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How loud were Led Zeppelin concerts?


songbird

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Hi all you tech-geeks...

Does anyone here know approximately, in decibels, how loud Led Zeppelin concerts were? Or who could direct me to any web sources that would give me such info? I'm doing a psychology project on the loudness of concerts and how they can damage your ears, and I have to compare two bands, e.g. Led Zeppelin (LOUD!!) and Simon & Garfunkel (Not so much!). Its due tomorrow, so this is very last minute... I tried doing a search of the forum but the search function doesn't like me very much and keeps giving me error messages... anyway, any help would be MUCH appreciated!!

-N

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Hi all you tech-geeks...

Does anyone here know approximately, in decibels, how loud Led Zeppelin concerts were? Or who could direct me to any web sources that would give me such info? I'm doing a psychology project on the loudness of concerts and how they can damage your ears, and I have to compare two bands, e.g. Led Zeppelin (LOUD!!) and Simon & Garfunkel (Not so much!). Its due tomorrow, so this is very last minute... I tried doing a search of the forum but the search function doesn't like me very much and keeps giving me error messages... anyway, any help would be MUCH appreciated!!

-N

How's it going "songbird?" The world's loudest concert was held in 1994 at 129 dB. I saw two LED ZEPPELIN shows, one at THE FORUM in L.A. on 23 June 1977 and the other at the OAKLAND COLISEUM one month later on 23 July 1977. After doing some research on my own, the concert at THE FORUM was between 90 and 95 dB. The OAKLAND show was between 95 and 100 dB. I'm not very sure about SIMON & GARFUNKEL but you can rest assure that their shows were under 80 dB. I know for fact that I'm losing a lot of my hearing after seeing hundreds of concerts throughout my lifetime. I hear a whistling tone all the time now. I hope that this helps. ROCK ON!

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How's it going "songbird?" The world's loudest concert was held in 1994 at 129 dB. I saw two LED ZEPPELIN shows, one at THE FORUM in L.A. on 23 June 1977 and the other at the OAKLAND COLISEUM one month later on 23 July 1977. After doing some research on my own, the concert at THE FORUM was between 90 and 95 dB. The OAKLAND show was between 95 and 100 dB. I'm not very sure about SIMON & GARFUNKEL but you can rest assure that their shows were under 80 dB. I know for fact that I'm losing a lot of my hearing after seeing hundreds of concerts throughout my lifetime. I hear a whistling tone all the time now. I hope that this helps. ROCK ON!

Thank you!! I actually ended up switching to The Who... they broke the record with 120 db in 1976. But 129, that is so fucking loud. Which concert was it? I also stumbled across a piece of info about the band Manowar playing at 126 db, but I didn't see anything about the 129 one.

Doing all this research about how music can damage your ears is scaring me.. I already have ringing in my ears sometimes and I'm only 18! I don't plan on stopping going to concerts though so (unless I get ear plugs) I guess I'll just have to deal with it. :P Sorry to hear about your hearing difficulty (tinnitus?), that must be really annoying. :(

Thanks for your input. :)

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I'm seeing more and more people wearing ear plugs at shows these days. I don't enjoy it if it's too loud so I may be doing the ear plug thing myself. I actually have a few sets of Hearos that I bought for a friend and didn't get used.

I will if I suspect it's going to be loud. I know people who have tinnitis and it is not fun to deal with.

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The last few concerts I've attended,which I could count on five(four) fingers,I've shelled out the cash to obtain 12th row or better seats,third row being best.I always pack ear plugs just in case.

Maybe my ears are fried from yesteryear,but I have not needed the plugs.

It seems to me now, that the brunt of the volume thud increases further from the stage.

When I experienced Led Zeppelin in 1977,I was in an upper tier of the coloseum and in football terms,on the 35 yard line facing the stage.

And like ZepFanForever,my ears ring to this very day.

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The last few concerts I've attended,which I could count on five(four) fingers,I've shelled out the cash to obtain 12th row or better seats,third row being best.I always pack ear plugs just in case.

Maybe my ears are fried from yesteryear,but I have not needed the plugs.

It seems to me now, that the brunt of the volume thud increases further from the stage.

When I experienced Led Zeppelin in 1977,I was in an upper tier of the coloseum and in football terms,on the 35 yard line facing the stage.

And like ZepFanForever,my ears ring to this very day.

I've not needed them either but I like to have them just in case. I might be going to concerts where they aren't cranking the volume to 11 or my ears are just shot.

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The last few concerts I've attended,which I could count on five(four) fingers,I've shelled out the cash to obtain 12th row or better seats,third row being best.I always pack ear plugs just in case.

Maybe my ears are fried from yesteryear,but I have not needed the plugs.

It seems to me now, that the brunt of the volume thud increases further from the stage.

When I experienced Led Zeppelin in 1977,I was in an upper tier of the coloseum and in football terms,on the 35 yard line facing the stage.

And like ZepFanForever,my ears ring to this very day.

Damage from loud concerts is not something you necessarily notice right away... besides maybe temporary ringing in your ears once in awhile, or whatever. I'd say its good to wear earplugs at concerts when you know its loud, even if you don't feel like its uncomfortably loud. Its just that most of the time the damage occurs over a long period of time and before you really take notice, its too late.

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I always thought Deep Purple had the record for decibel level.

The Rolling Stones and Humble Pie also were UP THERE !!!!!!

Yeah I read that Deep Purple performed at 117 dB... and apparently My Bloody Valentine (I don't really know who they are, a recent My Chemical Romance type band I think?) just set some sort of record also.

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The loudest shows I can remember were, the Black Crowes, Foreigner they actually stoped having concerts at that stadium after that show for years and Ted Nugent

my nose started to bleed at that show although I don't contribute that to the loud music :slapface:

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The loudest shows I can remember were, the Black Crowes, Foreigner they actually stoped having concerts at that stadium after that show for years and Ted Nugent

my nose started to bleed at that show although I don't contribute that to the loud music :slapface:

I'm having a brain freeze but one of the bands that opened for Aerosmith (they had one big album and that was it) was unbelievably loud and it was an outdoor show! My ears were ringing for days.

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I've also heard that Government Mule is EXTREMELY loud. My friend said that when he went to see them, he was standing at the back with toilet paper stuffed in his ear and it was still just painfully loud!... I think he actually said he had to leave. And, those guys only play songs that are 25 minutes long each, so its not like you could get a break from the noise very often. :lol:

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Thank you!! I actually ended up switching to The Who... they broke the record with 120 db in 1976. But 129, that is so fucking loud. Which concert was it? I also stumbled across a piece of info about the band Manowar playing at 126 db, but I didn't see anything about the 129 one.

Doing all this research about how music can damage your ears is scaring me.. I already have ringing in my ears sometimes and I'm only 18! I don't plan on stopping going to concerts though so (unless I get ear plugs) I guess I'll just have to deal with it. :P Sorry to hear about your hearing difficulty (tinnitus?), that must be really annoying. :(

Thanks for your input. :)

How's it going "songbird?" I, myself, thought that this was an audible Rock concert but it wasn't. It was actually a 1994 soccer (British Football) game. According to Tribalfootball.com, the loudest fans in the Premier League are the home crowd in Sunderland. I was in TOTAL disbelief when I read that Sunderland's home crowd cheer section averaged peak volumes between 129 dB up to 150 dB which is louder than a Rock concert (115 dB) and almost as loud as an air raid siren and military jet (130 dB). I know for fact that I wouldn't even have any hearing left if I attended one of their games. ROCK ON!

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I'm having a brain freeze but one of the bands that opened for Aerosmith (they had one big album and that was it) was unbelievably loud and it was an outdoor show! My ears were ringing for days.

Could that have been Nazereth? I remember them opening for Aerosmith during one of their tours back in the 70's

Oh and how could I have forgotten the last concert I attended~ AC/DC :slapface: my ears were numb for a day :blink:

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Could that have been Nazereth? I remember them opening for Aerosmith during one of their tours back in the 70's

Oh and how could I have forgotten the last concert I attended~ AC/DC :slapface: my ears were numb for a day :blink:

Gotta love Google - it was Collective Soul. Holy moley were they one of the loudest bands I've heard. I'm sure there's others that are up there but I can't remember offhand :slapface:

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Could that have been Nazereth? I remember them opening for Aerosmith during one of their tours back in the 70's

Oh and how could I have forgotten the last concert I attended~ AC/DC :slapface: my ears were numb for a day :blink:

How's it going "Dzldoc?" Thats right, how could I ever forget AC/DC? I remember that my ears were ringing loud for over a week after that show. I was even sitting in the fourth row on the floor away from the stage. THAT WAS ONE LOUD CONCERT! Imagine the extremely loud guitar riffs and licks coming from the loud and powerful amplifiers of Angus Young. My ears are ringing loud just mentioning it to all of you. ROCK ON!

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How's it going "Dzldoc?" Thats right, how could I ever forget AC/DC? I remember that my ears were ringing loud for over a week after that show. I was even sitting in the fourth row on the floor away from the stage. THAT WAS ONE LOUD CONCERT! Imagine the extremely loud guitar riffs and licks coming from the loud and powerful amplifiers of Angus Young. My ears are ringing loud just mentioning it to all of you. ROCK ON!

The AC/DC concert that I attended last month was not too loud.

But when they blasted the cannons on "For Those About to Rock" (fire!) I had to cover my ears! That was LOUD!

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Zeppelin 70, 71 are still the loudest concerts I've seen in a big arena. Maybe it was that old Kelly Deong PA that was in Vancouver in those day's but they were loud alright.

The absolute loudest show for me was KISS in the Gardens Aud in 73. A small venue that held about 800. KISS treated it like the Pacific Coliseum. :blink:

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The AC/DC concert that I attended last month was not too loud.

But when they blasted the cannons on "For Those About to Rock" (fire!) I had to cover my ears! That was LOUD!

How's it going "BUCK'EYE' DOC?" The AC/DC show that I saw last month in San Antonio was not as loud as I have seen in many previous AC/DC concerts. The HIGHWAY TO HELL and BACK IN BLACK Tours were loud as hell. I lost a lot of my hearing attending those two shows ALONE as well as many concerts throughout the 1970's and 1980's. ROCK ON!

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Back in the eighties I remember seeing something on TV that said ..at the time.. the Scorpions had the loudest show going.

I've seen maybe 200 shows and only one did I have ear damage. My ears actually rang loudly for two full days after the show. I was really really scared. It was yngvie malmsteen two years ago. I never saw him and always wanted to. He rocked my world, literally!!

Wouldn't the loudest show be at the largest venue. I'm thinking how huge woodstock 99 was. it seems if you ever put that much power...inside...it would literally blow the roof off. but i'm not a techie.

The 02 was extremely loud also. Front row jimmy side. It was not the loudest I've ever heard, but by far the most amazing.

I could only wish I saw the original.

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I saw the Hives as an opening act in '08, and they were horrifically loud. The beat was all over the place and ringing in my teeth; that plus the crazy blinding lights in almost the very top row weren't jiving with my blood pressure. :unsure: I was never so happy to see a band leave the stage. Probably would have loved them in my 20s, although my daughter didn't care for them either, so maybe not.

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I saw The Who twice at Hammersmith 73 and Charlton 76 (126 dB broke world record) and they were the loudest shows I'd ever attended, I saw Led Zep at Earls Court 75 third night but it wasn't painfully loud. AC/DC in 81 were louder than Led Zeppelin but weren't that loud. The only band I've seen live who have come close to being as loud as The Who were Rainbow in 76.

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