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January 26, 2009

By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com

Guitar players - protect your ears

So, we had a gig on Saturday. Now, 2 days later, my ears are still ringing. Sounds like a crappy old amp buzzing in my head. Man, I should have wore ear plugs!

The gig itself was fun. I played with Jaron Rovensky at Boston Pizza here in Camrose, and a big crowd came. I thought we were really rocking the place, and I had a great time. I used my Michael Kelly Patriot Shadow as well as my Suhr Classic. Both delivered good tones.

One thing I noticed with the Michael Kelly guitar is that even if you roll off the volume knob down to 1, it's still plenty of volume and grit coming through. The pot seems way different than what I'm used to from my Strats and Teles, where you can roll down the volume knob and get less grit and also a bit less volume. I messed up on a few spots because of this, since I expected I would get a nice, mellow tone with volume at 4, but uh uh - it was a dirty loud tone coming through still. Oh well, this is how some of us learn (the hard way). Other than that, the MK guitar was fun. My Suhr is my number 1 guitar though - make no mistake.

Back to the topic. Damaging ears. Well, for the last few years, I've played with should I say, mellower bands, where the volume was not much of a problem. This time though, the band hit it hard, and apparently it got really loud by the end of the night. I didn't really notice until after the gig was over. I was wondering what all that noise was, when I realized it was "all in my head"...

So my advice to anyone starting to play in a band. Get some cheapo ear plugs, and have them ready at a gig and/or rehearsal. If the drummer goes nuts or others start cranking up, get those ear plugs out and PROTECT YOUR EARS. Believe me, you will thank yourself later, when you have to yell at all your old buddies you played with, because they have trouble hearing...

I do have some decent ear plugs made for musicians, but I never thought about bringing them. I had forgotten how loud this band can be. I use some cheap ones by Hearos (www.hearos.com) and they do the job. Any ear plugs will take away a bit of clarity of the sound, and it can take a while to get used to them. Still, I strongly recommend using them when the volume is loud. You can never repair serious damage done to the ears, as far as I know. The only solution to improve upon hearing loss due to exposure to high volume "noise", is to get a hearing aid. How fun is that? They are not exactly cheap either.

As for me, that's probably the road I'm on - getting a hearing aid. I'm not yet 40 years old, but I often have trouble hearing what people around me say, and I have to ask people to repeat what they are saying. Makes me think of guys twice my age.

So, to sum it up - rock'n roll is not worth going deaf for! Get some ear plugs first, and then you can crank it. I'm bringing some ear plugs to the next gig, you can count on that. Huh? Sorry, what did you say?

By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com

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Posted by Robert Renman on January 26, 2009

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Comments on this blog entry

Fred Newell said...

Same goes for iPod use. I went from stock ear buds (after i stepped on them accidently and broke them) to after market off-the-shelf (Altec in this case) $40 ear buds and turned the volume way down because they fit way better.

My son tours as a bass player. Uses his in-ear monitors for all performances. Also uses them for iPod listening, i think.

Try driving long distance with and without hearing protection... when listening to the radio loud... also went to a large arena concert (Garth Brooks) and used the ear plugs... actually sounded better an could hear the music better.

Comment added on December 31, 2009

Terry said...

Excellent responsible items on hearing damage in rock bands. Just to add that ringing in the ears after a gig for anyone indicates the onset of hearing damage. Tinnitus is debilating and to be avoided at all costs. Don't buy cheapo ear plugs... look around and use forums and reviews from other musicians to buy some effective and safe ear plugs. Don't stuff cotton wool in your ears. Prolonged exposure to high sound pressure levels will cause permanent damage to your hearing... ask Clapton, Townsend and Page and many other musicians in rock bands. Treat being exposed to loud sound whether produced by you or someone else or both very seriously. Unfortunately the onset of tinnitus can be permanent so take steps now to reduce exposure to band sound pressure levels... you could go acoustic!? I decided to check out ear plugs after ringing in my ears that would go on for several days after a gig... head on the pillow at night to go to sleep... it'll drive you nuts... so buy those ear plugs and look after your ears... you know it makes sense!

Comment added on January 31, 2009

Don Hays said...

I 'hear' you on the subject of protecting you ears. I've played in band where the volume had your ears ringing after the gigs...so now in the band I'm in now, we've gone to 'In Ear' monitors and we control the volume we hear...and we keep it down. We've purchased custom fit (molded)'LIVEWIRES' for our ears and run through the whole 'HearBack' system. That mix is separate from what the FOH gets. It's been great...and no ringing in my ears after gigs. If you can afford it...this is the way to go. No loss in quality of sound...just lower in volume and you control what you want to hear.

Keep on Truckin'
Don

Comment added on January 28, 2009

Mr. Eff said...

Scooter,

Some plugs are more than just foam to stuff in your ears. Google: Aearo ER20 Ear Plugs and you can see what I mean. They try to cut down the decibels without cutting out frequencies.

Comment added on January 27, 2009

Scooter said...

I've been using "shooting plugs" and those are not good at all, sure they reduce the over all loud, but they take away the music. Some plugs don't??