Earplugs - please read

[JebusLives]

Hey everyone,

Given the legendary noise levels we are about to experience with My Bloody Valentine, can I humbly recommend the following earplugs?

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

They're like $12 or something, and sound wonderful - none of that muffled sound you get with the squishy orange ones. Everything is basically just turned down a bit, across all frequencies.

(Sorry if this looks like an ad - I just really like mine, and also don't want you all going def before the Cure come on!)

[Jon Blazed]

BOSS TIME

[M Sparks]

Earpugs= aural heaven

[sonofhal]

I'll be wearing a hearing aid - I want it to be even louder!

[PLURallovermyface]

i'm sure if i can handle Ministry in a small club or handle standing in front of the stacks for Aphex Twin, i can handle MBV over the polo fields...

(although i will feel sorry for whoever plays Outdoor during them... ala Swell Season during Raconteurs)

[TommyboyUNM]

i'm sure if i can handle Ministry in a small club or handle standing in front of the stacks for Aphex Twin, i can handle MBV over the polo fields...

It's not about what you can "handle" at the time, it's about the long-term effects. Stupid.

[Courtney]

I'm afraid that I'm going to need earplugs that are more industrial strength than what I currently have, especially for MBV. The ones I have look a lot like the ones in that link, and they don't really change the volume all that much.

[Raptor Clinton]

Or the Cure against Le Tigre. Although, that was the other way around.

[Memorial_07]

As long as the ear plugs don't make them sound all muffled and drowns them out I'll wear them. Actually, I'll see if I can take it after the first song and If I can't then I'm wearing them

I'm very nervous about seeing them

[captncrzy]

Huh?

[Vic Viper]

As long as the ear plugs don't make them sound all muffled and drowns them out I'll wear them. Actually, I'll see if I can take it after the first song and If I can't then I'm wearing them

I'm very nervous about seeing them

You're putting way too much faith in ear plugs.

I wear them, but by they do not (BY FAR) reduce the sound level to the point of distorting what you're hearing or reducing the enjoyment of the performance.

They work slightly better than plugging your ears with your fingers unless you really CRAM them down your ear canal which isn't advisable anyway.

[AbundantChoice]

While the etymotics aren't perfeect... they are WAY better than the cheapo foam ones you can buy at the convenience store. The etymotics distort the sound alot less... it sounds similar, just a touch softer.

And yeah, at an outdoor festival sound isn't quite as big of an issue as long as you're not standing very near a speaker, because the sound pressure dissipates into the sky, air, open space, etc. Coachella also does a very good job with their sound levels and whatnot.

Still, I started wearing earplugs 4 years ago and found I actually like performances more with the Etymotics in than without these days. It takes some of the harsher edges off, especially in the trebles.

[dorkfish]

i have the ER20s. I used them at My Bloody Valentine. They were nice.

[slurpee]

On a positive note....If you go def, you can still post on the message board.

[TheWatcher]

You never know when the sound levels will be too high. For example, we ended up in front of the speakers for Dresden Dolls, and that is the loudest I have ever experienced. Just one keyboardist/vocalist and one drummer, I think the sound guys cranked it to 11 not knowing that Dresden Dolls is not a quiet band.

My problem with ear plugs is they only seem to block the higher frequencies. Maybe I'll give these ear plugs a try.

[WilliamTaft]

there were reports of people who weren't wearing earplugs during MBV's "noise holocaust" at the end of the set who actually puked from the physical pain.

[magmazing]

there were reports of people who weren't wearing earplugs during MBV's "noise holocaust" at the end of the set who actually puked from the physical pain.

I'm very tempted to sig that... lol

[phantomphlyer560]

at their first show in california on their first ever american tour, people passed out, literally knocked out, by how loud it was.

[NightGoat]

Exposure to both extremes in high-end and low-end can do some pretty fucked up things. I was reading a while ago about a study someone did where they examined a bunch of people's lungs and found that people who were suffering from lung tissue deterioration typically attended hip-hop shows on a regular basis. The theory was that the extreme bass frequencies of the kick drum was actually damaging the lungs. high amounts of low end also can disrupt breathing patterns, which would cause some people to pass out.

[CalmerThanYou]

thanks for all the advice, picking some up for this year

[bobert]

Exposure to both extremes in high-end and low-end can do some pretty fucked up things. I was reading a while ago about a study someone did where they examined a bunch of people's lungs and found that people who were suffering from lung tissue deterioration typically attended hip-hop shows on a regular basis. The theory was that the extreme bass frequencies of the kick drum was actually damaging the lungs. high amounts of low end also can disrupt breathing patterns, which would cause some people to pass out.

Wow - degenerative lung disease? That sounds credible. It appears hip-hop is even more dangerous than initially suspected. They should put that on the cd right next to the parental advisory sticker.

[PrettyRagdoll]

Exposure to both extremes in high-end and low-end can do some pretty fucked up things. I was reading a while ago about a study someone did where they examined a bunch of people's lungs and found that people who were suffering from lung tissue deterioration typically attended hip-hop shows on a regular basis. The theory was that the extreme bass frequencies of the kick drum was actually damaging the lungs. high amounts of low end also can disrupt breathing patterns, which would cause some people to pass out.

I've actually experienced this, it's partly way I HATE bass heavy songs. It's a terrible feeling for you breathing to be externally regulated

[WilliamTaft]

Exposure to both extremes in high-end and low-end can do some pretty fucked up things. I was reading a while ago about a study someone did where they examined a bunch of people's lungs and found that people who were suffering from lung tissue deterioration typically attended hip-hop shows on a regular basis. The theory was that the extreme bass frequencies of the kick drum was actually damaging the lungs. high amounts of low end also can disrupt breathing patterns, which would cause some people to pass out.

you know people also smoke a lot of weed at hip hop shows?

[Monklish]

Or you could do the smarter thing and just stay as far away from My Bloody Valentine's noisy crapfest as possible.

[gaypalmsprings]

ear hair makes for good earplugs

[CalmerThanYou]

Or you could do the smarter thing and just stay as far away from My Bloody Valentine's noisy crapfest as possible.

I'm leaning towards this. Sure, big pioneers, blah blah blah. they sound like shit.

[NightGoat]

you know people also smoke a lot of weed at hip hop shows?

I'm assuming that whatever tests they conducted accounted for smoking habits. I'd think that lung degeneration caused by low frequencies would look quite different from lung degeneration caused by smoking.

Anyway, the message here isn't don't go to loud shows, it's just don't go to loud shows too much. Anyway, I don't think it's something to worry a ton about. But yeah, that pretty much explains why people pass out and whatnot when sounds are really loud. \

[Robototron]

Or you could do the smarter thing and just stay as far away from My Bloody Valentine's noisy crapfest as possible.

lolololol

[WilliamTaft]

may i also note that when i saw MBV in LA, i was at the very front on the rail in front of Bilinda, and the guy next to the guy on my right was this indian dude who had been following their tour every single date in the US. during the holocaust he took his earplugs out and held them in the air as he clenched his teeth and scrunched his eyes REALLLL tight, and just stood there shaking violently with this look on his face that was the combination of 4 faces:
-the face you make when you eat poop on accident
-the face you make during your very first orgasm
-the face you make when getting stabbed in the gut
-the face you make when you fall off a cliff and know you are 10 seconds away from splatting on the ground

i didn't see him afterward, but i wonder what his head felt like for the next few days...

[enjoythesilence]

same idea, different brand:
http://hearos.com/earplugs/products-00211.html

these have saved my ears on several small venue/big sound system occasions. definitely worth the investment over the cheap foam kinds.