Rock Salad
Junior Member
Wow. rhumba!
Yes we need help to explain this to our band mates
Yes we need help to explain this to our band mates
I wear ear plugs. Usually. But I got some SE215 IEMs recently and tried them with two overhead mics and a kick mic, and then with just close miced toms, kick and snare. For some reason I went with the overheads for my gig mix and I think I may have over-exposed my ears to unnecessary db. The sound attenuation of IEMs doesn't really work to level advertised IMHO. I haven't tried custom moulds which I would expect provide real sound attenuation. 30 db is necessary if playing with stage volume of 110 db. (recall that every 10 db increase is a doubling of the volume on your ears)Wow. rhumba!
Yes we need help to explain this to our band mates
I just read up on load boxes today. The guitarist disconnects the cabinet from the amp head and installs in it's place the load box, with the other end going to a IEM monitor (eg Behringer X32). He gets to hear his amped guitar sound but the FOH controls the venue volume/mix. That might be your solution. That is, if you can get him to wear IEMs.Guitar player says he has to use his amp, lololol...he's also the only one that needs a wedge, won't use in-ears. So we shall see.![]()
I get it - playing loud is ROCK, and it feels GOOD, and nobody ever played quiet in an arena. Guess what, champ. You're in a pizzeria and thirty people are there, and they're there for the food.My band sucks at this. Granted we're only a couple of months into it. Just a 3-piece blues/rock band. I'm trying to narrow down where the volume and muddiness is coming from. The bass player is using a pre-amp IR module that may be the culprit. Just too boomy and swamps out everyone else on stage and in the venue. If I can't hear myself play, then I play less than what I'm capable of. I worry after a while if it will permanently affect my playing.
I've asked him to turn down or solve the issue and everyone's having a heart attack like I'm being unreasonable. He says he doesn't want to play the same venue again. How do we get enough gigs if half of them are in similar venues?
Sadly...he won't go the in-ear route. Yet. He was the one pushing to get our singer and bass player to go to in-ears, oddly enough. With him being the only one using a wedge now, that has cut down on stage volume, and certainly eliminated feedback issues. And its been a major help with the bass player (whose hearing is the worst of all of ours)I just read up on load boxes today. The guitarist disconnects the cabinet from the amp head and installs in it's place the load box, with the other end going to a IEM monitor (eg Behringer X32). He gets to hear his amped guitar sound but the FOH controls the venue volume/mix. That might be your solution. That is, if you can get him to wear IEMs.
This is what I'm hoping isn't the root cause of our bassist's volume issue. If it is, then I suppose there's no real workaround outside of getting a new bassist, which would likely break up the band. The IEM route only solves my mix issues, but doesn't solve the stage volume issue. And in small venues the stage volume bleeds out into venue volume.For some reason some people equate volume with quality- when actually it often just drowns out mistakes.
I’ve said this a few times before, but I’ve gotten a lot of gigs due to my ability to play quieter than just about anyone else in town. Also, what many people confuse with volume has a lot to do with pitch. I use big drums not bc they are loud, but so I can tune them low. If my band mates (who don’t use in-ears) can’t hear what’s going on because of me, then I need to fix it. I’ve also learned about the joy that comes from playing big, thin cymbals that don’t take a wallop to get them to open up. They have changed my playing for the better.
Also, playing in church for over 20 years with no drum shield has helped me tremendously.
Same here and on some occasions when someone had subbed for me, I’ve later heard complaints about the lack of dynamic control.I’ve said this a few times before, but I’ve gotten a lot of gigs due to my ability to play quieter than just about anyone else in town.
It's interesting how the other folks on stage with timing or volume issues fare when you stop playing the game with them.So, last night I just let the guys blast away by themselves. They kept saying, "I can't hear you." I just shrugged, and watched them struggle to keep their own time.
It actually worked out not too badly. Them having to focus on their own time made for a tighter performance than when I lead them by the hand.
I'm going to try continue this approach, wish me luck