steve-bbb Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 (edited) anybody else suffer from any sort of hearing fatigue where pitch becomes a bit of an issue? ive noticed a few times at gigs over last year or so that after a couple of hours at volume, occasionally with just a small range of notes (often around low E to Low A) that what my brain is interpreting from my ears is not the correct pitch. ive learnt not to adjust tuning as the bass is usually always still in tune but im just hearing a small range of notes slightly off pitch. doesnt always happen with volume either - recently i acquired a (new) bass and swapped the bridge back over for the original - and have spent 3-4 weeks chasing the intonation around to get the pesky thing set up. i thought i had it cracked last weekend then took it out and gigged it blaming the heat and humidity for the tuning problems but closer inspection showed it to be the intonation. yesterday i sat down quietly got the tuner and allen key out and did it all absolutley spot on in about ten minutes. whats that all about? anybody else suffer from variable hearing? maybe is just an age thing Edited August 5, 2013 by steve-bbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Pardon? ........Well someone had to say it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Not pitch but i do find the top end goes by the last set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveK Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 (edited) You're talking about two different things here. "A couple of hours at volume" is guaranteed to play havoc with your ears and brain, it can be quite exhausting and is something that everyone will suffer from in various degrees. Your second problem is also common - Hearing the subtlest discrepancy in tuning, adjusting intonation accurately can be quite tricky, even for those with years of experience. EDIT: BTW there's nowt wrong with using a tuner. Edited August 5, 2013 by SteveK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I find by the end of some particularly loud gigs, my hearing is shot and what started out as a lovely fat deep tone has degenerated into a horrible honky middy, trebbly racket with no bottom end. Its a bit disconcerting cos i think its the amp or cabs but it's not, its my ears have fatigue. I've tried wearing AC plugs (which i use for rehersals and are great BTW) but for gigs, the excitement and dynamics of loud music get lost and I can't stand using them. The soloution? Everybody turn down of course but the guitarist is an idiot and doesn't want to loose that "sweet" spot at a particular volume...."sigh".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 We all wear ear plugs though don't we? It's 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbn4001 Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I know what people mean by losing excitement/dynamics. However, I partly damaged my hearing - I got something called hyperacusis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperacusis .. so i have intolerance to high frequencies amongst other things. This was because I exposed myself to ridiculously loud volume for too long in one stretch. If I could turn back the clock, I would've happily worn ear plugs at loud gigs and practises so that I could experience listening to high end detail now. Instead, I have to turn treble down to 0 on mp3 players, headphones, speakers, otherwise I get headaches. Bottom line: wear ear protection otherwise you may never be able to experience dynamics and exciting music because you'll have damaged your hearing. These days.. I play in much quieter bands and carry ER25 earplugs with me at all times in case I encounter any continuous loud noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 Not just after loud gigs, but after a few hours in the studio, even at relatively low volume, my sense of pitch can go. I'll listen back later to what I played on fretless or DB - and which sounded OK at the time - to find I was really sharp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 I commend to your attention the worthy tome 'Musicophilia' by Oliver Sacks. Subtitled 'Tales of Music and the Brain', it deals with quite a few phenomena like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Our regular drummer insists on using a very loud snare. It sounds great but we wish it was quieter and that blows the volume. I suffer from that more than any variance in hearing perception. When the volume winds up, I'll use plugs but I also think it a tad ignorant for the band to HAVE to use plugs when the unsuspecting audience doesn't. I'll take plugs when I go to watch bands as a matter of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 [quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1375728766' post='2164885'] I find by the end of some particularly loud gigs, my hearing is shot and what started out as a lovely fat deep tone has degenerated into a horrible honky middy, trebbly racket with no bottom end. Its a bit disconcerting cos i think its the amp or cabs but it's not, its my ears have fatigue. I've tried wearing AC plugs (which i use for rehersals and are great BTW) but for gigs, the excitement and dynamics of loud music get lost and I can't stand using them. The soloution? Everybody turn down of course but the guitarist is an idiot and doesn't want to loose that "sweet" spot at a particular volume...."sigh".... [/quote] damage your hearing enough and you'll lose "the excitement and dynamics" of live music completely. Wear ear protection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Japhet Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 I have a friend who was in the US Airforce on helicopters for years. He has a hearing condition brought on by continual exposure to low frequencies. The main symptom is an inability to separate sounds; e.g. if he is on the phone and somebody in the room asks him a question at the same time he is unable to understand either conversation. Sound familiar? I know the description fits me to a tee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerstodge Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 [quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1375728766' post='2164885'] I find by the end of some particularly loud gigs, my hearing is shot and what started out as a lovely fat deep tone has degenerated into a horrible honky middy, trebbly racket with no bottom end. Its a bit disconcerting cos i think its the amp or cabs but it's not, its my ears have fatigue. I've tried wearing AC plugs (which i use for rehersals and are great BTW) but for gigs, the excitement and dynamics of loud music get lost and I can't stand using them. The soloution? Everybody turn down of course but the guitarist is an idiot and doesn't want to loose that "sweet" spot at a particular volume...."sigh".... [/quote]don't worry about dynamics/excitement, put the ear plugs in. Tinnitus is poxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) Recently got hearing aids on the NHS - great service. My loss was severe above 2kHz. As recommended above I would also advise to protect your hearing. Keep the on stage sound at a comfortable level. Buy a pair of plugs & get into the habit of using them. Edited August 7, 2013 by grandad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPJ Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1375776060' post='2165307'] When the volume winds up, I'll use plugs but I also think it a tad ignorant for the band to HAVE to use plugs when the unsuspecting audience doesn't. [/quote] Most gigs I'm standing next to or in front of a Marshall 100w half stack with an array of cymbals at ear height immediately to my left. That contributes to a local high volume environment. Out front, the level can be 10db or more lower (I've checked!) and certainly easier on the ears. I wear ACS Pro-17's because I value what remains of my hearing. If the audience values their's, they'll do the same (we are a rock band, what do the expect - bedroom levels?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 I have to take breaks when in the studio to avoid this. When playing with, and watching most bands I use ear protection, and I think you all should. I do play with a folk band who are quite quiet and for that I rarely wear ear protection - only when we play a venue where they have the monitors very loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted August 8, 2013 Share Posted August 8, 2013 I'm glad it's not just me. I mainly play fretless so that's an additional issue - the notes sound not just a little out but seem to have no bearing whatsoever to the guitar. I finish up looking at my fingers and the guitarists's fingers to make sure that I'm playing the right notes. Doesn't always happen but the times it does are when we're most of the way through a two hour practice where we've just done song after song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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