How loud do you play ?

[jdots]

if i can't hear you from here ,it's not loud enough. One band i was in opened for a really greasy band called " Grand Funk Railroad " power trio of the worst kind......40 four 12 cabs each and the bone heads were using them all,not like Kiss who have fake stacks.A.C. D.C. were loud but perfect

[DeepGreen]

1. As loud as I can get away with !!!!

Unfortunately, when I was younger, my amp always seemed to be
on my left. Now, my left hearing is not doing so well !!!
Keep up the Jams !!!!

:)

[LifeDuringWartime]

2. well, it depends

one of the venues my band plays at is very small, so we have to keep the volume under control.

when we rehearse or play outside though...watch out. my bass amp is 830 watts, and both guitarists have 100 watt amps :freak:

and yes, we all use good hearing protection.

[Ron Green]

3. I used to believe, "If it's too loud, you're too old!"...

but now I know that if it's too loud, you can't play. Seriously, it's good to fill the room with sound, but if you're using the volume of the band rather than the quality and soul of the music to move your audience, you gotta go practice more, IMHO.

[no name no slogan]

4. Seems like there's LOUD and "loud"

LOUD being noisy and hard to hear, and "loud" being of significant volume, but clear as a bell.

Most of my playing these days is of the "loud" variety, and I really need clarity more than anything. I guess that's why I run most stuff through the PA via a direct box, and use a combo amp for monitoring purposes only.

[leftofthedial]

5. Huh? (did someone say something?)

not nearly as loud as the guitar player I work with.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. It Varies

If i'm playing clean, then not terribly loud, although my amp can go clean & loud without getting "barky".

If i'm playing distorted, i want it loud enough for controlled feedback, because i'm an unabashed shredder. But, if my wife is out, the master volume goes up another notch or two. Then, it's just plain screaming!

If i'm recording, i move to a different room and REALLY crank it up, miking the amp close and having another mike in the room. Makes it sound REALLY big.
The Professor

[leftofthedial]

7. all the way to eleven

well that's one louder, isn't it?

[HEAVYHEART]

8. I'm a soloist.

Everytime I play out, I'm constantly being told by the managers/owners to turn it down because my voice is naturally loud. But when I tell the audience that I'm gonna turn the volume down, they always yell, TURN IT UP! hehe..

[Pepperbelly]

9. only as loud as I need to at the moment.

Never any louder.

:D

[PittPoliSci]

10. as loud as the situation permits.

usually not very, but on occassion, look out.

[RedTail Wolf]

11. As loud as it takes to get a little break up in the signal!

I love the sound of any amp better when it reaches the stage where it start to break up a bit. Talking tubes here people. That slight distortion is what I shoot for. Some amps do it at a much lower level. But it's all about the break up to me....


Tone is a constant teaser!

Tone master Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) when asked what makes your tone? As each player tends to have a specific tone....He said "Meat on steel on wood!"

On a related note whose tone do you like and try to emulate?

Me it's gotta be Duane Allman on the humbucking guitars and Stevie Ray on the single colis....this has lead to a continuing search for amps, and pedals, and custom wound pick ups, and of course more guitars! So far I'm getting there! LOL! Always room for improvement!

Good tone to ya!

RedTail Wolf

[opiate69]

12. Depends... Live, in the practice room, or in the studio?

In the practice room, the vocals are the only thing mic'd, so I tend to keep it reasonable. Live, I prefer to have a quiet-ish stage sound so the sound engineer has some room to crank me, and in the studio, I usually just open my Mesa/Boogie Mark III as loud as the engineer will let me. Of course, when I get my Dual Rectifier next month, I'm sure I'll be tempted to just crank it all the time.

[Zorra]

13. As loud as is necessary to make the music dynamically right. There

are few things in this life that have been more frustrating to me than playing with someone (especially in a small venue) who thinks they have to play too loud in order to sound good, giving the singer permanent vocal nodes, overpowering everyone else in the band with incessant wanking, and destroying the credibility of whoever is running sound.

[leftofthedial]

14. tonight apparently reaaly fucking loud.

sheesh!

[Ron Green]

15. Just got home from a gig tonight where the room was all hard surfaces:

Tile floors, big windows overlooking the ocean, pictures and posters on the wall all faced with glass. This was one venue where just the right volume is required - too loud and all definition turns to mush. There's an art to putting just the right amount of sound in a room.

[bullimiami]

16. thats what all of the people are for.

acoustics.

[Ron Green]

17. Yeah, we were able to turn up as the room filled up during the evening.

But I've been in bands that were too loud to begin with, and people didn't stay around to listen. After all, the people who want it painfully loud are usually NOT the ones with money to spend!

:party:

[Bonhomme Richard]

18. Till my ears hurt. n/t