Drums and electric guitar

Hi! My 11 year old son just hit his 6 week mark and his physician has given him the clear to return to electric guitar and drums. Only thing, he plays about 5 hours a week, in studio, at School of Rock and it gets so loud in there. I know he's supposed to stay 2 feet away from the speakers and amps but it still has me a little concerned. Anyone have any experience with drums and/ or electric guitar? Good or bad since pacemaker implantation? I'm not concerned about the movement, more so thinking about the EMI potential...Thank you!


5 Comments

music

by new to pace.... - 2024-01-30 23:12:56

if the doctor said it was ok.  If you have other concerns  you should  ask your doctor for more clarification.

Also now that he has his pacemaker would help if you put in the bio the make and model of pacemaker and your location. As sometimes our answers are different depending on your location or model and make. While you are waiting for more replies. You might use the search box  and ask your question. It looks like a magnifier next to the word logout.

new to pace

Drums etc

by piglet22 - 2024-01-31 04:54:42

I can't think of any well known drummers or guitarists with pacemakers but hopefully there are.

Apart from the usual warnings about keeping away from magnets etc. which is common sense, I would be more concerned about electrical safety.

I can remember years ago that deaths or injuries from electrocution from guitars or amplifiers were relatively common.

I think I would concentrate on that risk.

In theory, there should be no electrical connection between the low voltage side of the amplifier and the high voltage (mains) side i.e. isolated.

I would be avoiding cheap possibly unbranded, uncertified (genuine CE for example) equipment and would certainly want to see any mains equipment plugged into a residual current device (RCD) either circuit or separate device.

Wireless instruments obviously break the direct connection, but bring their own problems with possible radio frequency interference (RFI).

The risks are probably small but real.

👋🏼 hi

by Lavender - 2024-01-31 10:06:16

So glad he's mending well! I have a Boston Scientific pacemaker. Their site says:

Electric Guitar Use precautions: Maintain at least a 6 inch (15 cm) separation between the guitar and the implanted device. Magnetic/electrical fields associated with the guitar are very low and will not affect the Pacemaker or ICD.

At a concert, I sat near the stage. I felt ill from the speakers until I moved back further and was fine. 
 

We do have a member who is in a Kiss recreation band who has a pacemaker. Maybe he will see this and post. 

emf

by Tracey_E - 2024-01-31 10:42:50

If his doctor said it's fine, then trust that it's fine. I think it's great that his doctor is so encouraging and wants him to get back to what he loves. Magnets have to be very strong and very close to our devices to affect them. 6" is the rule of thumb, so 2' is a generous buffer. 

I dont see any issues

by dwelch - 2024-02-17 04:21:33

Not only did I/we play drums, but we had these huge speakers behind the throne to overpower the drums so we could play to music.  Crank these up enough and it would vibrate the cd player into skipping.  None of this was super healthy but not because I had a pacemaker. 

Folks dont really appreciate that playing drums is a physical exercise.  So from that perspective it is fine.  hopefully wear hearing protection to not be damaged early in adulthood.  and I dont see how the speakers could be close enough to do anything to the device whould have to try to hug the speaker to get the shoulder into the cone.   not a measure of feet but a measure of inches.  being with in feet is likely a rule for every one not just pacer folks.

Other than annoying parents or neighbors as you learn songs or just that thump thumb sound of a drummer in the house, and a real concern of hearing protection.  As a drummer I cant see any reason to worry about a pacemaker and drums.  

As far as guitar, the only think I can think of there is if they wear a strap and if that strap is over the pacer, it may hurt (the person not the pacer) so maybe wear that strap differently or sit down and play with no strap.  Cant see it affecting the pacer in any other way.   (and same deal with hearing protection, again in general not a pacer thing).  

 

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