonicus · « **Reply #18 on:** March 05, 2014, 03:53:08 PM »

Turn Down ____!

lbpesq · « **Reply #19 on:** March 05, 2014, 07:07:51 PM »

As a guitar player, I try and stand at least 6-10 feet in front of my amp, which is also raised off the ground.

Bill, tgo

wayne · « **Reply #20 on:** March 05, 2014, 07:51:13 PM »

Hey Jazzyvee

You're gonna LOVE the musician's ear plugs. I've been using them for well over a decade. They are EXACTLY as advertised - flat frequency response, just everything softer. I've got both -15 and -25 dB versions that I use depending on the situation.

Etymotic Research has started making a universal fit version, too.

And there's a new company, EARasers, that's also supposed to have a flat frequency reduction.

C-Ya............wayne

jacko · « **Reply #21 on:** March 06, 2014, 04:28:22 AM »

Great photo Wolf. I'm going to steal that for my wallpaper.

Wayne / Vince. These are just earplugs right? not in-ear monitors?

graeme

jazzyvee · « **Reply #22 on:** March 06, 2014, 05:15:59 AM »

The ones I have ordered are earplugs only. I did ask about the earplugs that can be used as both ear defenders and in-ear monitors but they didn't recommend them. They only recommend horses for courses.

Jazzyvee

keith_h · « **Reply #23 on:** March 06, 2014, 05:41:26 AM »

What Wayne said. I started using musicians ear plugs six or seven years ago. I use the -15 dB version by Emtech. It makes a big difference in my hearing at the end of the night. They also came in handy when I saw Mountain and Joe Satriani a few years back. Joe used his full stadium setup in a 1200 seat theater. I could still hear at the end of the night while my friend was pretty much deaf.

A thing to consider is whether your health insurance will cover the ear plugs. In my case all I had was a copay for the hearing test with the remainder picked up entirely by insurance.

Keith

sonicus · « **Reply #24 on:** March 06, 2014, 06:31:12 AM »

Graeme,
Thanks , That photo of Miles Davis of is one of a favourite of mine from the music world . It speaks to me . It comes to my mind when less might me more .

hieronymous · « **Reply #25 on:** March 06, 2014, 10:47:49 AM »

I heard a different version of the expression attributed to Miles (I heard it being from someone else but can't remember who):

If you can't hear what other people are playing, you're playing too loud. If you're playing too loud, you aren't listening.

sonicus · « **Reply #26 on:** March 06, 2014, 11:00:08 AM »

Hello Harry , YES ! That's it ____ And it makes sense to me ! I love it ___ Miles can be a mentor of wisdom ____

If you can't hear what other people are playing, you're playing too loud. If you're playing too loud, you aren't listening.