Ear Plugs

[Glynn]

Anyone any experience with ear plugs.  Not needed them in my playing life yet but we are going to a sort of light rock concert in December (hopefully) in a smallish venue and I want to to protect our ears.  Alpine seem to do a good range and I think I favour the Pro which are £17.50 here in UK from Bass Direct.
Glynn

[StephenR]

I have a pair of the custom molded silicone ER Series Musician's Earplugs from Sensaphonics. They are expensive and you need to have a Audiologist make the ear molds but these are the only plugs I have used where you can hear the full frequency range and if the molds are made correctly they are really comfortable to wear. The filters for the plugs can be swapped out and are available with -9dB, -15dB, and -25dB of attenuation. I started with the -15dB filters which I found to be a bit too much at quieter gigs, I now have a pair of the -9dB filters, too. The -15dB filters are definitely a good choice when playing with a loud band or going to see a loud band play live. After years of not being able to find a brand of stock earplug that was effective and comfortable, or that didn't make everything sound like it is underwater, my wife got the ER Series plugs, too, and is very happy with them.
https://www.sensaphonics.com

Sensaphonics also makes a variety of IEMs. One tip with the custom earplugs is to order them with the "filter lock". This option didn't exist when I got mine but we ordered my wife's with the filter locks. It is really easy to lose the filters themselves when you remove the plugs from your ears, the filter locks make them much harder to dislodge before cleaning the plugs but also keep them from falling out as you twist and remove the plugs from your ears. The plugs are designed to completely seal your ear canal so they fit tightly.

[JimmyJ]

Glynn,

Unless you are concerned about your appearance, or you really want to spend the time and money to have a professional set of plugs, the single-use foam variety sold at Boots (20 pair for £7) work very well.  In my experience, put them in before the band starts and get used to the attenuated sound.  When you finally take them out you will be amazed at how loud the world is.  Ha!

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

I have a pair of ER-20 plugs from Etymotic Research.  They rate at 12 db noise reduction.    Seem to work well.  About $14 on Amazon.

 Bill, tgo

[dela217]

I use the Earpeace plugs.    www.earpeace.com.   They have interchangeable filters.    Good stuff.

[pauldo]

I’m from the same school Jimmy is.  I use the disposable ones from work (yellow foam on blue chord) at rock shows.  For me they bring the decibel level down without any noticeable frequency loss.

I do detest single use plastic items and find the foam ones from our work can be hand washed and reused. :-)

[paulman]

This!  Loud rock show, slip down to the drugstore for some cheap foam plugs, ahhhhhh!

[goran]

I got professional one. You can change fiters -6, -9 and -13 db... a usually use them for every gig except jazz gig...great sound can't go wrong when it is about protecting your ears

[cozmik_cowboy]

Eh?

Peter

[keith_h]

I'm with Jimmy on using foam if you are looking at a one time use.

I had a pair of musicians ear plugs fitted going on 15 - 20 years ago. They were done by an audiologist at one of the large university hospitals near me and included a hearing test. The brand I have in Emtech and I use -15 db filters though others are available. What I've found was they are much more comfortable for me to wear for hours over the generic styles you can buy. Based on  followup hearing tests the doctor's opinion is they have gone a long way to preserving what hearing I have left after years of rock bands and drummer's cymbals ringing in my ears. The plus for me was my company's insurance covered not only the hearing test but the ear plugs as well.

[cozmik_cowboy]

they have gone a long way to preserving what hearing I have left after years of rock bands and drummer's cymbals ringing in my ears.

I have said it before and I'll say it again:  Guitarists & bassists don't go deaf from amps blasting past their knees; they go deaf from cymbals at ear level!  I have seen a pic of Garcia in his later years, and mounted on a mic stand just behind & to his right - between his ear & one of Mickey's cymbals - is a Harley windshield.  Cool & inventive, or what?

Peter

[elwoodblue]

  I have seen a pic of Garcia in his later years, and mounted on a mic stand just behind & to his right - between his ear & one of Mickey's cymbals - is a Harley windshield.  Cool & inventive, or what?

Peter

[edwin]

they have gone a long way to preserving what hearing I have left after years of rock bands and drummer's cymbals ringing in my ears.

I have said it before and I'll say it again:  Guitarists & bassists don't go deaf from amps blasting past their knees; they go deaf from cymbals at ear level!  I have seen a pic of Garcia in his later years, and mounted on a mic stand just behind & to his right - between his ear & one of Mickey's cymbals - is a Harley windshield.  Cool & inventive, or what?

Peter

I wonder if that's actually meant to keep Garcia's guitar out of the drum mics. Phil has stated that his high end was his gift to Jerry. I doubt that the drums were louder than his amp.

[cozmik_cowboy]

they have gone a long way to preserving what hearing I have left after years of rock bands and drummer's cymbals ringing in my ears.

I have said it before and I'll say it again:  Guitarists & bassists don't go deaf from amps blasting past their knees; they go deaf from cymbals at ear level!  I have seen a pic of Garcia in his later years, and mounted on a mic stand just behind & to his right - between his ear & one of Mickey's cymbals - is a Harley windshield.  Cool & inventive, or what?

Peter

I wonder if that's actually meant to keep Garcia's guitar out of the drum mics. Phil has stated that his high end was his gift to Jerry. I doubt that the drums were louder than his amp.

It wasn't near the amps; it was directly between Jerry's ear & the cymbal - and the windshield was mounted so as to be convex on Jer's side & concave on Mickey's, which seems to me to be the way you'd do it to contain the cymbal.  And, on closer examination (Grateful Dead Gear, p. 266, for those keeping score at home), I see for the first time that I was mistaken; it's not mounted on a mic stand - it's mounted on the drum hardware, right up by the crash.

Also, in all the times I've done sound, I have never had a problem with guitar amps leaking into drum mics.  Cymbals into vocal mics, yeah, all the time - but not guitars into drum mics.


Peter