Typical Concert dB Level

[LukeYoung]

110-120db a normal concert.

 

[Greg Clarke]

No, it's not. I really wish people would stop using those figures.

 

[LukeYoung]

No, it's not. I really wish people would stop using those figures.

It's common knowledge to anyone who has looked into it

What do you mean not really? Normal traffic, vacuum and lawn mower are around 90db

Pretty sure a rock concert is well over that.

Any chart will show you if you look it up too.


This is just one of many sources:

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/harmful-noise-levels-topic-overview

 

[Greg Clarke]

Do you attend concerts? Are you a professional musician?

Both of the above apply to me and I'm telling you the 110-120 figure is an exaggeration. The only place it would be that volume is an arena loctated at the front of the stage.

 

[Ed209]

It's common knowledge to anyone who has looked into it

What do you mean not really? Normal traffic, vacuum and lawn mower are around 90db

Pretty sure a rock concert is well over that.

Any chart will show you if you look it up too.


This is just one of many sources:

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/harmful-noise-levels-topic-overview

Those figures are on the negative side Luke. Or at least they are taking their averages from some of the highest levels recorded. I'm not saying they don't reach those levels, they absolutely can, but it's much more on the unlikely side. My vacuum comes in at 82db as a side note, but you're right lawn mowers and vacuums can reach 90db.

You're using the lawn mower as a comparison to a rock concert, but the difference between 90db and 120db is staggering. If you take into account the actual energy difference, then we're talking 1024 times more powerful. This gives a perception to the human ear as being around 8-32 times louder, depending how good your hearing is.

Pub bands are around 100db if you're near the front. More like 90db-95db if you're nearer the back. Arenas and halls vary a lot, but I'd say if it's hitting 115db or more, then it's a louder than average gig. Just look at the loudest recorded gigs in history for comparison:

http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/10-Loudest-Rock-Bands.aspx

Then bear in mind that the metal band slipknot are around 109db.

 

[linearb]

Obviously it depends a lot on the concert so maybe trying to find a "general rule" is a waste of time -- the general rule for indie rock bands at midsized venues might be 100, and the general rule for dubstep shows in concrete basements might be a lot more.

110 is about exactly as loud as my (fairly underpowered) little motorcycle is at full rev, and I'm pretty confident that a lot of the concerts I went to over the years were a bit louder than that. 120 sounds pretty extreme, though I suspect the show which ultimately really fucked me up probably peaked around there. That wasn't an arena venue by a long shot, but it was a concrete box with 1000+ w speaker stacks piled high on either side of the stage. Lunacy.

 

[LukeYoung]

It does depend on surroundings, venues and equipment, in a small pub loud as hell where you have to yell and still can't hear people.. that's how I got my T.

But yeah 110db is the averaged benchmark.

Obviously it is subject to change, higher or lower depending on other factors.

 

[DT_N_DA_CLUB]

Fun read here on the loudest bands http://www.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/10-Loudest-Rock-Bands.aspx

 

[LukeYoung]

But those loudest bands in a smaller enclosed venue.. sound waves have nowhere else to go.

Just depends really, those are very popular bands, the venues would be huge and yet they still clocked 120-130db

 

[Ed209]

Obviously it depends a lot on the concert so maybe trying to find a "general rule" is a waste of time -- the general rule for indie rock bands at midsized venues might be 100, and the general rule for dubstep shows in concrete basements might be a lot more.

110 is about exactly as loud as my (fairly underpowered) little motorcycle is at full rev, and I'm pretty confident that a lot of the concerts I went to over the years were a bit louder than that. 120 sounds pretty extreme, though I suspect the show which ultimately really fucked me up probably peaked around there. That wasn't an arena venue by a long shot, but it was a concrete box with 1000+ w speaker stacks piled high on either side of the stage. Lunacy.

There's a ton of variables. What are the acoustics in the venue like; is the venue solid brick, with no dampening such as carpets and curtains? (Such as the gig that tipped my ears over the edge).

Who's the band? Some are louder than others. Where are the speakers located? Who's engineering? Etc etc.

There's just no way of saying a gig will be X db. I've taken a meter with me and measured various bands and venues, so have an idea of averages. Whilst training as a sound engineer, I also had to monitor peak outputs using a SPL meter, so again, I have a good understanding.

When people blanket post concerts as being 120db plus, for example, it's highly misleading. I'm not advising people to go to concerts, but I will say that you need to use your own judgement if you're thinking of doing so. Take a meter and measure the levels yourself; never assume anything. If it's beyond what you're comfortable with then leave.

 

[Ed209]

The loudest gigs I've experienced have always been in halls. Arena gigs have always been a tad quieter from my experience, but this is not a universal rule. Either can be louder.

 

[Ed209]

But those loudest bands in a smaller enclosed venue.. sound waves have nowhere else to go.

Just depends really, those are very popular bands, the venues would be huge and yet they still clocked 120-130db

Smaller sized venues such as clubs and pubs tend to be the quietest. Halls, which are in the middle are usually the loudest from my experience. They hit that perfect middle ground where the engineers use bigger rigs, and crank up the volume more. The size of the room means you get more reflections.

Arenas, are also really loud, but not usually as loud as the halls (from my experience). The sound generally disperses more, but if you've got a crazy engineer, or an insane band, then anything goes.

 

[Gary P]

Here in LA there is a huge underground scene. Dj events where it doesnt hit 110dB but you can bet it does for the kids standing right at the speakers.... I feel like telling people they are doing long term damage... I save that for the ones who notice my earplugs and say 'that's smart'. Educate when we can.

 

[Ed209]

Here in LA there is a huge underground scene. Dj events where it doesnt hit 110dB but you can bet it does for the kids standing right at the speakers.... I feel like telling people they are doing long term damage... I save that for the ones who notice my earplugs and say 'that's smart'. Educate when we can.

Yea, it always amazes me how people can do that. T or not. Standing by the speakers is the worst thing you can do.

 

[Alue]

I'm sure this was good for their hearing:


It was outdoors so it's all good right?

I could spend all day on youtube watching people destroy their hearing. It's really quite amazing.

 

[DT_N_DA_CLUB]

What about this? Pretty cool

 

[tasukikun]

I've been saying this for ages on here, but nobody ever listens. Put it this way, Slip Knot limit their shows to 109db, and they are loud. This came straight from Corey Taylor when he was on a show about noise (QI uk).

I've monitored shows in pubs and clubs with a calibrated meter, and the average obviously depends where you stand. I usually get around 95db when standing back (give or take), which is probably around 100-105db closer to the stage. Halls and Arenas are the loudest, but again this comes down to the band and venue. It can be anywhere from 85db-115db depending where you are compared to the speakers. I got 90-92db right at the back of an iron maiden gig at the LG arena.

Some louder bands can go above 115db, but it's getting increasingly less likely in this day and age. The majority of the loudest gigs ever put on were between the 70's and early 2000's. There has been a shift lately (although not a massive one) in keeping decibel levels down. To encounter a gig that's genuinely sustained at 120db +, in a club, in this day and age, is really slim and unlikely.

True enough. I'm an autistic male who has been going to concerts of various genres (including large venues) for over 15 years. The loudest one I've managed to record values on dB wise is a Muse concert from the early 2010s. If my memory is correct it was The Resistance Tour, I even bought a t-shirt at that concert. I've only been to about 3-4 "loud-ish" concerts in my whole life. One was a Canadian rock band, they were basically my first rock concert. I was always prepared for each of these concerts with really good ear plugs (noise-cancelling headphones came out after I went to some of these concerts, or at least they were prohibitively expensive). These ear plugs generally had a NRR of 27 dB or higher, and they weren't as good quality as the ones I currently use, although they were as good in blocking the loud noises (I am usually intolerant to impulse noises above 90 db, enough that it scares me and sometimes out of shock I'll lose my balance and fall down. Anything above 65-70 dbA is usually enough to drive me up the walls if it is not a melodic sound. I just can't take loud noises of any kind - probably due to my autism sensory issues). So yeah, what I've measured with these 3-4 "loud" concerts is they rarely exceed 100 dBA, this is including 2 of them where I was in the floor pit. I wasn't particularly close to the speakers. In fact most people there would argue I wasn't standing close at all to be honest - lots of people who were sitting in close-to-stage seats were a hell of a lot closer acoustically than I was. But that's how I am - I'm not a guy who will confidently stand in the back of the pit (although I am an introvert so that isn't out of character for me), but I also will never place myself so closely that even with my ear plugs and a 90-120 minute loud noise exposure I would still possibly get hearing damage.

The softest "loud" concert I've been to was this other Canadian musician, who is more jazz/pop. He was actually soft enough from the nosebleed seats that I had with my ex-gf that it was nearly tolerable with just my bare ears/no earplugs. We were in the last or 2nd last row from the back of the venue. Acoustically and visually it was crap seating with the tickets that I could barely get because it sold out too fast for me to get anything better. But yeah apparently jazz or slow-midtempo pop doesn't exceed 80-85 dBA if you're seating really far away from the stage in an acoustic dead zone. I can estimate that this musician was probably 10-15 dBA higher anywhere decently close to the stage. Even with my earplugs I could barely hear him from where I was sitting with my ex, but it was definitely soft enough that she didn't complain of ear ringing at all even a few days later. On that note, not sure if I even have tinnitus per se. Even before I've ever been to a louder concert in life my ears have always had a tendency to ring randomly - my ENT tells me: "Some people's ears just ring a lot. It doesn't necessarily mean it's tinnitus, could just be genetic." He is probably right because I have strong memories of my ears "ringing" for no apparent reason even before I was in grade school (my rote memory is so good I actually have clear memories from when I was 3 years old, although it is non-eidetic). And as far as hearing damage goes, I don't have any noticeable damage in either ear. I'm actually able to hear mechanical watch ticking in a small, almost silent room (about 20dB) - my white noise generator is set to about 25 dB most of the time and although some people in my family have trouble hearing that near-silence that I can hear it pretty damn well. It never keeps me up at night but some of these white noise generators that are 10-20 dB higher would be at least moderately annoying for me to keep in my room. I'm actually able to hear down to 0-10 dB. Maybe it's my autism, I don't know...but it can seem like more of a curse than a gift sometimes.