rockinredeye Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My band of the last 18 years finally went with IEMs, Behringer system where we can set volume on all 16 channels to control our own mix. We played a state fair recently where we HAD to use their stage floor monitors and the volume was very loud. FOH for other bands sounded wonderful, but on stage it was so loud I tried using ear plugs for the first couple of tunes. That was too muted; I couldn't hear enough high frequencies to suit me so I took them out. From then on, nobody sounded in tune or in the right key, including me on keyboard. Has anyone experienced this? When I say out of tune, I could hear the guitar sound, but couldn't tell what notes he was playing. Every bass note was just a boom. I have read, maybe on this forum, that high volumes can distort in the ear canal before sound even reaches the eardrum. I am asking if anyone knows of an earplug that can help with this. The expanding foam type didn't work for me. Kurzweil PC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pale Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Yes, you can buy special earplugs that attenuate the incoming sound by a certain amount of dB without significantly affecting sound color. They are not cheap. Custom handmade clocks: www.etsy.com/shop/ClockLight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delaware Dave Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I call what you describe as ear 'fatigue'. And if you don't want permanent ringing in your ears like I have I would definitely recommend ear plugs. Better that the sound on stage sounds muted rather than everything (TV, conversation) sounding muted later and you'll end up with permanent ear plugs known as hearing aids. 57 Hammond B3; 69 Hammond L100P; 68 Leslie 122; Kurzweil Forte7 & PC3; M-Audio Code 61; Voce V5+; Neo Vent; EV ELX112P; GSI Gemini & Burn Delaware Dave Exit93band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinredeye Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Pale - I've seen the other ear plug types and was wondering if anyone had experience with any of them. I can't tell from the descriptions which ones will muffle the sound, and which ones might actually reduce all frequencies relatively equally. DD - I am 61 yrs. old and have tinnitus already and some lose of high end hearing, too. You are right and I'm trying to avoid more of the same. The IEMs are great for this. I don't even have a stage amp and our two guitarists use small amps at lower volume. By the way, our sound man says that because we don't have stage monitors, there is less noise going into the vocal mics and we get a cleaner sound to the FOH mains. Kurzweil PC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brettymike Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My band of the last 18 years finally went with IEMs, Behringer system where we can set volume on all 16 channels to control our own mix. We played a state fair recently where we HAD to use their stage floor monitors and the volume was very loud. FOH for other bands sounded wonderful, but on stage it was so loud I tried using ear plugs for the first couple of tunes. That was too muted; I couldn't hear enough high frequencies to suit me so I took them out. From then on, nobody sounded in tune or in the right key, including me on keyboard. Has anyone experienced this? When I say out of tune, I could hear the guitar sound, but couldn't tell what notes he was playing. Every bass note was just a boom. I have read, maybe on this forum, that high volumes can distort in the ear canal before sound even reaches the eardrum. I am asking if anyone knows of an earplug that can help with this. The expanding foam type didn't work for me. Yes , I think this would have happened to everyone at least once or twice , not nice. But , it's been far worse being in the audience far more often. One loud gig I attended a couple of years ago was so goddam loud , we had to leave , and it started sounding much more civilized and clearer driving up the road about 1/2 klm away - I kid you not. And it's NEVER the keyboardist that's too loud. Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 The Etymotic earplugs are about 10-12$ on ebay. I have them and they do let more high frequencies than earfoam plugs. "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinredeye Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Thank you bourniplus. That is exactly what I wanted to hear about. Kurzweil PC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Why did you HAVE to use their floor monitors if you have your own system? Sounds like maybe you need to invest in a splitter snake. Everything runs to the snake, the split goes to your IEM system, the direct goes to the FOH snake. They aren't cheap, but it keeps your monitor system separate from FOH so you can use it anywhere without messing with anything they're getting. My old band had a system like that and always used our IEM's everywhere we played - concerts, fairs, festivals, whatever. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahZark Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 http://www.etymotic.com/hp/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockinredeye Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 J. Dan - It was actually time that FORCED us to use the equipment already on stage. We do have a splitter snake and would have used it, but, the main act did their long sound check right before we were supposed to go on. There was a second band playing right after us, then the main act. We started late and didn't play our full set. Nobody was ugly about it, the main act just did a thorough sound check and we got squeezed in the middle for time. Kurzweil PC4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 +1. If you can't IEM, then I recommend the following earplugs - Etymotic ER-20 as mentioned by others above - Alpine MusicSafe (available on Amazon) - Howard Leight Quiet Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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