Earplugs - yes or no?

Earplugs - yes or no?

The volume in my rehearsal room has reached a certain level, where I'm
thinking of getting a set of earplugs.

Do you use them - and do they take the fun out of playing?

The cliche is that earplugs might be for pussies, but it's better to use
them - and not having to deal with a ringing in the ears days after
every rehearsal

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

LOL, they are not for pussies. I played for 2 years without them and got
tired of the ringing for days after practice or gigs. Plus, when you look
at it, you are really only a few steps away from permanent tinitus, and
that drives people crazy. I have a tough enough grip on reality as it is
hahahaha.

But seriously, I got noise reduction ear plugs specifically for musicians.
It drops the noise level by 25dB, so everything is still clear, just not as
loud. It hasn't taken any of the fun out of gigging, but has had the added
benefit of my hearing has improved significanly since I started wearing
them for gigs and practice.

Thats my 2 cents worth anyway

Tim from Tassie
(Thats down under Down Under)

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

I say fuck pussy's ;-)
I wear ear plugs. Funny thing though, I need them most on my ear away from
the severe noise, drums, PA (in our studio). That actually scares me because
I'm thinking I must be deaf in my right ear.
And if you don't protect yourself because of what other people think, you
really are a pussy.
It's difficult at first, you need to re-train your ears. But after a while,
you will find it sounds funny with out them.
SotR

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

On May 5, 12:04 am, ist...@gmail . com (Steen Jensen) wrote:
> The volume in my rehearsal room has reached a certain level, where I'm
> thinking of getting a set of earplugs.


The volume you play at and being able to control it are as important
as knowing how to play the songs.
Turn it down!

Pt

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

Pt wrote:
> On May 5, 12:04 am, ist...@gmail . com (Steen Jensen) wrote:
>> The volume in my rehearsal room has reached a certain level, where I'm
>> thinking of getting a set of earplugs.
>
>
> The volume you play at and being able to control it are as important
> as knowing how to play the songs.
> Turn it down!
>
> Pt

Amen!!
My favorite drummer spent a two month period with me sans PA.
Granted we were both loud singers, but we were able to practice until we
could afford one.
Best, most-productive practices I ever had.

Monkey Pi

--

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(0) / | ( )`-' | / | (0)
p-----MonkeyMonkeyMonkey-----q

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

On May 5, 1:04 am, ist...@gmail . com (Steen Jensen) wrote:
> The volume in my rehearsal room has reached a certain level, where I'm
> thinking of getting a set of earplugs.
>
> Do you use them - and do they take the fun out of playing?
>
> The cliche is that earplugs might be for pussies, but it's better to use
> them - and not having to deal with a ringing in the ears days after
> every rehearsal

Right. And the cliche is that young people are morons too.

Fact. Hearing loss due to excessive sound levels NEVER comes back!
Fact. When tinnitus from ear damage reaches a certain level it will
drive you freak'n nuts.
Fact. As a musician your livelihood or at minimum one of the most
enjoyable things in your life DEPENDS upon your hearing! To lose your
hearing is to lose a great deal.

Just ask around. Huh?

Don't be STUPID! If your ears are ringing the sound is TOO LOUD! This
means you either have to reduce the sound level and with drums and
other instruments inside is not often practical, or you have to
protect your ears.

Ear protection for musicians takes more than just a cheapo set of 10
cent foam plugs. Those do indeed protect your hearing and work if you
have no other choices but absolutely do take the "fun" out of playing.
Usually they attenuate the sound too much and roll off the highs too
much leading to a very muffled kind of tone.

What you really SHOULD do if you take your music seriously is to get
fitted for some Westones at an audiologist. They'll run about $100 but
how much is your hearing worth? They'll sound terrific and feel great
for long gigs. If you aren't that serious yet then look into the
"hifi" musician ear plugs from Etymotic Research Inc. Good for all but
the loudest rock at about 15 dB or so. Nice response that doesn't kill
the music and pretty comfortable. For loud rock don't take chances
with your hearing and just spend the money to get serious protection.

There is nothing "manly" about losing your hearing to never get it
back.

Benj

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

I remember reading Alex Van Halen saying about what it's like talking to
Pete Townshend. "Hey Pete, I just fucked your wife". Pete would say, "Oh
yeah, uh huh".
Have you seen that pic of the WHO in the early days and that chick bent
over with her fingers buried in her ears? Pete is just jamming away like a
walk in the park.
One thing we can all do is play LOUD. You don't need to be a millionaire
to have a loud mofo amp. Protect your hearing.
It may be more of a burden to be blind but I think it would be more of a
tragedy to be deaf. How many times can you be thrilled looking at a great
painting compared to I bet we all still get a charge out of hearing "She
loves you yeah yeah yeah".

SotR

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

SotR wrote:

> I remember reading Alex Van Halen saying about what it's like
> talking to Pete Townshend. "Hey Pete, I just fucked your wife". Pete
> would say, "Oh yeah, uh huh".
> Have you seen that pic of the WHO in the early days and that chick
> bent over with her fingers buried in her ears? Pete is just jamming
> away like a walk in the park.

Townshend says what really trashed his hearing was studio sessions involving
headphone use, too many hours spent mixing or whatever with the volume
cranked too high. On the other hand he also says John Entwistle sometimes
wore two hearing aids towards the end of his life, considering the wall of
amps The Who used it would seem prudent to learn from their mistakes and use
earplugs, either that or turn down the damn volume.

Oh, I also suspect Townshend could break AVH over his knee, but that's
another issue. ;~)

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?


"DGDevin" <dgdevin@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:YZ6dnfOQLO2-MIPVnZ2dnUVZ_rOqnZ2d@earthlink . com ...
> SotR wrote:
>
>
> Townshend says what really trashed his hearing was studio sessions
> involving headphone use, too many hours spent mixing or whatever with the
> volume cranked too high. On the other hand he also says John Entwistle
> sometimes wore two hearing aids towards the end of his life, considering
> the wall of amps The Who used it would seem prudent to learn from their
> mistakes and use earplugs, either that or turn down the damn volume.
>

The overblown explosion (pyrotechnics in Keith Moon's bass drum) on the
Smothers Brothers didn't help, either...

Do a google and you'll probably find info about this... and a video...
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Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

> I remember reading Alex Van Halen saying about what it's like talking to
> Pete Townshend. "Hey Pete, I just fucked your wife". Pete would say, "Oh
> yeah, uh huh".

Pete Townshend has a wife?!

Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

Brian Running <brunning@XXameritechXX . net > writes:

>> I remember reading Alex Van Halen saying about what it's like
>> talking to Pete Townshend. "Hey Pete, I just fucked your
>> wife". Pete would say, "Oh yeah, uh huh".
>
> Pete Townshend has a wife?!

He has a wife you know. Her name.... is Incontinentia.


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Re: Earplugs - yes or no?

Brian Running wrote:
>> I remember reading Alex Van Halen saying about what it's like
>> talking to Pete Townshend. "Hey Pete, I just fucked your wife".
>> Pete would say, "Oh yeah, uh huh".
>
> Pete Townshend has a wife?!

He had a wife, with whom he had three children, but I think they split eight
or ten years ago. For the past five years or so his significant other has
been singer-songwriter Rachel Fuller who is not hard to look at. She also
could probably break Alex Van Halen over her knee.

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