drochau Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I was a DM in 2004 with madison and when I got home from Tour my ears rang for a good 2 weeks. Which one were you? I own a dyno shop and we have a decibel meter that records all dB's and the corresponding times for all work done on the dyno. I can say with confidence, that I have NEVER heard a drum and bugle corps sustain anything CLOSE to 110 db's from the stands. Period. The ONLY circumstance that I could see dB's reaching that level are short impacts from the ensemble performed in perfect unison, and such impacts would not be long enough in duration to have lasting ear damage. I think the concern should really be for the battery folk, as they sustain 90ish (low 90s) all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Plays Music Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 (edited) I can say with certanty that me and my friend in The Herd of Thunder (College Band) did give a group of mellos temerary hearing damage durring warm up, they were 15 feet in front of us durring our chords and he had a spliting pain in their ears. they couldn't hear right for an hour after that. btw we play lower split bartione Edited May 17, 2006 by Max Plays Music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willard Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Yeah, I can understand that. Again, it's just my style. And if he DID know me personally, he would know that I'm a little on the...oh...EXPRESSIVE side. :P My attempts to sometimes pour that personality out on a message forum may sometimes be easily misunderstood. I don't mean it to be a jerk. Leland, if you happen to turn your blocker off, I apologize. :) If I may interject: I know Torn8o personally, and he gets really LOUD and PASSIONATE during discussions. If you were talking with him face-to-face, you can appreciate this. However, on a text-based forum, he _does_ come across as slightly obnoxious. He doesn't mean it, though... He's really a nice guy. He has been taking db readings of our hornline during rehearsals. We're putting up some decent numbers. I'll leave it to Torn8o to share them though... (psst - brag on the lead baris!) Later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted May 21, 2006 Author Share Posted May 21, 2006 (edited) He has been taking db readings of our hornline during rehearsals. We're putting up some decent numbers. I'll leave it to Torn8o to share them though... (psst - brag on the lead baris!) - The highest reading the hornline has reached indoors was 114Dbs. This was in a VERY VERY SMALL high school cafeteria. - The highest reading outdoors while standing right in front of the brass arc has been 107DBs. - The highest reading while the corps is on the field doing music AND drill has been 99DBs (and if we were in a full sized stadium, it would be even less than that). It's important to understand that DB readings are not proportional. In other words, 110 DBs is about twice the volume of 100DBs. Then 115 DBs is TWICE that of 110. So anyone claiming to be above 120. Well...I've made my point clear on that. :P Oh, yeah. "Lead baritones". Okay. Well, while standing RIGHT in front of the lead baritones in the cafeteria recently, they managed to BRIEFLY (VERY briefly) hit 110DBs. Now, I was standing nearly on top of them when they did it but DANG!!!!!!!!!!! Edited May 21, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torn8o Posted May 21, 2006 Author Share Posted May 21, 2006 (edited) Which one were you?I own a dyno shop and we have a decibel meter that records all dB's and the corresponding times for all work done on the dyno. I can say with confidence, that I have NEVER heard a drum and bugle corps sustain anything CLOSE to 110 db's from the stands. Period. The ONLY circumstance that I could see dB's reaching that level are short impacts from the ensemble performed in perfect unison, and such impacts would not be long enough in duration to have lasting ear damage. I think the concern should really be for the battery folk, as they sustain 90ish (low 90s) all day long. Another person who definitely knows what they are talking about. Think of it this way folks, Metallica concerts (or any other rock concerts) are not supposed to peak above 110DBs according to most hall regulations. So if you have been to a Metallica concert, you know what 110 is. PLENTY of people are walking away with ear damage. So, even if ears ARE being damaged by drum corps and marching bands, it's still most likely happening under 110DBs. In fact, according to a book I'm reading on sound right this very second, considerable hearing damage can occur at anything sustained over 95DBs for more than 5 minutes solid. Now, might there be exceptions? I think so. I would love to stand in front of the Renegades with a DB meter. I can't imagine at least SOME of their moments not being above 110DBs. I'd bet they do make it passed that at times. So, I MMMAY go to bat with the above poster on that one. :) Might we at least be able to consider the possibility of 112 on the intro of their 04 show? UGH! I know. Even as loud as the Renegades are, it's still a stretch, isn't it? :) 2 DBs louder than Metallica? Yikes, maybe not. Tell you what, I'll just stick with that assumption for now and then get back to you when I bring mine to the DCA championships in September. :) Edited May 21, 2006 by torn8o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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