Legendary blues rocker George Thorogood is hitting the road once again with his band, The Destroyers. Monitor engineer Colten Hyten cares about sound, most importantly the mixes that Thorogood and his band are listening to on stage and the levels reaching their ears during a typical 90-minute set.
“We were trying out some of the Sensaphonics in-ear options and they made us aware of the new dB Check Pro – I tried it out and it’s been a really magnificent tool in my work box,” stated Hyten. The Sensaphonics dB Check Pro sound level analyzer is designed specifically to show real-time in-ear SPL and safe exposure times for professional IEM and headphone models from 12 major brands making it an essential tool for any audio professional who cares about hearing health.
Hyten began his career mixing monitors for Tim Rushlow and his Big Band. When not on the road, Hyten resides in Nashville and has had the opportunity to work around town, mixing and teching for various country music artists, including Riley Green, John Rich, and Lee Greenwood.
“I had each of the members of The Destroyers wear dB Check Pro throughout an hour and a half show,” commented Hyten. “Those guys have been doing it for so long that the sound checks are basically, ‘Let’s get together to maybe play a song.’ It’s not really going to be anywhere close to the dB levels during a show. So sound checks don’t really appeal to me other than to just maybe explain what’s going on and get them used to having an extra product there in line. Wearing the dB Check Pro through a show has proved beneficial.”
After running the band through a series of tests during shows while using the dB Check Pro, Hyten was totally surprised about a few things, including the variance in monitor levels. “I was really amazed how different the levels are that I set to monitor mixes, versus what the musicians choose – I thought I was at a pretty-conservative level and the reality was I was not. It was quite shocking how loud everything was, but I mainly used db Check Pro to find out how loud my band is listening in their in-ears on the stage, and then I can use the db Check to match up on the console to where I’m monitoring at the same level the band is. I wanted to make sure I was matching those levels that so I could give them the best possible experience.”
Until around 15 years ago, stages were typically filled with numerous side fills, wedges, and amp cabinets, resulting in very loud environments for performers. It is widely known that this contributed to some degree of hearing loss among anyone using monitors at high-volume levels including The Destroyers.
“Working with Sensaphonics, who truly cares about hearing health, our goal is to protect the remaining hearing of these performers and ensure it endures for the duration of their careers. Being able to review the numbers and making the band aware of where each member is at has allowed me to start backing those levels back while also getting the instrumentation in the mixes so that they can still hear what they need along with helping to preserve their hearing,” commented Hyten.
He concluded: “The Sensaphonics approach, pushing for being able to clearly hear and isolate, is all about preserving your hearing and protecting your hearing based on Dr. Santucci’s viewpoint as an audiologist. dB Check Pro is an innovative device that helps audio engineers keep their clients in check and helps artists save their hearing so that they can continue their careers and do what they love to do.”
dB Check Pro arises from audiologist and President of Sensaphonics Dr. Michael Santucci’s ongoing commitment to safeguarding hearing in music. It offers immediate feedback on the volume levels of in-ear monitors (IEMs) or headphones when both are worn. The patented device shows the average sound pressure levels (SPL) at the user’s ears and recommends safe listening durations. Additionally, it monitors ambient noise using its built-in microphone. As the sole device of its kind, dB Check Pro empowers music professionals with crucial insights into safe listening levels and durations during live performances, rehearsals, and studio sessions.
