Apartment Hunting as a Bassist

emilio g · #1 01-17-2009, 03:20 AM

I'm planning on moving out of my folks house in the next 6 months or so. Does anyone have any tips for pre-screening the neighbors when moving into an apartment? A buddy of mine just moved to Brooklyn and he's kicking himself because one neighbor works nights and the other works days. So generally, whenever he tries practicing at his place, he makes someone mad.

Any general wisdom for a 21 year old bassist venturing out into northeast NJ/NYC area would be appreciated!

Oric · #2 01-17-2009, 04:09 AM

Get a Dragonfly practice amp!

emilio g · #3 01-17-2009, 12:27 PM

Practicing electric bass is easy enough to do quietly with a set of headphones.

However, if there's anything that can keep a double bass quiet I'd like to know about it. Generally practice mutes are pretty ok for keeping the pizz stuff quiet, but arco playing will definitely still bother people.

Uncletoad · #4 01-17-2009, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emilio g

arco playing will definitely still bother people.

For my neighbors it would.

Suppose Edgar pisses off his neighbors? They probably sell tickets to their couch.

emilio g · #5 01-17-2009, 04:36 PM

If I sounded like Edgar, I probably wouldn't be shopping around for studio apartments..

Oric · #6 01-18-2009, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

For my neighbors it would.

Suppose Edgar pisses off his neighbors? They probably sell tickets to their couch.

I certainly wouldn't mind him as my neighbor.
Which reminds me- I know a woman who owns a bed and breakfast in Lexington, which Béla Fleck and Future Man stayed in once. She said he came up too her and asked really nicely if he could practice during his stay- she was like "well yeah!"

rokkitt · #7 01-18-2009, 01:10 AM

I am a broker in nyc

I pmd you my number

maybe I can give you some tips

al

jgbass · #8 01-18-2009, 09:40 AM

You might try searching Craigslist under no common walls, back house, guest house. You might find apartments that are on top of a garage or a rare apartment with no common walls. There also might be guest houses or back houses. If its NYC though, you will be more limited. NJ would bring you more possibilites. Also consider one story buildings if possible, an end unit.

My classical bass teacher lives in an apartment though and says his neighbors do not mind. So, your plan to talk with neighbors is also a good one too.

salcott · #9 01-18-2009, 04:31 PM

If the amount of sound produced by a double bass being played arco or pizzicato is loud enough to disturb a neighbor, the bass is either a real roomshaker, or the neighbor has an unrealistic concept of what apartment living is and shouldn't be living in an urban setting. I had a downstairs neighbor who would call the cops if I played so much as a single chorus of blues pizz at 7:00 PM in my heavily carpeted music room. After the third or fourth visit, one cop stood in his living room while I played for the other. After conferring, they told me to practice all I wanted up til 10 PM, and told the neighbor not to call any more and to perhaps consider a padded room.

emilio g · #10 01-18-2009, 09:01 PM

Quote:

After conferring, they told me to practice all I wanted up til 10 PM, and told the neighbor not to call any more and to perhaps consider a padded room.

If I end up in NYC, that's good to know.

rokkitt · #11 01-19-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by salcott

If the amount of sound produced by a double bass being played arco or pizzicato is loud enough to disturb a neighbor, the bass is either a real roomshaker, or the neighbor has an unrealistic concept of what apartment living is and shouldn't be living in an urban setting. I had a downstairs neighbor who would call the cops if I played so much as a single chorus of blues pizz at 7:00 PM in my heavily carpeted music room. After the third or fourth visit, one cop stood in his living room while I played for the other. After conferring, they told me to practice all I wanted up til 10 PM, and told the neighbor not to call any more and to perhaps consider a padded room.

cool!

that is a good solution...

I had a downstairs neughbor that would get pissed if I walked across the floor ....literally, with socks and almost tip toeing.....

so, I would just go out and party! hahahhaha

one day I came home late at nite and started my 79 low rider Harley davidson in the living room at 11pm

that shut him up.....

hahahahahahahahahha

al

salcott · #12 01-19-2009, 02:06 PM

Emilio, YMMV.rokkit, the concept here is to try to find a solution, not provoke a confrontation, unless, as I suspect, you're talking bigger than you act.

emilio g · #13 01-19-2009, 03:22 PM

In confrontational situations the worst thing you can do is get excited and shoot your mouth (or motorcycle) off.

Calm, collected, and rational is definitely the way to deal with people being irrational.

But, my whole reason for starting the thread is I'd rather avoid the confrontation altogether and concentrate on making music, a living, etc.

Ed Fuqua · #14 01-20-2009, 12:25 PM

It's gonna be more annoying to people who live under you than people who live above you, so look for ground floor apartments. There's a few posts about folks who built a kind of "booth" by hanging heavy blankets around where they practice, you might want to check those out.
But yeah, talk to the folks who are going to be your neighbors and find out if anybody is a real jerk. But city legislation is on your side, you are absolutely protected being able to practice (but not rehearse a group) in your apartment between (I think it's) 9AM to 10PM, check the www.nyc.gov website.

Couple of warning signs, if you're in a pre war building and you see wall to wall carpet on all the floors, odds are there is a downstairs neighbor that complains about the least little sound. Most apartment buildings have some kind of "house rule" concerning floor covering (generally 80%) and the first thing that someoone will do when there are complaints is put in wall to wall. That way they have gone above and beyond the letter or the law and the downstairs complainer is SOL, as far as legal recourse. Personal confrontation is still a concern...

hdiddy · #15 01-20-2009, 01:16 PM

Last resort: buy a Yamaha SLB-200 Silent Bass or AlterEgo to practice with when you have to be quiet. Even electric-acoustics are not foolproof as the sound will get amplified from transfering the energy from the end-pin into the floor like a drum. I have one for the off-hours or when I dont' want to bother my girlfriend. Of course this does nothing for improving the acoustic quality of your DB.

Ed's advice about getting ground floor is good. Also makes equipment schlepping alot easier.

**Damon Rondeau** · #16 01-20-2009, 01:21 PM

I would think the type of floor would be an issue too. If you've got your spike sticking into a lightweight wood-framed floor, that's gotta be louder to the neighbour below than a concrete floor. You wanna be acoustically de-coupled from the neighbours.

kesslari · #17 01-20-2009, 01:41 PM

Bassists do best on the ground floor.
Better both in terms of not playing on your neighbor's heads, and not having to haul gear to upper floors.

hdiddy · #18 01-20-2009, 02:00 PM

FWIW: I'm sorta experimenting with an extra heavy/thick crutch tip on my Yamaha.

http://www.fetterman-crutches.com/tips.html

Seems to isolate the bass quite well and provide a joint at which it would bend. The old Wolf Super-Ball seems to grab the floors better tho.

Next step would be to attach my second crutch tip (I bought a pair) onto something for the DB instead of the Yamaha.

jfkbass · #19 01-20-2009, 02:14 PM

+1 for on the ground floor. I've lived in NYC for 10 years and in Philly for 5 years before that. I never had an issue until I moved into my current apt 3 years ago. The lady downstairs was pissed all the time. I tried to cater to her desires, but it kept being an issue. The law is on your side, but that doesn't really mean sh*t. YOU still have to deal with an agitated neighbor. That being said, I've had other neighbors who would stop by and ask where they could come hear me play. Ah, the luck of the draw!

emilio g · #20 01-20-2009, 03:07 PM

At the moment, when I get home from a gig I have to lug all my stuff up 2 flights of stairs. Its a drag. Ground floor is the way to go between the acoustic and practical issues.

As far as keeping the bass quiet, I've been experimenting. I put a heavy practice mute on my bridge as well as wrapped a lot of the bass up in two towels. Its quiet enough where I can transcribe and quietly play along to a ray brown CD with people sleeping in the next room. Bowing still projects too much.

One of my friends makes little platforms for decoupling amps from the floor when he records. What if you put your endpin on one to minimize how much sound gets transferred into the floor?