Loudness when playing at home

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peterc52

peterc52

Well-known member
How do you folks play your amps? (not at band practice)

How loud? And in how big a room?

Do you use ear plugs at home?

I mainly play mine at low volume but sometimes crank them. My ears can't stand cranking them all the time. I'm getting tinnitus faster now.

:)
 
we have 4 kids. i use headphones with my helix when the kiddos are asleep. doesn't have to be loud to practice and write riffs at home. we do play loud at weekly band practices though.
 
Full band volume with foam earplugs in through my Marshalls and 4x12. I work from home and do most of playing before Mrs. Lee gets home from work. Otherwise I do a lot of unplugged playing on the couch at night.
 
Loud talking volume. Enough to never hear the acoustic sound of the strings or the sound of me stepping on pedals while I play.
 
Marykelly":1fdr2702 said:
Loud talking volume. Enough to never hear the acoustic sound of the strings or the sound of me stepping on pedals while I play.
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This.

Occasionally crank it for some gut-punchin' thump. :rock:
 
I play a little above bedroom volume through four 4x12’s. If I play louder my wife ends up folding down into the basement and closing my music room door. lol. She doesn’t complain though since I’ve player forever.
 
nowhere near gig volume. Quiet enough that I can close the door and my wife and daughter can still watch tv.
 
After 10:00 pm I can crank it up.

When I don't have to work the next day, I go to my music room (spare bedroom about 12X15) that has a small PA, and fire up one of two 100 watt tube heads or one 50 watt tube head. Two Marshall 4x12's pick from. Greenies or V30's.

Been looking into putting up some type of sound absorbing panels or blankets just to see if cutting down some bouncing frequencies improves the sound at all. The ceiling is probably just over 10' high.
 
When I was single and in a band, I practiced at band practice volume with ear plugs in. Overkill, sure, but I wanted to feel the guitar react the same way and with the same sound that I was going to have on stage. I feel that it helped me become a better live player. Now, I don't have a band, I have kids, so I practice at speaking volume.
 
I have my family at home so usually I am playing at a lower volume or running it through the UA OX and into headphones or my monitors. I don't need to break any glass. Don't get me wrong, I love playing a loud amp but with a young family, it is a challenge. This is what my rehearsals and gigs are for.
 
Two 100 watt half stacks running simultaneously. Splawn and Soldano. I have a rambler and the main part of the basement is open...22x22 I have a full drumset and P.A down there along with a buddies bass rig...Very loud but I wear hearing protection all the time....at home at work in the garage etc but I like to feel the sound.....
 
I play loud... 2 wizards (and a third incoming) - it's kind of required. lol Even my Herbert, which is a decent low volume amp sounds a lot better with some volume. My room is about 400 square feet, so its a decent size where I don't have to stand in the direct line of fire.
 
Fairly quiet in the AM, before I login to start work. Later after I'm alone in the house I usually crank the Wizard for a minute or two, and I don't stand in the same place for long. By cranking I mean 2.5-3, the room isn't big enough to handle any more. But that level is as loud as any amp I've owned at max, with the exception of a Mesa Coli. At 4 the MCI is as loud as the Mesa Coli. Seriously. The room is a medium sized spare bedroom.
 
I had a completely different thought on the subject


:rock:
I use amps into a Suhr Reactive Load, I to Moore Radar and studio monitors. Sounds great at any volume.
 
From the time I was in high school in the 80s till' about 8 years ago, I'd always have a loud amp laying around and would be at band practice at a decent volume and at home at lower volume but still loud enough to have the fam yelling at me. LOL.

These days I don't gig anymore and have an Axe-Fx II so can play at a very low volume and still sounds killer. If I ever got together with friends to jam or in a band again, I'd probably get a combo or something.
 
stratjacket":1dcxbr25 said:
I had a completely different thought on the subject
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I rarely pick up a guitar and don't play some Loudness song, usually Crazy Doctor and Clockwork Toy.
 
Loud enough to make the amp sound good, but not make my ears buzz anymore than they already do. Switched to lower wattage amps. I do see a variance in loudness compared to mfg stated wattage, how's that work?
 
chadprsman":14myml83 said:
I do see a variance in loudness compared to mfg stated wattage, how's that work?
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One of my 100w Marshall clones puts out 136w. The trannies are Merrens.
 
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