Gigging with glasses question

supes · June 6

Over the last year my eyesight has changed, and not for the better. I used to have a pair of reading glasses but only needed them if my eyes were really tired, or it was a bit dark.

Now however i need them to read, and also have a distance prescription too. At home i use my reading glasses to play guitar. I can see the frets without glasses, but it's a bit fuzzy. Much better with glasses.

We're gigging again soon and i don't know what to do for the best. I can use my reading glasses, but then can't see distance. What do you do? Bifocals/Variofocals could be an option but i want to be able to see my guitar frets with more than a tiny bit of lens.

Supportact · June 6

I can just about get away with playing without my glasses, but it is a bit blurry so no doubt I'll have to face this dilemma at some stage. I've got glow-in-the-dark stick on markers on the side of the fretboard at 5th and 7th frets, which helps in low light.

I do need the glasses however if I'm working the mixer, in that case i keep them in my shirt pocket so I know where they are. It's annoying to have to keep putting them on but I haven't thought of a better way.

fastonebaz · June 6

Get laser.

stratman3142 · June 6

I've got varifocals, which work well for me. I mainly need glasses to read charts and for eye contact with the rest of the band, rather than seeing the fretboard.

I'm short sighted and my eyes seem to be getting more long sighted as I get older. Can anyone confirm that's what to be expected? My optician joked that I may have perfect vision again, if I live to 130.

The trouble with glasses is that they tend to slide down my nose at sweaty gigs. I have a spring retainer band to stop that happening. Also, it's a pain after the gig, when loading up, going between the cold night air and the heat of the room, causing my glasses to steam up.

Roland · June 7

For several years I used glasses for reading documents and working on screen. When talking to people I’d look over the top of them. I also used them when working things out on my guitar. However for actual playing I didn’t need them. That’s not vanity, my fingers knew where to go without me having to look. Eventually I moved to varifocals, which I now wear all the time. At first it felt strange having something between me and the audience, but I reasoned that many people wear glasses, and the audience wouldn’t notice.

Blueingreen · June 7

I don’t need glasses to play but until recently I wore them if I needed to read charts (for swing or jazz stuff). Recently though I’ve found that I can manage without them if I use a full sized iPad and Bluetooth page turner, which means I can have one page on the screen at a time and get a bigger image. I prefer not having to wear them.

Musicwolf · June 7

I do have distance glasses, but I only need them for watching sport on tv or driving at night. Without my reading glasses, however, I'm totally lost. When gigging I have a laptop on a stand to the right of me (mixer, backing track playback, effects switching and lights) and I have a pair of cheap readers resting on top. If everything is going well then all I need to do is push one button on an Elgato Stream Deck to start the next song, which I can do without my glasses, I have another button to access the tuner on the Helix (my Helix is not at my feet as the switching is being done remotely).

When it comes to seeing the fretboard, I have a problem with one guitar in particular, my PRS SE Hollowbody II piezo. Tiny black side dots against a fancy binding and Mother of Pearl bird inlays - bloody useless. I previously owned the non-piezo version of the same guitar, and I could see the dots just fine, but not this bugger.

I've tried stick on dots, but they don't last. If I could find a local Luthier that I could trust (I believe that @SteveRobinson has retired) I'd consider getting bigger / coloured dots installed as I love the guitar. The other solution might be to try varifocals after my next eye test which is due soon (I should have done this last time). Wearing reading glasses whilst performing is a non-starter as I can't see the audience.

ToneControl · June 7

Varifocals vary in price and quality as well as focal length.

The best value normal ones can cost a packet, but can be bought for just £45 from Asda.
The best ones I can find (Essilor physio model I think) cost about £600 everywhere incl frames, but are £100 per lens + the frame at Asda, and so £240-£280)

But - when it's darker - my varifocals strain my eyes a lot more. I think the lens design assumes your pupils will not be dilated.

I'd get a cheap pair of varifocals from Asda, and see if they work for you. If that doesn't work, think about old fashioned bifocals. Opticians can get various "occupational" solutions, so best to talk to them, not us lot.

EricTheWeary · June 7

I wear varifocals and had them on for gigging. Probably helped that I wasn’t the coolest looking bloke on the planet anyway but I found it frustrating not to have them on.

I remember an interview with Jake E Lee in which he said he didn’t wear his glasses for playing live and it helped stop stage fright because he couldn’t see the crowd. So, there is that.

Musicwolf · June 7

EricTheWeary said:

he didn’t wear his glasses for playing live and it helped stop stage fright because he couldn’t see the crowd.

I've played more than a few gigs where the James Webb telescope wouldn't be able to spot 'the crowd'

LionAquaLooper · June 7

I hate wearing mine while playing gigs. I sweat, therefore the glasses slip down my nose and I'm constantly having to prop them back up again. Unfortunately I can't adjust them so have to wait until the next time I buy glasses. So now I just gig without glasses. I don't need to see anything anyway and my pedals have pretty little multi coloured LEDs so I know what's what.

TheBigDipper · June 7

I started wearing contact lenses for long distance vision when I was 20. I started needing reading glasses when I was about 55. The constant changing of reading glasses on/off meant I stopped wearing lenses and now have varifocals. I wear them for gigs because I need to read an iPad for unfamiliar songs and don't trust myself to remember all the words and cues for my own.

ToneControl · June 7

BTW you can get varifocal contact lenses too

JayGee · June 7

Varifocals and talk to your optician about why you’re interested in them and what you’re going to use them for, as they don’t all split the near/far bits in the same way, and some may suit better than others…

supes · June 7

That's for all the suggestions.

I'll make an appointment with the optician, see about specific variofocals. I just thought somebody might have found a particualar range of glasses, eg sports glasses that work well with gigs,

EricTheWeary · June 7

There are types of glasses that stay on better than others but presumably you will wear them at other times so the look and comfort are going to be important. As long as they are sprung (that the right word?) and properly fitted they shouldn't fly off your head unless you do something very vigorous. If you do a lot of stage diving maybe not go the glasses route.

BlueStrat · June 7

fastonebaz said:

Get laser.

one of the best things I've ever done^

Grunfeld · June 7

supes said:

...I just thought somebody might have found a particualar range of glasses, eg sports glasses that work well with gigs,

I only wore contacts for gigs. I discussed it at the opticians and a decent compromise for me was one eye mostly able to see the guitar neck; the other, the audience. It's not as difficult as it sounds and it's okay for a few hours.

sev112 · June 7

Jumbo frets and dayglo strings

Stratavarious · June 8

No issues with watching the dancing or seeing the frets with bifocals. Best investment I made when I was needing several glasses to get by.

Danny1969 · June 8

I can play without my glasses no problem but I can't see a set list. A few times I've drawn out a big set list and taped it to the back of guitar to get over this. Vanity makes me not want to wear glasses on stage but if I need to read anything I have to.

I have varifocus now in normal and sunglasses .... I use goggles4u .... just pick your frames and what kind of lenses you want and put your prescription in and they turn up a couple of weeks later in the post

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