Turn Down the Amplifiers

mso489 · Jul 18, 2013

I find music way too loud at concerts and events like weddings. I realize I am out of step. The prevailing feeling seems

to be that if you can conduct a normal conversation, with humor and asides, the music is way too low. I love music of

many kinds, as much as anybody. But I thought the point of getting together was, in part, to actually talk to each other,

with the music backing that up and facilitating, not drowning it out. Pause for one or two real barn-burner tunes, then

low enough to allow conversation. Likewise at concerts. Heard Willy Nelson, Mellancamp, and Bob Dylan a few years

ago. Willy and Dylan were properly amped, and this was a concert so it wasn't time for conversation. But Mellancamp

was so damned loud, his fans put in ear plugs, and I retreated behind the grandstand to escape the bullying blasts.

In my opinion, he was way outclassed by the other acts, even Willy suffering from vocal problems and just talking his

lyrics. Dylan, as always, was superb, in control, and plenty loud but not needing to threaten anyones hearing loss.

A good musician can do it all with acoustic instruments and raw talent. I realize I'm in the minority on this.

voorhees · Jul 18, 2013

I can no longer listen to music at loud levels. Most of this was caused by a severe ear(both) infection about 3 years ago.

I have constant ringing(I've learned to deal with that), but miss concerts and events that have loud amplifiers.

In my youth, I was a head banging stereo crank it up kinda guy....pay for that now.

smokeybear · Jul 18, 2013

you end up with this at these concerts lol

cortezattic · Jul 18, 2013

I find most music too loud also. Most DJ's at weddings and large parties think everyone came there to listen to them.

brewshooter · Jul 18, 2013

I like it to be loud, but often it is too loud. Also, the majority of concerts I've been to in the past ten years do not have the vocals high enough in the mix and they are washed out by everything else. The singer might as well be mumbling in tune.

erichbaumer · Jul 18, 2013

Depends on the music. I'm mostly a metal fan, and it's hard to say a Warped Tour set was "too loud." I did wear earplugs when I went to Warped, but I wouldn't say it was too loud. There's something to be said for being able to feel the speakers working. However, Mellancamp is probably not going for that effect... And Brewshooter has a point. It takes a really good sound tech to run a live show, even more so if it's loud. If you can't pick out all the instruments and the vocals, there's a problem, whatever the volume is.

bigboi · Jul 18, 2013

A good sound tech should know how to have it just loud enough. Most of the time the reason why it is too loud is because the sound tech is not good enough to bring out the proper sounds so they just bring it all up. The other reason it is too loud is because the musician's have their stage volume too loud which is usually not the mix you want the audience to hear so you have to bring up the mains to get the mix you want your audience to hear vs the musician mix.
Most people do not realize that you can have just as good of a sounding concert with out it being quite so loud.

Annnd I too listen to Rock bands, metal bands, and hip hop. To me it just doesn't need to be so loud that it will harm you.

Think about it Lithotripsy is using sound waves to break up kidney stone, so sound waves do have some effect on you physical body.

uberam3rica · Jul 18, 2013

I like my concerts loud, but I agree with weddings. I don't go to concerts to talk to people, I go there for the music. But with weddings and other gatherings,it would be nice to have the music a bit quieter

phred · Jul 18, 2013

Pete Townsend's tinnitus should be a warning to us all... I love loud, live shows, but there are limits.
I plan to pick up a set of musician's ear plugs before Riot Fest this fall - two days of exposure to high-volume punk would probably leave my ears ringing for a week. :D

bigboi · Jul 18, 2013

Phred you should check out Hearo's Earplugs. Great earplugs for people who still want to drop the db's without taking out the quality of music.

ghost · Jul 18, 2013

I played in loud bands for years, I know my hearing isn't what it should be. Try to always wear plugs...
Speaking of amps, I have three that are expensive paperweights in my office right now. I only use digital amp sims anymore. Just can't handle the volume, and I like to play late at night anyways.

mso489 · Jul 18, 2013

bigboi, I think you are correct that much of the "too loud" is poor sound technology. It's hard to believe there are so many

mediocre sound techs, but hearing, or not hearing very well, is believing. I'm afraid some folks will not hear much of their

grandchildren for toughing out these musical events. Also, I worry about feeling the music in my ribs etc. I have been at

concerts where the sound seemed to blow me away, but it wasn't hammering my ear drums, ribs, etc. I think this is a bad

habit derived from young people who want to be overstimulated to help forget the miseries of being young (of which

actually there are quite a few despite everyone's rosy memories of being young). It's like drinking way too much. If you're lucky,

you get over that, and really don't need it. Same with the pulverizing over-amplification. I hear vocalists and other musicians

who can tear your heart out, or lift you to the skies, with just moderate amplification. This happens in nearly all musical

genres when people know what they're doing.

teufelhund · Jul 18, 2013

I sadly had to leave a concert recently. I won free tickets to hang out in the pit and be close enough to actually enjoy seeing the bands and I had to leave 15 minutes into the show. I ended up with a massive migraine. Now I just sit towards the back of the lawn away from the speakers and I really don't even go unless I'm with friends.

brian64 · Jul 18, 2013

“I’m listening to Neil Young ... I gotta turn up the sound ... Someone’s always yellin’ ... Turn it down!” – Bob Dylan, Highlands
Just kidding mso489. I completely agree with you. Especially this:

A good musician can do it all with acoustic instruments and raw talent.

I do enjoy loud electric music at times...when it's appropriate...but not painfully loud.

captainsousie · Jul 18, 2013

It's too loud when you have to put in earplugs to actually hear. When the distortion created by your own body makes it impossible to hear clearly, you know there's a problem. Went to an Alice Cooper/Rob Zombie concert and that was the case. Love the music, hate the fact that I actually had to use earplugs to hear.

captainsousie · Jul 18, 2013

Phred you should check out Hearo's Earplugs.

+1 Used them all the time in college pep band when I was seated next to the drum set.

irwinmetro · Jul 18, 2013

I had custom earplugs made for me to the tune of about $100 years ago. They're reusable (of course), and cut down the sound in equal proportions to maintain quality. I bring em with me everywhere I go. I'll wear them to concerts, to clubs (when i used to go), airshows, car shows, while driving with the windows down and even in the mall to cut down on all the reverb and general din. All thsi while still being able to maintain a conversation.
Visit an audiologist, and it will be one of the best hundred bucks you've ever spent.

phred · Jul 18, 2013

I think you are correct that much of the "too loud" is poor sound technology.

Precisely. My wife worked as a sound tech in college, and she was routinely assigned the folk/acoustic/reggae gigs, because her classical training gave her a better ear for the subtleties of the instrumentation. The yahoos on the crew got the bigger arena rock shows, since the finer details weren't nearly as critical (in their not-so-humble opinions, of course...).

Phred you should check out Hearo's Earplugs. Great earplugs for people who still want to drop the db's without taking out the quality of music

Will do - thanks, BigBoi & CaptainSousie. I've seen Motorhead twice and survived, but it was close... :D

papipeguy · Jul 18, 2013

I've been a musician for nearly 50 years. You name it and I've played it. Wedding bands, rock bands, folk combos, jazz and solo gigs. I hate being at affairs where the music is too loud. I don't like music when I'm eating-period. I walk every morning with a friend and he insts on playing music while we lug our fat asses around the neighborhood. I'd prefer silence as sometimes that's the sweetest music of all.

dochudson · Jul 18, 2013

all you guys that like it loud.. currently good digital hearing aids run about $6k.

Turn Down the Amplifiers

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