Ear Plugs

Last week, on a whim, I decided to go back to using my "expensive" ear plugs. They're supposed to preserve the natural frequency balance of the sound entering your ears, even while getting the level down to something "safe."

I used them for a loud show (metal), and was very quickly reminded of why I retired them. They certainly cut quite a bit of broadband level when inserted, but they seem to let through a disproportionately high level of the highest frequencies. Beyond annoying, it's disconcerting, and it's particularly noticeable with metal bands that use lots of cymbal wash (because cymbals have harmonic components that go VERY high). Also, the high-midrange resonance caused by the plugs was downright painful at times, but I won't go into that...

Anyway, the most expensive earplugs that I own are also the ones that I like the least.

I had some Etymotic/ Hearos plugs that I used (and liked a fair bit), but they were tough to clean, and I never felt sure of the balance I was getting. Their supposed "higher accuracy" just made me feel like I wasn't really being protected from the loudest parts of the night.

For quite a while now, I've been back to using earplugs that you can buy at Smith's Marketplace for about $3.00 - and I like them a lot. Even though they really kill off the high frequencies, I somehow feel like I know what's happening when I have them in. (Of course, I might be totally wrong, but I don't get many complaints about my mixes being wildly inappropriate, so...)

Sometimes, the cheap component is the right choice. Notice that I said "sometimes."