OFF: Earplugs revisited

Paul Mather paul at CSGRAD.CS.VT.EDU
Tue Feb 25 20:40:50 EST 1997


Well, the Metallica here gig looms large (it's tomorrow), so I thought I'd
ask again about earplugs.  All I managed to find locally were those foam
ones, at a local chemist.  They stocked several flavours, the main
difference being in the decibel rating, which was between about 18 and 29.

Does anyone know what frequency this is measured at?  (I know that the
attenuation is not flat for foam earplugs, i.e. they cut out more sound at
higher frequencies.)  So what rating do folks use?  The various brands on
offer seemed to indicate that the maximum rating was 30.  I'm wondering if
getting something near the high end of the spectrum will be too excessive
in terms of sound dampening.  Or should I be trying for as much as
possible?  I don't know.  I've never worn earplugs to a gig before, so I
don't know how they mutate the sound.  If anyone can suggest a rating they
know will sound good, feel free to let me know.

Of course, the real solution to this problem is to find out what type of
earplugs the sound engineer will be wearing, and to use the same brand and
model. In theory, the gig will sound *perfect*. :-)

Btw, last time this topic cropped up, someone mentioned high-priced,
tailor-made earplugs---"musicians earplugs."  Well, I did a bit of
investigating about these, and the big deal about them is the fact that
they have a flat attenuation curve, i.e. they cut the sound by the same
amount across the audible frequency spectrum (unlike regular foam earplugs
which cut it more at higher frequencies).  I guess we could call them
"audiophile earplugs." :-)

Cheers,

Paul.

obCD: Frank Zappa, _You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore_



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