Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Y

Young Angus

Kometose Tonologist
Lots of us here have very powerful valve amps, and lots of them need a good cranking to get them cooking unless you've got attenuators. So does everyone wear ear protection when cranking their amps for practice and stuff or only sometimes?

And how many of them are professional earplugs?

Ive taken to wearing earplugs at clubs and live band shows now every time, but i want to get some professional plugs that just drop the DB level without losing frequencies because the ones i use right now work great but im sure im missing out on something.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

NO I don't and YES I should be.. it's the problem you mentioned.. wanna just drop the volume without losing eq... occasionally I use them but find myself taking them back out because of the eq loss..

I've been thinking of going getting those proffesional moulded ones..
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

For actual rehearsals, I'll wear them, even though I hate them. For practicing, or just hearing my rig when playing, heck no, I gotta hear them, no matter how loud they are.
Stupid, I know, but I's got's to hear it.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I don't, except when listening to other bands in front of a PA, then I wear them religiously.
For me, I use a low wattage tube amp (or a preamp straight into the PA), and I am never in the direct line of it, always off to the side. I sit when I play, facing across the stage, far enough away from the cymbals. I also unplug any monitors in front of me, since I don't sing in my band. I never put myself in direct line of damaging volumes. We actually play quietly on stage, and it makes it much more enjoyable..so much more than the 'half stacks on either side of the drummer facing out' rock n roll setup.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I wear them a reasonable amount - tend to be sponge or plastic ones from a Chemist (read drugstore, Americans...)

Normally 27-33 db attenuation
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I rarely play my low-watt combos loud enough for long periods of time to do real damage, but as Mincer mentioned above, I've gotten religious about wearing them to shows where I'm standing 20-30 feet from the PA.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Always, whether I'm watching a band or playing onstage.

My hearings too important to me...

At home my amp never gets past 1 anyway so I don't bother.. I wouldn't hear the damn thing if I did! :D
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I use Heros. They cut out a bunch of the frequencies! For the longest time I thought my amp was broken, but it was just the earplugs...

But yeah, I still wear 'em anyway...
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Bottom line -- when most of you lose your high end frequencies from too much volume abuse, you can just crank the treble on your amp and it'll sound the same as before you lost your hearing.

But if and when my high end goes, I'm going to have to get a new job.

My choice: Westone, custom molded plugs with the 15dB filters. They have a flat response, so they don't color the sound. I also wear them in loud nightclubs and on puddle-jumper plane flights or anywhere my ears can be stressed.

Cause I really don't want to be asking, "Would you like fries with that?"
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Evan Skopp said:
Bottom line -- when most of you lose your high end frequencies from too much volume abuse, you can just crank the treble on your amp and it'll sound the same as before you lost your hearing.

But if and when my high end goes, I'm going to have to get a new job.

My choice: Westone, custom molded plugs with the 15dB filters. They have a flat response, so they don't color the sound. I also wear them in loud nightclubs and on puddle-jumper plane flights or anywhere my ears can be stressed.

Cause I really don't want to be asking, "Would you like fries with that?"
Click to expand...

Evan, do you find 15 DB of attenuation to be enough to sufficiently protect your ears? I've always used the 33 DB Hearos. They do mess with the frequencies you hear, but it's worth it to maintain excellent hearing.

For those of you who are bothered vy the fact that earplugs cut more of the high end, try the Hearos rock and roll earplugs. If you're not willing to drop $150 on a custom set, these are a good choice because they attenuate more evenly across the frequency spectrum.

Ryan
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

rspst14 said:
Evan, do you find 15 DB of attenuation to be enough to sufficiently protect your ears?
Click to expand...
Ryan:

I got my Westones fitted at the House Ear Institute in LA. They told me that 15dB is usually sufficient for most concert settings. Click on that link to learn more about hearing and plugs.

But keep this in mind, when you stand right in front of the PA, the sound is entering your body through bone conduction, in addition through your ear canals -- and even the best plugs won't protect against that.

- EAS
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Evan Skopp said:
Ryan:

I got my Westones fitted at the House Ear Institute in LA. They told me that 15dB is usually sufficient for most concert settings.
Click to expand...

Ya gotta remember that dB is a logarithmic measure and not a linear one, so every 10 db increase is double the volume. That being said 15db is plenty.

I have a pair of $15 hearos with the filters in 'em and they work great... they don't mess with the frequencies too much. So I just take 'em out to adjst tones and put 'em in for jam time.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Near anything louder than a Motorcycle for more than a few seconds I immediately pop im my Westone es-1s, which I almost always have on me ;)

www.westone.com
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I used to wear them, but I couldn't stand the way I lost clarity in the upper midrange and treble. So I don't wear them anymore. I'll tell you a story, though. Eight years ago when my wife & I were dating, we were at a county fair near my hometown. They had a hearing test booth. She was always complaining that I made her repeat things, so I told her I'd take the test. I went into the booth and put on the headphones and listened to the tones, etc. As I was walking out of the booth, the tester was saying to my wife that he "would be very careful as to what I said around him, even in a whisper". Apparently my hearing was still in the upper 5 % of the above normal range of hearing. My wife upon hearing this stated, "But he never hears anything that I'm saying!" to which the tester sunk my boat and said "Then he's being 'selective'." Guess that'll teach me, huh? I still go crazy in the TV section at Sears. Apparently I'm sensitive to ultrasonics.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Hellion said:
I used to wear them, but I couldn't stand the way I lost clarity in the upper midrange and treble. So I don't wear them anymore. I'll tell you a story, though. Eight years ago when my wife & I were dating, we were at a county fair near my hometown. They had a hearing test booth. She was always complaining that I made her repeat things, so I told her I'd take the test. I went into the booth and put on the headphones and listened to the tones, etc. As I was walking out of the booth, the tester was saying to my wife that he "would be very careful as to what I said around him, even in a whisper". Apparently my hearing was still in the upper 5 % of the above normal range of hearing. My wife upon hearing this stated, "But he never hears anything that I'm saying!" to which the tester sunk my boat and said "Then he's being 'selective'." Guess that'll teach me, huh? I still go crazy in the TV section at Sears. Apparently I'm sensitive to ultrasonics.
Click to expand...

Hahaha yeah thats the same sort of thing my ex used to say, and i rekon thats the same diagnosis as i wouldhave got too ;)
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

Unless my wife's offering sex, all I hear is that wah wah wah like Charlie Brown's teacher :laugh2:
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

A friend of mine is fitting me for a moulded Westone set. Until I get those, I use those things that look like pine trees (I get them for free from work).
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I am going to get those 45 dBA ones, because I have read some attenuation data that says rock concerts are 120dBA, my friend measured his band practice at 115dBA (guitarist has a half stack, they play hard rock)

...so if you listen at 120dBA, you need to reduce it to 85 dBA to be safe. 90 dBA for prolonged amounts of time does permanent damage.

I know, I just went to a concert 2 weeks ago, and wore 33dBA flesh colored hearos. but I was close to the PA. My ears still feel like they are under water a little and pop. it is not that bad, but it is noticeable.

Next time I am staying away from the PA and hopefully getting fitted for those 45dBA earplugs if I can find em. I went to an ENT 4 months ago that said he fitted earplugs for Gwen Stephanie and Johnathan Davis ...so hopefully he knows the 411 on the filtered frequencies and all that...it would be helpful at least.
 
Re: Does everyone here wear earplugs when cranking their amps?

I've never used them, but now that I don't play in a band anymore, I don't see a need for them.
 
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