How loud is your band?

[Mjark]

The place we play most often has noise restrictions from the municipality. We were advised to keep it below 100 db. They placed a meter facing the stage. We don't usually have a problem being "close" but last night we were consistently pretty far over. I turned down so far it wasn't comfortable to play if you know what I mean.

 

[beagle]

Metering has been used here in lots of venues for nearly 30 years. Too much noise and the local authorities close them down. You get used to it.

 

[Chiogtr4x]

Anything I've been a part of, say the last 10 years...
( my own R&R/blues trios, duos, Bluegrass group)
...has made an active attempt at playing low-moderate volume gigs, and to be melodic/ entertaining, still with good R&R energy & sound- just quieter ( a good drummer is a huge factor here)

Bar and rock club gigs ( with my aging) have been replaced by earlier/quieter ( better $$!) Brewpub, Cafe, Beer Garden gigs- where folks get good music, but can still talk to each other.

We want to keep good gigs!

 

[schmee]

Yeah, I hate it when the drums and bass overpower the group to the point where I can't hear any guitar nuance standing right in front of my amplifier.
Last night we performed at a "Blueswalk" event which had like 15 bands and solo and Duo stuff in a small town at various venues, including like the bakery, brewery, theatre, health club etc. One ticket to all venues.

Went to see someone we know across the street at a brewery when we were done. Man they were loud, louder than I've heard in a while, but the place was packed and and cheering etc, he was a good showman. Hard to tell how loud it was here as he's out messing with the crowd and the rhythm section has backed off, but he is maybe 25 feet from the stage here.



Sometimes I think I try too hard to not be a loud band and you end up in a funk because you can't get "the tonz", and if you are not having fun, it reflects to the crowd. Seems like I'm always the guy you cant hear well enough because I'm trying to pull back the drummer and bassist. Of course as soon as I crank it, it's always 'the guitarist' people complain about because the guitar frequencies are what gets to the ears!

 

[Mjark]

Actually I think it was the keyboards last night. He usually has his amp pointed across the stage, but last night it was facing out.

 

[Area51]

The place we play most often has noise restrictions from the municipality. We were advised to keep it below 100 db. They placed a meter facing the stage. We don't usually have a problem being "close" but last night we were consistently pretty far over. I turned down so far it wasn't comfortable to play if you know what I mean.

This makes no sense. Granted, 100db (average, not peak) - in the audience/middle of the venue - is too loud for just about any local venue. But putting a meter within a few feet of the band on stage and you'd be playing really low. If you were trying to keep the peaks below 100 at 3-6ft the drummer would hardly be able to play. To be certain, I just got out my db meter and said "hey" loudly, but not that loud, a few inches from the mic and hit 92. I could have easily hit 100.

Sounds like they should limit themselves to unmic'ed acoustic acts.

Still, I think a lot of drummers should have a sound barrier around them for most venues. The last drummer I played with wasn't very consistent with his volume. On high energy songs he would get louder and louder.

 

[burtonfan]

The group I'm playing with currently is fairly quiet. We play classic country, I'm playing a lot of pedal steel and b-bender.

It's all relative I suppose as the last band I was in played tributes to The Who and Led Zeppelin among other powerhouse bands.

Anything would seem quiet after that!

 

[schmee]

I just dont need gigs with meters and problematic staff. Nor do I need gigs at clubs where people don't show up in general regardless of the band. Nor do I need gigs where all they want is Skynrd, AC/DC and Mustang Sally! One of the benefits of NOT trying to make a living with music.

 

[scottser]

I use these for most drumming gigs nowadays. They're harder to bounce so you lose some nuance in your playing but the rest of the band and the audience like them. They take a lot of volume from your cymbals, which are the worst culprits on stage.

 

[memorex]

The persistant ringing in my ears tells me that every band I've been in, except for the acoustic duos, was too loud.

 

[Dismalhead]

I remember playing at a bar and the town had a local ordinance that you couldn't hear music outside at more than 60 dB. Owner spent the whole night with a decibel meter in his hand telling us continually to turn down.

 

[Mjark]

This makes no sense. Granted, 100db (average, not peak) - in the audience/middle of the venue - is too loud for just about any local venue. But putting a meter within a few feet of the band on stage and you'd be playing really low. If you were trying to keep the peaks below 100 at 3-6ft the drummer would hardly be able to play. To be certain, I just got out my db meter and said "hey" loudly, but not that loud, a few inches from the mic and hit 92. I could have easily hit 100.

Sounds like they should limit themselves to unmic'ed acoustic acts.

Still, I think a lot of drummers should have a sound barrier around them for most venues. The last drummer I played with wasn't very consistent with his volume. On high energy songs he would get louder and louder.

Someone broke 100 with his voice last night. It was about 80 when we weren’t playing from the crowd noise.

 

[dougstrum]

Both drummers I play with are jazz guys and have really good control of their volume
We are not a terribly loud band, depending on where we are I get away with a 15w or 25w amp both have single 12" spkrs.
A pair of 10" mains and monitors through a sound craft gigrack is sufficient.

@scottser I have not seen Flix before.
One of our drummers uses hotrods~

 

[scottser]

Both drummers I play with are jazz guys and have really good control of their volume
We are not a terribly loud band, depending on where we are I get away with a 15w or 25w amp both have single 12" spkrs.
A pair of 10" mains and monitors through a sound craft gigrack is sufficient.

@scottser I have not seen Flix before.
One of our drummers uses hotrods~

They're largely the same but the flix have a solid plastic tip like a drum stick. They didn't have a dealer here for a long time so a few years ago I emailed them directly and they sent me a box of them, which I'm still using.

 

[macanoodough]

The place we play most often has noise restrictions from the municipality. We were advised to keep it below 100 db. They placed a meter facing the stage. We don't usually have a problem being "close" but last night we were consistently pretty far over. I turned down so far it wasn't comfortable to play if you know what I mean.

lol, I can't form a band because I play too loud for the musicians in my area, and I'm at barely 100db. People come over and wince, and I never hear from them again. I know exactly what you mean because it's only at about 100 does it become cool. Below 90 is like why bother? I believe 100db is about your natural drum volume unless they're hands are broken, and nothing sounds worse than a low drummer. The last drummer I played with for a while, and the reason my volume is set where it is, was 69. He was an old studio guy who came by 3 or 4 times a week, played for hours, never stopped for stupid stuff, and just played. Haven't found that again since he left the area. But he was the loudest I've played with, and he played a small Yamaha kit. So I agree, there's no reason to play if you can't get, not too loud, but loud enough. 100db is loud if you're in the room (which is exactly what you want), not so much if you're even 30-40ft away. Put some bodies in the way and you cut that distance in half, so I just can't see why that's an issue these days. But it seems to be all over...

 

[scelestus]

The drums often set the bar. I bought this Tama kick and snare kit where the kick is 18"x7". It's amazing. With a fluffy beater it's pretty fat sounding and comes in around 85dB, maybe 90 if you're hammering it.

The snare is louder at 92 and overpowering; if I could find a snare that sticks around 88, the kit would be amazing for low volume gigs. The rest work well with those low volume cymbals.

For reference, this would mix well with my TMDR on 6, but at 1 watt. ONE WATT!

 

[Gene O.]

The only thing I can go by to gage how loud we are is to watch people in the room talking to each other. I don't usually see anyone shouting in another person's ear to talk, so we must not be too loud (even if it sounds loud on stage). We also try to ask friends (musicians or not) "How's the balance?" and "How's the volume?" and rarely has anyone ever said it was too loud.

 

[bottlenecker]

That's up to the venue.

We make a sound with primarily acoustic instruments that have a volume level determined by the player, and the people who designed the instruments more than a century ago.
I set my electric guitar amplifier to match.

Everything is miked and amplified at the venue to suit the venue. My amp usually gets turned up instead of miked, but it doesn't have to.

If accordion is too loud, too bad. We don't play dinner music.

 

[cyclopean]

Why would you ever play a gig where people can talk over you?

 

[tuuur]

How loud?

Much too loud, I think. But I have been out of bands since 2018 and didn’t even go to see bands play. I am out of practice, desensitized