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Location: Northern Minnesota | I am a Ovation guitar player of about 35 years. I play 12 string guitars at church. Now, don't laugh -- believe me, I'm "in it" and the guitar is LOUD, especially, louder to me when I sit and play it, as my ear is closer to the soundhole. That soundhole from my old 1658 was less than a foot from my right ear and we play 13-14 songs per Mass, 6-7 of them at full strum/back picking blast. Not to mention the hours and hours of practice. Now, I just bought a Adamas ME 1598-MERB with the carbon fiber top... I still sit when I play, and boys and girls, I'm hear (take note) to tell you there IS a difference in volume off the top of that Adamas. I just bought in-ear monitors for playing at the church since I cannot hear my guitar sounds over the bass player and singers, in the new set up. We plug into a Peavey mixer/amp into floor monitors and big Bose speakers. Even at practice at home, I'm now wearing in-ear protection, especially in my right ear -- the one that is less that a foot away from that blasting Adamas. So, with all sincerity, I beg you to please think about protecting your ears from too good of a thing. Fact: I just used a decibel meter and the decibels (dBA) from the unplugged Adamas at 1' (measured at my ear) was 97. Now, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health that will cause damage in 15 minutes. Think about it.. how many times do YOU sit and play? I've played an untold number of hours without protection and now I have tinnitus symptoms and related damage in my right ear.
Please... don't let it happen to YOU!  |
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Location: Flahdaw | I'm having trouble visualizing your ear less than 1 foot from the sound hole??? THAT would be a very awkward playing style (no offense...) |
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Location: Northern Minnesota | BobG -- First, I sit down on a good chair, put my guitar on my lap and look over at my fretboard, I think like many of us do -- my ear is, OK, 14" from the middle of the strings.. and on my Adamas, the top soundholes are even closer than the middle of the strings...
By the way everyone: the 97dBA was a weighted average. So, at times, it was even LOUDER..
Edited by mnboy 2014-01-23 5:43 PM
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yup... Make sense to me.
Sound-holes are pretty close to my ear.
(lookie... I got HAIR  ) |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | And a BEAUTIFUL guitar, OMA!
I don't have to worry about decibals. I fingerpick softly. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | The problem, Arthur, is that even with camo, we can still see you.
The 12 to 14 inch measurement doesn't surprise me as much as the 97db. I know they can put out the volume, moreso to the listener than the player, but I'm sure I've never strummed mine that hard. My ears are still good and I'll just continue to play softly to myself.
My wife has major hearing loss in her left ear and she thought TSO was too loud, but I thought it was just about right. I thought I read somewhere that 85db was about the max without causing problems.
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Location: Flahdaw | CanterburyStrings - 2014-01-23 7:01 PM
I don't have to worry about decibals. I fingerpick softly.
Ditto for me. Also, my sound holes are pointed away from my ears when I play, although I did once own a guitar that had a sound port on top that DID point up at my face, but I personally only noticed a small difference in projected sound. |
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Location: NW Washington State | I'm having trouble visualizing how you attach a sound level meter to your ear. |
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Location: Northern Minnesota | First, if you don't play a 12 string Ovation, you'll never hear the difference in "brightness" -- NOTHING gives you that stage presents (power, aka, decibels) of an Ovation 12 -- I've played Taylors and Guilds, and they SOUND nice, but when I want to bring up the volume using the pick, they don't have that famous Ovation flair – they sound flat, where the Ovation is BRIGHT. The Adamas 12 is even 'worse' and that was my point -- it is LOUDER. I attack the strings with a Fender 346 style pick (other picks don't give you the ability to attack and still hang on to them) and I like the 'thin' picks, to give me plenty of back picking and strumming power letting the Martin Extra-Light strings 'sing'. Certainly, you can play softly for certain moments, and I do. My Ovation 6 doesn't have that brightness but is perfect for what some call ‘soft picking’. Unless you sit in front of more than eight hundred parishioners, you may never understand what it all means. Old Man Arthur: nice guitar! And except for me not crossing my legs, we are about the same distance from the sound holes… and yes, Mark in Boise, 85db is the OSHA recommendation.. |
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Location: Tennessee | If it's too loud, you're too old.
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | 800 parishioners (good word mn)(I'm from Minn too) would be way too many for me. And watching your every move!! You are a brave soul indeed. But I do believe you were referring to stage presence?? Anyway stay sweet and keep strummin'. I think my Adamas 6 string is a much more gentle creature for hearing loss related to my guitar is not one of my present concerns (did you say something?). |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Welcome MNboy! Don't let these guys scare you away, you are absolutely right about hearing protection. For those that strum or pick in the privacy of their abode - no problem. When two or more are gathered... the competition to be heard IS ON whether realized or not. If you gather and play with any plugged in instruments the battle is on and the casualties are your ears and the singers voices. There are a lot of in ear sound isolating solutions available now and more wil show up. My goal is have excellant hearing in my old age (soon) so I can hear my Kids whimper when i give my Grandkids their first Electric guitar and low wattage tube amp! May the circle be unbroken! Arthur - If ya shaved that moss on yer chin you could snuggle even closer... to the soundhole.
Edited by MWoody 2014-01-24 9:52 AM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | My wife and my father are hearing impaired, not due to loud music, but my hearing is fine. Don't take your hearing for granted. They constantly have to ask me to repeat what I said or what someone else said. On the flip side, they hear themselves and think they are talking loudly when they aren't and have to repeat what they said. Hearing aids may be more of a pain than glasses. Ruining your ears with loud music is as dumb as poking a stick in your eye.
On the rare occasions when I've played for an audience, I've noticed what MWoody said. One guy plays louder, so it goes back and forth until you have to really sing loud to get over the sound of the guitars. No voice and ringing ears the next day, at least.
We've been going to a Songwriters' concert series regularly where they emphasize at the start that the purpose is not to play and sing over people carrying on conversations, like most bars. The audience is all asked at the beginning to listen until a break. Most people catch on, but occasionally someone walks in, gets a drink and starts talking to friends or on the phone. The moderator generally reminds them of the rules after the next song. They use a couple of Bose L1s. I really like it. It's how we should listen to music.
Edited by Mark in Boise 2014-01-24 11:22 AM
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Location: Flahdaw | Knock on wood, my hearing is pretty damn good, even after all these years of playing. Sounds like a great place to play, Mark. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | darkbarguitar - 2014-01-24 10:38 AM
Knock on wood, my hearing is pretty damn good, even after all these years of playing. Sounds like a great place to play, Mark.
Yeah, it is. Way better than smokey bars with obnoxious drunks like the old days. They had to move because the place they played for the past year was being renovated. Fortunately, a hotel bar/disco had just been renovated and was looking for a different vibe from the usual hotel bar. The Idaho Songwriter's group seemed like a good match. Steve Eaton, who wrote a hit for the Carpenters and a few others, started the group and they are starting to pull in some decent outside acts, too. Maybe someday I'll write a song and join them, after I finish a few other things on the list. |
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Location: south east Michigan | "Loud enough" is okay but I HATE "way to loud".
Volume creep too most the fun out of the last time we plugged in some friends.
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I'll abuse by ears for one night of a WHO concert but that's about it.
Come to think of it, that last plugged in thing was WORSE than any WHO concert I've been to.
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Location: Jet City | Eh?
I've never been smart when it comes to ear protection. There's been twice where I really wish i had. The worst was when I was in my late teens. The last show I saw at Keystone Berkley... Motörhead.
It was a very small venue hosting the group widely referred to as "The loudest band in the world". The other show was not that long ago here locally. Sara had to get into the pit and stage-side for Dropkick Murphys. My face was right at ear level and smack dab in front of one of the mains.
I've been trying to remember to bring plugs since, especially to the smaller venues. |
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Sounds great.. too great..
