Earplugs and Drum Sounds

ChaseGlomstad

ChaseGlomstad

Member
I tend to wear earplugs to protect my hearing while I practice, and I noticed that it makes my snare and toms sound Studio/Cd-like. I'm thinking maybe it's because it eliminates annoying ringing and overtone sounds that my drums give off? Anybody have any experience on how to stop this?
 
I always use in ear monitors when I am playing whether it be in the studio, live, or practice
They save my ears and I get to control the sound.
 
You could look into custom-fit earplugs. The filters used in such plugs are designed to reduce db levels without compromising frequency sensitivity too much. That link is for a UK company, but I imagine something similar is available in most countries.
 
Custom ear plugs with the special filters would be what you're looking for. They normalise the reduction in sound across the whole frequency range so that you don't get the general loss in highs but not in lows. Or if you are miking up the drums, IEM would be the way to go
 
Bad Tempered Clavier said:
You could look into custom-fit earplugs. The filters used in such plugs are designed to reduce db levels without compromising frequency sensitivity too much. That link is for a UK company, but I imagine something similar is available in most countries.
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jt.mcrae said:
Custom ear plugs with the special filters would be what you're looking for. They normalise the reduction in sound across the whole frequency range so that you don't get the general loss in highs but not in lows. Or if you are miking up the drums, IEM would be the way to go
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Yes.... Custom Molded ear plugs may be a little costly upfront (just had a new pair made for 125.00 USD) but are priceless. My first set lasted me almost 14 years.

http://www.westone.com/hearing-protection-products/custom-fit-hearing-protection-products-4

A local hearing/speech center should be able to help. There's also a search function on their site for you to find your local dealer.
 
I have moderate hearing loss, and wear hearing aids in both ears. I've tried wearing custom ear plugs with 9db attenuators. But what this does, is that it mutes or deafens the sound even more!
I realize that I have hurt myself by not wearing ear protection over the years. But I would sure like to find a way to protect myself and be able to groove with my band at the same time!
Should I go with in-ear monitors or would this hurt my ears even more, and because of my deafness, I would be pushing the volume up?
Any ideas would or suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Sounds like a question for your doctor? If you use IEMs, yes, presumably, you'll have to crank the volume through them so that you can hear them. But isn't that what a hearing aid does for you anyways? It cranks the volume of natural sounds, right? At least with IEMs, you can control the level of volume.
 
I think your right tried IEM last night at rehearsal, and although it pretty tough to balance everything when you don't have a sound guy there, it was OK!
Thanks for the reply!
 
Monkey_Relish said:
Stop it Mr. Colon. Just stop. You are giving Australia a bad name.
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Hear, hear.

I'm starting to resent the constant colon association to be honest. We're not all colons Downunder.......just those of us tirelessly spamming drum forums.

Wish this guy would invent a friggen' colon plug.....at least that way no one would consider me excessively harsh when I told him to shove his plugs up his arse!!
 
JimmyTheMonkey said:
Try these

http://www.amazon.com/Vater-Percuss...91&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=vadar+ear+protection
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I used a similar design to these back in the 90's worked great for me. In addition to protecting my already damaged hearing, they prevented ear fatigue after practicing or jamming sessions. For the longest time I was convinced my drums weren't staying in tune. I constantly fiddled with them (regardless of the kit) and it drove me nuts. After using protection, I came to realize it wasn't the drums...it was my ears getting tired and losing sensitivity.
 
I seem to be in the minority here. I have custom earplugs (non-monitor type) with inserts that reduce decibels by some amount, I can't remember exactly how much, but it's the smallest amount you can get (at least when I bought these).

What I've found out is that I like them if I'm practicing at home alone. If, however, I remove them for whatever reason and continue to play, everything then sound horrible. All I seem to hear is the 'highs' that were blocked before.

In a concert or rehearsal situation, I get frustrated that I can't hear the other players as well as I want and I usually end up taking them out.

I am lucky though as I'm in my fifties and have been playing the drums for forty years and my hearing is still pretty much perfect. Much better than some of my 20-something musician friends. Knock on wood, I guess!
 
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