VH1 Metal Moments

[midnight armadillo]

Has anyone else caught any of this series this week? It's very funny, not at all like their usual overblown garbage.

Last night they mentioned the band Man O' War setting a record by playing at 160 decibels...ouch. Holy deafness, Batman.

[THUNDER HANDS]

1. just out of curiosity

what decibel level do most bands play at?

[ProfessorGAC]

2. 120dB is REALLY LOUD!

If you hit, 130 - 135dB, that's is actually ear numbing. When my band played, the soundman tried to keep the meter below 100dB. There were probably peaks to 105 or so, but he tried to keep it down in the mid to high 90's. And nobody ever told us to turn up!

In industrial environments, one is not allowed to work in an area for more than 5 minutes without ear protection if decibel levels exceed 90! 5 Minutes at 90dB! Every 8dB is twice the sound pressure, so 160dB is 128 times more sound pressure than 90dB.

The sound of a jet aircraft, at takeoff, from a point on the runway just below the plane is between 160 - 165dB, so that should give you some frame of reference.

The Professor

Edited to correct typo.

[midnight armadillo]

3. Not that loud!

The typical example of a decibel scale:

Threshold of Hearing (TOH) 0 dB

Rustling Leaves 10 dB

Whisper 20 dB

Normal Conversation 60 dB

Busy Street Traffic 70 dB

Vacuum Cleaner 80 dB

Large Orchestra 98 dB

Walkman at Maximum Level 100 dB

Front Rows of Rock Concert 110 dB

Threshold of Pain 130 dB

Military Jet Takeoff 140 dB