# will my new ideals ruin my next gig?



## lelouch (Jul 30, 2013)

My next gig will likely be on December 16. Our school is having an open mic night, and I, and three other people have decided to play Wurm by Yes at it. (Finally, a chance to play to an audience!) And this time, it's appropriate. 

Anyway, I've been thinking for the past couple of days...I've always been exposing myself to cranked up tube amps over the past year. I'm still young, and I want to hear a good guitar sound, not a guitar sound that I think sounds good, when in reality it's too harsh, or too muddy, or whatever.

Now, I'm all for saving my hearing. Which means playing my BJ at volume 4 instead of at full. And it also means asking the bassist to turn down....and the drummer to go a bit soft (this is gonna be challenging).

But the style of music I play is SUPPOSED to be loud. Prog rock is not for the faint of heart! YES has always been a loud band, I have heard. So has Rush.

So should I just crank my amp for my next gig, or am I right to be concerned about my hearing and make the band quieter?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Yeah, don't damage your hearing. But, you can wear earplugs or, when you get some dough together, set yourself up with some in ears so you can hear that cranked tone but at a reduced volume for you.

Several ways to do it, but essentially you mic your amp into (generally a mixing board) then out to something that will power your earbuds...wireless system, headphone amplifier, whatever. And there are other ways to approach it.

That said, I've played a lot of music at a lot of volume (not cranked 100 watter through a half stack loud, but really loud for home use) for a lot of years and, at 50, I don't have *much* hearing loss. On the other hand, my brother who is a pro musician, and a couple of years younger than me, has serious tinnitus (ringing in the ears that never goes away - I have this too but to such a low degree that I don't notice it most of the time), he also has noticable hearing loss.

At the end of the day, you have to find your own balance. If you're ears are ringing or you have short term reduced hearing after you play, it's definitely hurting you.


ALSO Wurm is a seriously cool piece of music, that I continue to enjoy almost 35 years after first hearing it...sounds like you worked out something with the school, to let you play it? Or are you gonna go off script and just bang it out?


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

lelouch said:


> My next gig will likely be on December 16. Our school is having an open mic night, and I, and three other people have decided to play Wurm by Yes at it. (Finally, a chance to play to an audience!) And this time, it's appropriate.
> 
> Anyway, I've been thinking for the past couple of days...I've always been exposing myself to cranked up tube amps over the past year. I'm still young, and I want to hear a good guitar sound, not a guitar sound that I think sounds good, when in reality it's too harsh, or too muddy, or whatever.
> 
> ...


Invest in proper ear protection.

Although there is also merit to not being too loud I guess.

There are many here who will know more about those things than I do.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Another vote for hearing protection, when it's too late it's too late.


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## fredyfreeloader (Dec 11, 2010)

Another vote for hearing protection, your hearing and sight are far to important, don't lose them due to lack of protection. Be safe wear protection at all times even saturday night out on the town.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I vote hearing protection but you should also provide it to your audience. They can also get ear damage if your too loud.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Get the etymotic blue in ears. They're about $20 each and are worth it. I've owned both and these are as good as the custom ones.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

It all depends on the stage volume, size and the quality of the PA. Once you've played in a variety of places you can usually figure out a way of getting a pretty good tone at any volume. A lot of times you won't have much choice about your stage volume, sound guys can be a bit tough. A good transparent OD like an OCD (and a pedal tuner, in tune=good tone) will serve you well.


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2013)

The teacher (or whoever is chaperoning the event) will most likely ask you all
to turn it down. To get around this, sideswipe your amps (turn them sideways
to face the band, not the audience). This will allow you to turn it up to the
volume where you can hear each other and to also make full use of the tube amps.
+1 to ear plugs.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

lelouch said:


> But the style of music I play is SUPPOSED to be loud. Prog rock is not for the faint of heart! YES has always been a loud band, I have heard. So has Rush.


Supposed to be loud?... that is ridiculous! It's supposed to be well executed and articulate, not gratuitously loud. Remember... you're not Yes, or Rush, or playing to thousands in an arena.

Scale the volume to the venue. Get the volume right and you will get more gigs. It's about the audience, not the self indulgence of the band.

And you will never regret saving your hearing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

dradlin said:


> Get the volume right and you will get more gigs. It's about the audience, not the self indulgence of the band.
> 
> And you will never regret saving your hearing.


This.

.....


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Morkolo said:


> Another vote for hearing protection, when it's too late it's too late.


Mork is so right. You've only got one set of ears. Protect them with your life.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Steadfastly said:


> Mork is so right. You've only got one set of ears. Protect them with your life.


...or better yet use some earplugs, protect them with earplugs.


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

vadsy said:


> ...or better yet use some earplugs, protect them with earplugs.


Protect your earplugs with earplugs?


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

I was responding to Steadly's "protect them with your life" comment, it seemed extreme. Just use earplugs no need to die and so again I restated that earplugs were to be used.

I thought it was pretty...


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