Question re; ear protection when gigging

homerun_homer

I've just started rehearsing with a band for an Irish tour later this month and last night on our 3rd practice I wore ear plugs for the first time and with them in I can't hear my guitar at all amongst everything.

I'll be playing synth and guitar for the band and it's hard to judge how loud or quiet I am in the full mix and it's distracting not being able to hear what you're playing - it makes you feel like you're miming.

Any recommendations or am I going to have to not wear ear plugs & punish my ears even further after years of attending gigs resulting mild tinnitus so far?

Zombienosh

depends on the ear plugs you're using? are they standard cheapy ones?

odonopenmic

Sympathies!! I'm in a similar predicament. Two things I'd say:

First, the quality of the earplugs does count. You can get ones specially molded to your ear which are very pricey but will bring down the overall volume as opposed to taking out the high-end/low-end and having everything sound strange. So, first-off, invest in a good pair one way or the other and you'll hear a lot better.

Second, is a tale of getting used to something like this and although from a completely different arena, I still think it counts. I'm pretty sure it was DJ Carey the hurler, used to hurl without a helmut and then got a bad eye injury so decided it was time to cop on and use one. The story I heard was that to get used to not having the same field of view and peripheral vision, he wore the helmut non-stop for a few days - in the car, making the tea etc. etc. He got so used to it that when he went to go hurling with it, it was no big deal. I'm not sure how true this is, but the point is the same.

You need to get used to wearing them all the time so that you don't feel that your peripheral or full hearing is being infringed on when you're playing with the band. If I were you, I'd try wearing them all the time for a day or two so that they just become second nature.

DrumSteve

http://www.thomann.de/ie/alpine_music_safe_gehoerschutz.htm

try those man... hearing protection can never be overrated. with the right earphones you can hear everything clearer.

unclebill98

If your serious about protecting you ears then get custom moulds done. Off the shelf stuff works to a point. There are a vast range availble to reduce DB to what you want or cut certain frq.

-Chris-

DrumSteve wrote: »

http://www.thomann.de/ie/alpine_music_safe_gehoerschutz.htm

try those man... hearing protection can never be overrated. with the right earphones you can hear everything clearer.

I use these and I think they're great. Decent attenuation, not muffled, seems to reduce all the frequencies fairly evenly.

homerun_homer

Cool, I've gone and ordered them and will see how they go - thanks for the advice.

Rigsby

unclebill98 wrote: »

If your serious about protecting you ears then get custom moulds done. Off the shelf stuff works to a point. There are a vast range available to reduce DB to what you want or cut certain frq.

+1.

They are a bit pricey, but your hearing is priceless. A good investment IMO. I would advise that you use protection of some sort however, as each time your ears are ringing after a session, is a signal that your ears have received a little more irreparable damage.

If you cant afford the above then I'd recommend "Quies" wax ones, available from most chemists for around 6 euros. Do as "odonopenmic" advises about getting used to them.

Burning Beard

I agree with odonopenmic.Invest in a quality set of earplugs.I've tried some of those standard earplugs similar to the alpine ones but didn't think they were great so I invested in a pair of properly moulded musicians earplugs and there's no comparison.They will just turn the volume down instead of muffling everything.Yes they will set you back a couple of hundred euro but it's totally worth it for the quality.You can also choose the level of attenuation you need.It does take a little while to get used to them but just wear them regularly and you wont even notice after a while.I got mine from Frank Cass in Kimmage.He's very good.

unclebill98

Rigsby wrote: »

+1.

They are a bit pricey, but your hearing is priceless. A good investment IMO. I would advise that you use protection of some sort however, as each time your ears are ringing after a session, is a signal that your ears have received a little more irreparable damage.

If you cant afford the above then I'd recommend "Quies" wax ones, available from most chemists for around 6 euros. Do as "odonopenmic" advises about getting used to them.

Exactly.

I've gone from off the shelf ear phones for my IEM system to custom molds. I now have the pack on volume setting of 2-3 rather than 8-9. Massive difference. I don't have to keep fixing them in my ears and after 20 odd sec you cant even feel them.

They where expensive, I went for the dual drive version but I still feel the need to have my bass amp on stage :rolleyes:

re.mark.able

i use some pretty cheap 'musician earplugs' they're just pretty light sponge and you can squeeze them so they fit right the way into your ear.
they don't change the tone what so ever, they reduve the noise by a minimum of 20db so no damage what so ever.
But if you try to sing with them in it throws you off, so what i do is if i have to sing i take one out, and then during the next song, i swap ears so they get a break from the noise. or sometimes i just put a plug in the ear nearest the drums.
That's what works for me.

Brien

This might sound like a small or silly thing, but do you put your amp/monitors on top of anything to bring it up to your head hight? if you have the speakers beside your ears you can turn the volume way down and hear it over everything else, then you just worry about the sound engineer turning it up in the PA.

ham_n_mustard

i always use ear protection nowadays, wish i started years ago but didnt... dont skrimp on them either, an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure

off topic but..... drummers, hitting your 20 inch china like it just murdered your firstborn and thereby deafening your bass player is NOT cool