Can you live in an apartment and play?

[lexiharringtonmusic]

I'm moving and must choose an apartment. Is playing plugged in an option in an apartment building? Solo practice, not referring to a band practice.
I typically practice at night and I have the volume at 4 on my Fender rumble 30 amp.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

It depends almost entirely on your neighbors & a little on the construction of the building. Also, if you're on the 2nd floor or above & have a neighbor below, you'd better believe they're going to complain.
Most apartments will have a "quiet time" policy from 10 or 11pm until 6 or 7am.

 

[crucislancer]

I'm moving and must choose an apartment. Is playing plugged in an option in an apartment building? Solo practice, not referring to a band practice.
I typically practice at night and I have the volume at 4 on my Fender rumble 30 amp.

I live in an apartment complex, and while I will play amplified, I keep the volume low and don't play past 9pm. I have a Rumble 500 combo, and rarely turn it up past 8 O'clock, which is barely on. I recommend keeping the Bass control on your amp low. It's not ideal, but it works. If it's past 9pm, I plug in the headphones or go un-amplified. The last thing I want to do is upset someone or get a visit from the apartment manager.

 

[beaglesandbass]

I live in an apartment and play every day. Just don't turn it up loud, there's no reason to.

 

[48thStreetCustom]

I've played in apartments most of my life and have never had a problem. But here's a little tip. When you see your neighbors in the hall, be friendly and tell them that you're a musician and you try to be courteous. But if they ever have a problem with it, just knock on your door. You're not a confrontational person and you're not trying to piss anyone off. That will lay the groundwork. Also, never ever play through your amp after 9:30pm.

 

[lee m]

I have never had complaints about it, I play between 11am 5pm. I also play at lower levels than when I lived in a house. I am respectful but some of my neighbours are not the same to me.

 

[Acoustic356]

I use a Hotone Legacy Nano Cabinet. Although I'm using it with a Bass Buddy in this video, I have used this with every head that I have ranging from 1000 watts down to 10.

I don't feel like I compromise anything. It's quiet enough so my wife won't complain too - she's a light sleeper and goes to bed early...

 

[Doner Designs]

If I could hear sound coming from a neighbor during TV time in the evening, it would upset me a lot. I'd almost rather die or live in a box in an empty field than share a wall with someone.

My recommendation would be to get a really excellent headphone amp and headphones. You will enjoy that a lot more than you will enjoy playing at volumes that are low enough to keep the peace. Just my opinion.

The Phil Jones Big Head is a nice headphone amp and the Bass Buddy is a good choice too. I use the Big Head and a pair of Sony Studio Monitor headphones in my house when I don't want to be heard.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Like I said, it depends a lot on your neighbors. You wouldn't want Steve Doner living next to you, no offense to him.

I was lucky when I lived in an apartment. The walls between our units were bricked to be fireproof. The older fellow next to me played guitar, so once in a while we would sit out on our porches & play together.

I was surprised how many other residents appreciated it, but it was all his guitar really, because I was even more of a novice then.

 

[MD]

What's the issue? If it's late, just plug into the headphone jack.
If you don't have headphones, get some.

 

[dinoadventures]

I haven't had issues with it, but I keep it quiet after 10. In our current condo, I'm very fortunate that we share a wall with a guy who plays reggae guitar and doesn't mind my playing.

 

[hrodbert696]

Any reason not to practice with headphones?

 

[AngelCrusher]

iPad with headphones is just the easy way to do it.There are such great apps too, like IrealB, and you can also pull up jam tracks on youtube to work on your scales with. The Gallien Kruger amp is pretty inexpensive and is just fine for practice. All you need is a guitar interface too plug into the headphone jack.

I practice through my Studio setup a lot and as well. Haven't had a practice amp in years.

 

[NightW0lf]

When I have to practice and I'm away from home (like a hotel or the parents in law) I use my iPhone with an iRig adapter. Not as great of course, but it does the job.

 

[bikeplate]

I've been playing bass 34 years. You certainly don't need an amp to practice.

 

[pcake]

lexiharringtonmusic, each apartment is different as to whether i've been able to practice plugged in. i currently figure i'm not bothering the neighbors if my husband can sleep in the next room with the door closed while i play. but i play super soft, with volume under 2. i would only attempt that on a second floor with the combo isolated from the floor, and not by a regular amp stand, which has too much contact with the floor and transmits sound well.

I've been playing bass 34 years. You certainly don't need an amp to practice.

true. sometimes i actually practice or noodle while completely unplugged.

 

[kenneffdupriest]

I practice with a sleeping baby n baby momma in the next room.

 

[physics]

Bass frequencies aren't attenuated in passing through materials as much as higher guitar frequencies, hence they'll travel farther and be more likely to resonate with panels and box framing structures used in many apartment buildings. A lady that lives above me in my apartment complex told me that she could always tell when I played because one of the windows in her kitchen would buzz whenever I played, despite my amp being at very low volume. When she's not home I'm fine using my amp during the daytime and a reasonably low volume, anything louder causes stuff in my apartment to start buzzing and rattling. After 8pm, or whenever she's there, I plug my headphones into my headphone amp and plug into my DI if I want to shape my tone. I always carry my Vox Amplug2 portable headphone amp in my gig bag for any other time, like in coffee shops, when I don't want to disturb people around me.

 

[KeithPoker]

yea you should be fine at 4 til 10 or 12pm. switch to headphone options after or i find playing unplugged to be cool especially with hollowbodies. i even track loudly in my apartment i just make it very quick by reamping for 5 minutes max.

 

[OOD]

I've been playing bass 34 years. You certainly don't need an amp to practice.

+1 the only time I feel like I need an amp is when I play my five string. It gets hard to hear the B when the air is on.