Sound Limiters at Venues: What You Need to Know

If you've booked a beautiful historic building, a converted barn, or pretty much any characterful countryside venue, there's a good chance you've come across the term "sound limiter" somewhere in the paperwork — and it can sound a lot more alarming than it actually is. It just requires a little bit of preparation and communication with your venue and band, and you can be worry free on the night!

What is a sound limiter?

A sound limiter is a device some venues install to monitor and cap the volume of amplified music in a room, usually to protect the building, nearby neighbours, or a licensing condition attached to the venue itself. They can vary exactly in how they work – many use a traffic light warning sign (preferable), some have no visual cue to the band and some even cut power to the equipment if the sound crosses a set threshold (less ideal) — which is exactly the moment nobody wants their band to hit.

Why some venues use them

It's most common in older buildings, converted barns, and venues in residential areas, where noise restrictions are often a condition of the venue's licence rather than something they've chosen arbitrarily. It's worth asking your venue directly, early on, whether a limiter is in place and where it is measured from in relation to a typical band's performance space — it's much easier to plan around than to discover on the night.

Something to consider

While sound limiters are absolutely not the end of the world, it is worth factoring it in when deciding on band – some bands don’t have electric drumkits (often the easiest way of complying with a sound limiter), and even with the best of intentions, for large line-ups with horns it can be a challenge to stick to the limit.

What to do if your venue has one

• Ask your venue for the specific decibel limit, if they have one, and where the sound limiter is fitted is in relation to the band's probably setup space - so the band can plan their set-up accordingly
• Ask your venue the sort of bands and line-ups they have had before without problem – for instance, have they had live horns. 
• Let your band know as early as possible — ideally check when you first enquire or book, to avoid setting your heart on a band that don't have the required equipment.
• Make sure to draw the band's attention to this and any other venue requirements ahead of time when you are put in touch with them - it can affect what equipment they need to bring (e.g. hot rods and brushes for drums, electric drumkit etc.) and you don't want any nasty surprises on the day.
• Trust the process — this is a genuinely common situation, and one bands are well-practised at handling. Most bands can work with most reasonable sound limiters. 

A sound limiter might sound like the ultimate party killer on paper, but with the right band and a bit of advance notice, it rarely makes any real difference to how the night actually feels on the dancefloor.

Not sure how loud decibels actually are and where a band typically fits? Check out our scale which shows common sounds and the typical volume they are at. In our experience, sound limiters are set somewhere between 85-110dB (with 85 realistically being quite a challenge, especially taking ambient sounds like crowd noise into account).