Technique at higher volumes

Yeah, sounds about right. At higher volumes you definitely hear more and hear it different. A suspect technique will also sound a lot worse with the volume ramped up to 11.

Best,

A :-)

Yes, when the volume gets louder, your playing ability is more easily detected. The thing is if your good you sound better on high volume, if your bad you sound worse.

I definitely think you have to play differently.

In most cases, playign at low volumes is actually bad for you learning if you intend ideally to be playign at high volume in the future.

Often you'll notice that the dynamics of how you play sound odd. ie. you may not pick evenly and so some notes will be quieter or perhaps even "deader" (?) and this is more noticable at high volume.

Often you'll notice that the dynamics of how you play sound odd. ie. you may not pick evenly and so some notes will be quieter or perhaps even "deader" (?) and this is more noticable at high volume.

That's exactly what I felt. The dynamics were very different. The notes died earlier, especially on bends. I think it might be that my perceived difference in loudness between a note firmly held on the fret and slightly less firmly held is much bigger at higher volume...

Oh yeah, playing loud is way different from playing at bedroom levels. I love to play just as loud as I can. You do have to learn to control the sounds coming from your guitar much better. But you also get lots of cool sounds playing loud you can never get playing quiet like great feedback, and the string noises you talked about.

There is just something awesome about a guitar amp cranked up. It has an energy, your guitar comes alive. If you really get it up loud enough the notes will not die off, they will sustain into feedback. This is the way I love it. And lots of great guitarists play like this. Stevie Ray Vaughn used to play at ear-splitting volume, so did Hendrix.

Just like anything else, you have to practice at loud volume to get good at it. But once you do, it is very addicting. :twisted:

I know it's not good to play so loud, but like my little brother used to say:

IT'S ROCK AND ROLL, IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE LOUD :wink:

There's nothing like playing at a good (loud) stage volume. Not too loud, but enough so it feels like you're immersed in sound; like sound is the water in a big pool and you're standing at the bottom. Everything you play, every way you turn controls the sound.

Yah, it IS addicting! :)

It is definately one of the best feelings in the world. I don't really like attentuators because when I can use one I feel like I should be. Its so damn fun not to tho!

when playing loud your volume knob is your essential tool.
you can use it to ride that awesome edge of feedback and killer tone.

sometimes just bringing your finger near a string sets off a sonic blast.

yes, quite different than low vol playing.

One important thing -

How do the players on the stage take so much volume ?

I mean they are playing so loud that it has to be heard all over the arena, so won't it hurt their ears...

Won't playing loud and especially those who do on stage, run a risk of gradual hear loss ?

One important thing -

How do the players on the stage take so much volume ?

I mean they are playing so loud that it has to be heard all over the arena, so won't it hurt their ears...

Won't playing loud and especially those who do on stage, run a risk of gradual hear loss ?
They're generally to the side and/or below the areas where the sound is most intense. Think of the sound coming out of the speakers as like light coming out of a torch. If you stand directly in front of the torch, the light is very bright, but if you stand a little further to the side it's not so intense. Arena gigs normally have 'repeaters' too, so it's not the speakers at the front that the people at the back hear - which means they don't have to be as loud.

Even so, they still do risk damage to their hearing. Occupational hazzard, I'm afraid. :(

It is advisable to wear some form of hearing protection at ear splitting volume levels. Those little foam thingies you put in your ear called earplugs.

Yah, by 'loud' it isn't meant to be ear-splitting--like a 100 watt Marshall turned all the way up, with eight 12" speakers all trying to jump out of the cabinets. A good stage volume is roughly about as loud as you can yell (maybe a tad more), whereas a bedroom practice volume is like speaking in a normal conversational tone of voice. At a good stage volume, the speakers are starting to 'talk', meaning they're not just sitting there radiating the sound with little or no movement--sorta just 'humming.' It's where you can sometimes see them moving, where they're in their optimum operating levels and start to contribute their own sound to the overall color of the amp/speaker/guitar/effects sound.

But...it's not really that loud.

Earplugs are great. I've used them for years, but mostly to protect myself from the (of all things) the drummer's cymbals--especially that Pang (or China Boy) if he has one. That'll make your eyeballs move sideways :(

The other good use I've found for earplugs, is lessening the apparent level of my own playing compared to the rest of the band, especially when it's a weird stage setup or if we're playing pretty loud. If I'm too loud in my own ears it makes me self conscious of what I'm playing, and that makes me think too much so I don't make mistaakes, and that makes me actually make more mistakes. The earplugs help that way. In other words, if I'm improvising a line or solo, I'm listening 'inwardly' to what the next note could be, hearing it in my head. And if what's coming into my ears is way louder than that, it throws me off. I actually play softer than most guys, but if there's a good sound system with someone who knows what they're doing with the mix, it's not a problem.

I still like to have it at that good 'yelling' volume though--it's just so great to be like 20-30 feet away from your stack, step on the wah, hit a chord and just turn your body slightly to catch a nice feedback. I'm not a surfer, but I've heard it described as being right on the edge of a big wave; you can kick out or ride it in: either way it's a thrill.

To the original post: sometimes it's good to practice with one of those headphone amp things they have for guitar, like the RokIt (or whatever it's called). But don't use any of the effects; just electric guitar straight into the headphones. That will really show you what needs to be practiced--I can tell you. I use mine sometimes with my lap steel, and...whoa...intonation-intonation-intonation!

Best regards.

To the original post: sometimes it's good to practice with one of those headphone amp things they have for guitar, like the RokIt (or whatever it's called). But don't use any of the effects; just electric guitar straight into the headphones. That will really show you what needs to be practiced--I can tell you. I use mine sometimes with my lap steel, and...whoa...intonation-intonation-intonation!

Best regards.

Thanks for that tip .. I was thinking "I can't really practice at yelling volumes at night, I get to do it only once in a long while" :-)

Wes, Demo (what's your real name by the way?) and everyone else who'd played live a lot,

Going with the comment on "if you're good you're better and if you're bad you're worse" when it comes to volume, do you guys find somethings are easier to play with a loud amp? I've cranked my DSL up a few times, and on speed picking runs, for example,, which I have spend a long time (probably too long) developing and pefecting my technique and muting for, I notice that I don't have to work half as hard with the volume up a decent level; you relax and get that wonderful feeling that happens (rarely) when everything is lined up pefectly and the sucker almost plays itself :)

I haven't experimented that much with feedback, but that whole "riding the wave thing" does sound like fun. unfortunately, I just relocated and now have four roomates, so maybe this weekend I can give it a shot.

Best,
Matt