What ?????

Funny JG.. somebody had to say it!

Ear plug story... unrelated to drumming.. just felt like sharing a story.

When I was in the Army we kept a glass container of the little yellow spongy ear plugs in flight ops... they were the kind that you squish then put in your ears and they expand... the container kind of looked like a candy dish.. you guessed it.. one day we are hauling a General and he reaches in and pops a couple in his mouth while he is waiting in flight ops to get briefed... of course nobody is going to say to a general "dude, you just ate the ear plugs!"

We weren't sure how long he kept them in his mouth, some how he ditched them discretely.

The yellow squishy's do work well.. and they are cheap, small and disposable.

I use in-ear monitors, but before I got them, I used basic foam earplugs. One trick - if the sound is too dead for you, try tearing one in half (use a half in each ear) and the sound should be a little better.

scottyb

In ear monitors are the way to go - but yes, they are a bit pricey. The yellow / orange squishy ear plugs do very well for dampening inner ear noise but of course not outer ear.

I sing while playing drums and the thing I love about my in ear monitors is that it's like your own world in there. I hear only what I want to hear. They cut the ambient noise much better than the squishy plugs. I am generally taken back when I remove them between sets. I'm always saying to myself, "Man it's loud out here....how can you guys hear anything with all the ambient noise?" The in ears cancel all that and leave you with a nice, controlled sound to focus on.

Hope this helps,

Ant

Same here. I use the yellow foam pieces.

scottyb

I've been using these for about 15 years now, I've tried all of them, but these are by far the most comfortable.

Sorry that this webpage shows the ones with a cord, I don't use a cord with mine, but the picture on the un-corded page wasn't working.

http://www.e-a-r.com/e-a-r.com/roll_detail.cfm?prod_family=PU%20Ezfit%20W/C&ind_prod_num=312-1222001

They expand but don't PUSH so hard on the inner ear canal. Some of the other "yellow" plugs feel like they're trying to expand my ear canal! I found that annoying when using them for a three set 9:30 'till 2am gig.

They also take away my dependence on a monitor for singing, sometimes you'll never know what you'll end up with, so I'd rather rely on these.

I usually buy a case of them at Grainger Industrial Supply. I think it was about 30 bucks American for 200 pairs, a good deal if you ask me.

Hope this helps!