I almost always wear earplugs - Rock'n'Roll Hearos to be exact.
They're reusable, come in a nifty little holder thing, and don't
block out too much of the important stuff. You can get 'em at
musician stores like Sam Ash or Guitar Center, or even at some
university campus stores.... For work in labs? I haven't figure
that out yet.
I've worked soundboards for little things at my university, and
I've found that in comparison almost every "professional" show I've
ever been to has had idiots on their boards. They always have far
too much high end hiss that really isn't necessary to enjoy music -
unless you've already burnt out your ears so much that you can't hear
that frequency without it being really prominent. Of course, I have
extremely sensitive ears, since I've always been wearing earplugs to
shows.
The _only_ exception to this which I can remember is the Plug set
at the El Rey, which sounded beautiful with earplugs and then
gobstoppingly breathy and beautiful without. But as Betke himself is
so into sound levels for mastering, it would make sense.
Yetch - I'd never even imagine using wax plugs at a show. Even the
regular, skin colored Hearos end up getting all warm and a bit mushy
(the Rock'n'Roll ones don't so much, but are a hideous "I'm a candy
raver" shade of orange) when you're dancing and sweaty. You all _do_
dance to IDM, don't you? 8^)
Awaiting new BoC album,
Ryan
p.s. I'm pretty adamant about earplugs - I'm starting up a shoegazer
band with a friend of mine, and I'm already thinking about selling
Hearos at cost at our shows.
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