How loud do you like it?

[pickle]

so, harsh noise, or noise, or hnw or whatever you prefer. clipped sounds. how loud do you like em? always maxed out, at ear-destroying levels? no different from how you ingest other sorts of sonics?

and further, regardless of preference, how have you generally received it? for instance at live venues and other situations where your control over the ear-splittingness is not absolute?

have you ever felt, either at the moment or later and possibly with some remorse, that the shit was simply too damn loud?

stories are nice, too.

[RUBBISH]

Loud wanna hear it loud
Right between the eyes
Loud wanna hear it loud
Don't want no compromise
I love it loud

One of the few kiss songs I like...
I have been waiting to post those lytics since I saw this post but was holding off...
domo

I would like it to be so loud it hurts sometimes but thate not smart or feasible for me.

Some Swedish guy was so loud at a fest 10 or so years ago it hurt my chest and I could feel it in my throat...
do not recall his name.

It doesnt have to be loud.

[FAP]

[trashload2]

When I'm at home I like it loud but not ear splitting loud and I can't anyways cause there is people all around me here often, so especially later at night I need to control my volume as hard as that is because once you get used to being enveloped in the noise it feels so good which is why I say harsh noise is so addictive, it's like auditory drugs. My mind will just start wandering, there's nothing to attach to.

Live though I expect ear splitting levels from noise or metal in general. It wouldn't be complete without it being like that because live music being that loud gives you a whole different experience, you'll hear and feel things in ways you couldn't otherwise because of the overwhelming clarity and amplification of it all through such a huge sound system. I've been a show with a normal rock band before that was so loud that I actually thought they were some noise rock band but it was just the difference between listening to some recording at home and live with a lot more power. A proper set up and loudness makes all the difference.

[NoiseWiki]

have you ever felt, either at the moment or later and possibly with some remorse, that the shit was simply too damn loud?

The first time I saw Merzbow was in a bar in Chicago in the mid nineties and it was too damn loud and I didn't have ear plugs.

For a long time though as a performer myself having my sets be loud enough has been an issue although it's mostly been about bass which requires alot more PA. Anyway my PA stopped growing at around forteen 15 inch speakers, two horns and plenty of amplification to go with.

Only two horns you say? Well it takes slot more power to drive lower frequencies which is why I have so many 15" speakers. It's the higher frequencies that do the hearing damage and you don't need nearly as much power to be heard.

So this setup is pretty versatile and is sufficiently loud in out door spaces. I was about to play at this show in 29 palms when it started to rain so we quickly dragged all my sit into the bar. I went ahead and played using the full power of my PA.. it was pretty insane! dizzy

[bigspider]

Listening to live harsh noise, crazy loud. The Rita was one of the loudest sets I've ever heard. I wore ear plugs and still felt completely enveloped in volume. I do wear ear plugs during most noise sets now. I didn't when I was younger, but eventually had too many experiences where I really hurt my ears.

When a friend of mine plays noise, he always cranks his mids and finds a frequency that is just excruciating.

In the car or at home, I listen at moderate levels.

My own sets depend on the space. If I'm checking levels and the loudness sounds weird, or the space is small to begin with, or my set just doesn't need to be that loud to make an impression, I'll kind of just figure it out on the mixer. Some sets or spaces are better when they are as loud as possible.

[The Mysterious Creep]

After reading the horrific story of Jason DiEmillo of drone/noise/ambient guitar project The Azusa Plane (for those who haven't heard the story, he suffered from Hyperacusis brought on by years of extreme volume in live performances, causing ordinary sounds to become painfully loud to him. After years of living in agony, unable to make music or function in the noisiness of daily life, he killed himself in 2006), I've definitely become even more conscious of high volumes than I was. I try to keep my noise at a level that's loud enough to hear acoustic phenomena and sonic details, but still reasonable. My sound pressure meter (phone app, hopefully accurate) suggests my amp caps out at about 80 db with the settings I use, which is a pretty reasonable 8 hour safe exposure time. With headphones, I try to keep them as low I can while still being able to hear clearly. I never go past the "danger threshold" where the device will ask if you want it that loud unless it's by accident. For live performance, I've grown used to wearing ear plugs and prefer it being loud with them to quiet enough that I don't need them.

[WhiteWarlock]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/joycecohen/noi ... es-torture

[PortiaPorcupineFan]

After reading the horrific story of Jason DiEmillo of drone/noise/ambient guitar project The Azusa Plane (for those who haven't heard the story, he suffered from Hyperacusis brought on by years of extreme volume in live performances, causing ordinary sounds to become painfully loud to him. After years of living in agony, unable to make music or function in the noisiness of daily life, he killed himself in 2006), I've definitely become even more conscious of high volumes than I was. I try to keep my noise at a level that's loud enough to hear acoustic phenomena and sonic details, but still reasonable. My sound pressure meter (phone app, hopefully accurate) suggests my amp caps out at about 80 db with the settings I use, which is a pretty reasonable 8 hour safe exposure time. With headphones, I try to keep them as low I can while still being able to hear clearly. I never go past the "danger threshold" where the device will ask if you want it that loud unless it's by accident. For live performance, I've grown used to wearing ear plugs and prefer it being loud with them to quiet enough that I don't need them.

This! This! This!

Protect your ears!

Yeah, some dimwits will probably call you a pussy or something stupid like that. But, those are the ones who will be deaf by the time that they are 50.