Guest Book

Jimmy Herring plays loud. I do not suggest standing right in front of his amps without ear plugs. He turns all the volume knobs on his amp to 10, unless he's playing a Peavy, in which case he turns the knobs to 12. Very loud. One of the best purchases I ever made in my entire life was for a pair of professional musicians' ear plugs a couple years ago. Unlike cotton or foam "closed ear" plugs, the professional plugs reduce volume of all frequencies equally. I always hated the foam ones b/c they just knocked out the high-end and all you heard was bass and kick drum. The professional plugs are made from a mold of your ear canal done by an audiologist, so they fit perfectly. I bought mine at the suggestion of EasyMichael after the Charlotte or Raleigh ABB show back in 2003, I think. And all I can say to EasyMichael is "thank you thank you thank you." It makes concert-going generally a much better experience, and it balances out the sound very nicely. The plugs don't make the concerts "quiet" by any means, but it simply removes the hurt-factor out of the volume. It also seems to balance out the frequencies better, so you can hear the drums, cymbals and bass all much better and more clearly. And your ears don't ring much at all the next day after a concert. I highly recommend them. Should be $100-$125, and you can't put a price on the value of your hearing. Unfortunately, I am several hundred shows too late and have a permanent ringing in my ears. Wish I'd gotten these plugs back in the 1980's. These things sure do help.