Crazy downstairs neighbor

[Tupac]

Is it that hard to just buy a pair of headphones? Sennhieser HD201. Not only the best sound quality $20 can buy, but it has a super long cable great for bass practice. Beats the sound quality of the speakers too of course and you can blast it, allowing for hearing more of your technique to get better.


Give the old lady a break. She doesn't have much time left, let her enjoy it.

 

[Joe Louvar]

I know and that sucks.

If it were me, id rent a decibel meter and play to the allowable limit for the hour of day or just under. Personally, no cop has ever been able to tell me what the decibel rating is or if im at or exceeding that limit before. My experience is that most people don't know what that limit is. And it's usually louder than most people think.

But then again I'm a jerk when it comes to sound limits. I know how loud I can get. I never complain when others get loud.

Each county, city, etc has different zones - so it depends on which city you live in and where in the city.

For example - Santa Rosa, CA.

Scroll down the file - page 5 etc.
Invalid Link Removed

And here is the City of Santa Rosa, CA noise ordinance law ~

17-16.070 Radios, television sets and similar devices.
(A) Use Restricted. It is unlawful for any person within any residential zone of the City to use or operate any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, television set or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such a manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.

(B) Prima Facie Violation. Any noise level exceeding the ambient base level at the property line of any property (or, if a condominium or apartment house, within any adjoining apartment) by more than five decibels shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. (Prior code § 27.15)

PS - SRPD have meters, I'm guessing Oakland PD does too.

 

[jungleheat]

Is it that hard to just buy a pair of headphones?

Yes, it is, because it is entirely unreasonable to expect someone to practice silently at all times when you live in an apartment building.

Should someone also be required to use headphones to watch TV at 6pm? To speak to each other in sign language or written notes at the dinner table? No, of course not.

 

[lowfreq33]

These situations usually go both ways. I have a neighbor who blasts rap music at 8 am who bangs on the wall if I'm playing bass at 8 pm. I've had neighbors who complained in the middle of the afternoon that someone's kids were playing outside and it was "disturbing them". Guess what? It's an apartment building! You will hear your neighbors sometimes!

 

[RaulDelga]

Get headphones. They are weird as first, but u soon used to them and they sound amazing. Escpecially audiotechnica m40fs. Has a long cable, 1/4jack. 40$

Invest in an amp that you plan to play for long term. You dont want to spend so much money on something that your not going to like the next five years

 

[georgestrings]

Yes, it is, because it is entirely unreasonable to expect someone to practice silently at all times when you live in an apartment building.

Should someone also be required to use headphones to watch TV at 6pm? To speak to each other in sign language or written notes at the dinner table? No, of course not.

Usually, when a person has to resort to using extreme examples, it's because they have a weak argument... I disagree with you on this - anyone with a little common sense and respect for others realizes that there are limitations to apartment living... For example - if the OP was a drummer, should his neighbors have to endure practicing that as well??? - full band practice??? Truth is, bass amps and apartment living do not mix well - besides, having some sort of headphone rig isn't a bad idea for any bass player...


- georgestrings

 

[rockscott]

Buy her a drum set & you two can jam!

 

[JehuJava]

Each county, city, etc has different zones - so it depends on which city you live in and where in the city.

For example - Santa Rosa, CA.

Scroll down the file - page 5 etc.
Invalid Link Removed

And here is the City of Santa Rosa, CA noise ordinance law ~

17-16.070 Radios, television sets and similar devices.
(A) Use Restricted. It is unlawful for any person within any residential zone of the City to use or operate any radio receiving set, musical instrument, phonograph, television set or other machine or device for the producing or reproducing of sound in such a manner as to disturb the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents or any reasonable person of normal sensitiveness residing in the area.

(B) Prima Facie Violation. Any noise level exceeding the ambient base level at the property line of any property (or, if a condominium or apartment house, within any adjoining apartment) by more than five decibels shall be deemed to be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section. (Prior code § 27.15)

PS - SRPD have meters, I'm guessing Oakland PD does too.

Oakland may have meters, I don't know. My experience was from a Philadelphia suburb.

I would say the old lady does not meet the definition of a reasonable person with normal sensitivities. He should ask his other surrounding neighbors if his family is too loud at the dinner table. I've always understood reasonable person to mean at least 51% of a population would make the same decision in the same circumstance.

He may also find out that the old lady bangs on their walls too, in which case all can band together and lodge a complaint against her. You may find that her actions meet the definition of harassment.

 

[klyph]

Wow George; "Usually when people have to resort to exteme examples..." then "full band practice?"- see the irony? This woman is clearly pissed off by noise levelsfar below what a normal considerate person could tolerate or expect living in an apartment. How about if it was a seven year old practicing violin? or a nine year old practicing clarinet? How about if the OP was a talented DB student? Would we still be having these warm and fuzzy feelings about this woman? Just because the self-loathers on this board feel free to dis the bass guitar doesn't justify her actions.

There is no virtue conferred upon a person simply by living a long time. The ratio of ***holes to good people iis about the same as any other age group. It's more about medical advances, genetics, diet and how much of a boring, risk-averse life you've led. When jerks like this woman abut commercial properties, landlords lose the ability to rent to nightclub owners and the nightclubs that exist have to stop hiring bands. This isn't academic- it has happened in my community! Brought about by people buying condos on MAIN STREET! Or a state highway! What did they expect? These wastes of skin are costing me gigs. I have zero sympathy.

That said, I have two suggestions; if you do take the advice of others and try to befriend her, the gift to get her is not a drum set, but a voucher/gift certificate to her local cab company- a substantial one, 100$ or more. Most people tjis age are not very mobile, and can't/shouldn't drive. Get her out of the house once in awhile if you can- It'll do you both some good. Maybe a routine of some sort on her part can buy you some regular practice time. The other is to see if you can do some practicing in the basement. The concrete floor, not being overhead, the possible masking of noise with other noise (washing machines, furnace, etc.) can be your friend. I did this exact thing when I was a teenager in an apartment building. My parents were the landlords so it was easy for me, but maybe your landord/super will be understanding. It doesn't hurt to try. Good luck!

 

[Joe Louvar]

Oakland may have meters, I don't know. My experience was from a Philadelphia suburb.

I would say the old lady does not meet the definition of a reasonable person with normal sensitivities. He should ask his other surrounding neighbors if his family is too loud at the dinner table. I've always understood reasonable person to mean at least 51% of a population would make the same decision in the same circumstance.

He may also find out that the old lady bangs on their walls too, in which case all can band together and lodge a complaint against her. You may find that her actions meet the definition of harassment.

I don't know, but here in Santa Rosa the first time the cops just tell you to keep it down and give you a warning and the second time it's only a $100 fine, but the third time the cops confiscate equipment or take you to jail or both.

 

[jungleheat]

Usually, when a person has to resort to using extreme examples, it's because they have a weak argument... I disagree with you on this - anyone with a little common sense and respect for others realizes that there are limitations to apartment living... For example - if the OP was a drummer, should his neighbors have to endure practicing that as well??? - full band practice??? Truth is, bass amps and apartment living do not mix well - besides, having some sort of headphone rig isn't a bad idea for any bass player...


- georgestrings

Oh yay, another person that didn't actually read the thread and is just having a knee jerk reaction.

I didn't use any "extreme examples", I was just "extrapolating" from the OP. This woman has already shown she can't handle people talking/laughing at dinner (hence the sign language), so then why would she be ok with a TV at a typical volume? That was a main part of my point, where do you draw the line? This lady thinks the line is at 0db, and obviously that's unreasonable for an apartment setting because a fly buzzing around is probably 50.

And then you're talking about having a full band practice? Seriously?

I would say the old lady does not meet the definition of a reasonable person with normal sensitivities. He should ask his other surrounding neighbors if his family is too loud at the dinner table. I've always understood reasonable person to mean at least 51% of a population would make the same decision in the same circumstance.

He may also find out that the old lady bangs on their walls too, in which case all can band together and lodge a complaint against her. You may find that her actions meet the definition of harassment.

This.

Wow George; "Usually when people have to resort to exteme examples..." then "full band practice?"- see the irony? This woman is clearly pissed off by noise levelsfar below what a normal considerate person could tolerate or expect living in an apartment. How about if it was a seven year old practicing violin? or a nine year old practicing clarinet? How about if the OP was a talented DB student? Would we still be having these warm and fuzzy feelings about this woman? Just because the self-loathers on this board feel free to dis the bass guitar doesn't justify her actions.

There is no virtue conferred upon a person simply by living a long time. The ratio of ***holes to good people iis about the same as any other age group. It's more about medical advances, genetics, diet and how much of a boring, risk-averse life you've led.[/quote]

And this.

That said, I have two suggestions; if you do take the advice of others and try to befriend her, the gift to get her is not a drum set, but a voucher/gift certificate to her local cab company- a substantial one, 100$ or more. Most people tjis age are not very mobile, and can't/shouldn't drive. Get her out of the house once in awhile if you can- It'll do you both some good. Maybe a routine of some sort on her part can buy you some regular practice time. The other is to see if you can do some practicing in the basement. The concrete floor, not being overhead, the possible masking of noise with other noise (washing machines, furnace, etc.) can be your friend. I did this exact thing when I was a teenager in an apartment building. My parents were the landlords so it was easy for me, but maybe your landord/super will be understanding. It doesn't hurt to try. Good luck!

Not a bad idea.

Rewarding mean and nasty and unpleasant people for their behaviours by appeasing their demands is never the right idea. That's WHY there are so many A-holes in this world. Because people let them get away with it. This might be a minor example, but that's the thing... you let the minor examples fly, and they grow into bigger examples as these people feel more an more invincible and empowered to do whatever they want, regardless of the effect it might have on other people. You don't somehow magically "age out" of consequences of your actions just because you are old. If this lady killed someone, she would still go to jail just like everyone else. So proportional consequences for proportional actions are still in play, no matter WHAT age you are. If this lady was some sweet grandmother type, we wouldn't even have this thread, because she would have handled the situation completely differently.

 

[LeDuck]

The best solution is to move far away from any neighbors. Next best is to live in a separate house with a concrete basement, as I do. Sheetrock or wood paneling is very problematic with bass. Poured concrete, concrete block, or solid log construction is what you want as it reduces resonance peaks and suckouts.....and also sound leakage through walls. Third best is going mobile.

One way of dealing with crazy neighbors is to be crazier than your neighbor.

Seriously though, her banging is louder than your walking and talking, so she could actually be considered the main offender. A person that wants total silence in their life should shove something in their ears, so maybe you should give her a big bag of cotton balls to stuff in her ears.

If you can't move, then headphones for practice at home and a power inverter with deep discharge AGM battery for taking your amp to a remote location. A 33 AH battery and a $50 inverter will power my small Marshall combo amp all afternoon. I have a 600W inverter that cost about $80 from Batteries Plus, which will power a rather large amp.

Every 100W you use will draw about 10A from your battery at 120V with 12V battery, 5A with 24V battery. My Marshall amp does not need true sine wave power inverter. An old tube amp with a choke filter in the power supply will probably also not need true sine wave power. Some audio gear may buzz without true sine wave power. My inverter output looks like a square wave stacked on top of a square wave, so it is safe to power most devices and roughly approximates a sine wave.

My computer system power conditioner will not accept the output of my inverter, as it sees it as very distorted power and shuts off its output, so be aware that some conditioners will only accept true sine wave inverter power. A linear power supply diode will only turn on during the top of the stacked square wave or sine wave, so the initial square wave edge supplies no power. Be sure to pick an inverter whose peak power output far exceeds your average power use. In other words, a linear power supply rectifier diode only conducts for a small part of the waveform near peak. It's transformer must supply at least 3A peak for every 1A of your continuous average power use, so your inverter must be equal to the task as well. Your average continuous inverter power rating should also exceed the average continuous max power use (not power output) of your amp. Be aware that when a solid state amp with a linear power supply is switched on, without soft start circuitry, the initial surge current is everything the power transformer can put out. My lights dim down for an instant when I switch on my big solid state power amps. If this surge current exceeds your circuit breaker trip point, your inverter will not power up your amp, even though it would run it after startup. Turn on your heaviest demand first, then in order of decreasing power use, if you power multiple units. The surge rating of a power transformer is about 3X its continuous power rating, if your tranny doesn't state the rating.

The point is, plan on going mobile with your bass practice if you can't move away from neighbors seeking peace and quiet. Phil Jones specifically makes portable bass practice amps, but any amp can be used with the right power inverter and suitable battery. Be sure to use a modern "smart" charger like a Deltran. AGM batteries have different charge requirements than cheaper flooded lead acid cells and cannot use old obsolete chargers. AGM is the only way to go, in spite of a big price difference. AGM has almost no discharge in storage, beside the better cycle life, and much more rugged construction, and I never had a leakage problem or terminal post corrosion with AGM.

 

[Joe Louvar]

Oh yay, another person that didn't actually read the thread and is just having a knee jerk reaction.

I didn't use any "extreme examples", I was just "extrapolating" from the OP. This woman has already shown she can't handle people talking/laughing at dinner (hence the sign language), so then why would she be ok with a TV at a typical volume? That was a main part of my point, where do you draw the line? This lady thinks the line is at 0db, and obviously that's unreasonable for an apartment setting because a fly buzzing around is probably 50.

And then you're talking about having a full band practice? Seriously?



This.



There is no virtue conferred upon a person simply by living a long time. The ratio of ***holes to good people iis about the same as any other age group. It's more about medical advances, genetics, diet and how much of a boring, risk-averse life you've led.

And this.



Not a bad idea.

Rewarding mean and nasty and unpleasant people for their behaviours by appeasing their demands is never the right idea. That's WHY there are so many A-holes in this world. Because people let them get away with it. This might be a minor example, but that's the thing... you let the minor examples fly, and they grow into bigger examples as these people feel more an more invincible and empowered to do whatever they want, regardless of the effect it might have on other people. You don't somehow magically "age out" of consequences of your actions just because you are old. If this lady killed someone, she would still go to jail just like everyone else. So proportional consequences for proportional actions are still in play, no matter WHAT age you are. If this lady was some sweet grandmother type, we wouldn't even have this thread, because she would have handled the situation completely differently.

Not that the OP asked - but, if your advise to the OP is "don't make noise with a bass amp" instead "have your parents call the police" when she bangs - I'd say that's not bad advise - not what I'd do, but much better advise than "make noise with a bass amp". Is this your advise to the OP, or do you have some other advise for the OP?

 

[Picktastic]

96 years old? In all honesty, if you just turn that amp up a bit and play one note she will likely kick it.

 

[chadds]

So is it a problem for your parents?
Have they spoken to the landlord re: dinner times?
You may not be able to play bass there as you may upset others besides her.
Yet you already have a problem that if not dealt with on it's own merits makes your bass playing the problem.
Meeting people with launch codes just causes escalation. They don't suddenly learn to not be ********.
Perhaps her relatives don't know she's so intense. Getting to know her is key. If you don't you're leaving out so many possibilities.
It may not be for you but your parents to explain what steps they've taken and that they expect to be met half way.
No, you have no "right" to disturb others. That law looks completely up to interpretation. I know apartment blocks where everyone knows who is full band practicing and from when to when. You will look like the inconsiderate youth if there is a complaint by her now.

 

[oleskool]

I didn't read through this entire post, because the total lack of thought of some people's replies. We on this fourm have heard one side of the story. Whenever i'm faced with this kind of delima I try and place myself in the other persons place. Think about the guy who drives down your block with 3000 watts in the back of his vehicle, your whole house is shaking, and you are saying whatever you might say. Trust me he or she just thinks it's cool. Have a talk with YOUR neighbor. Ask if there is a time that you can agree on that you can practice at a low volume. Apologize for the past disagreements. If you can't resolve the issues make plans to change your situation. Buy the combo, start savings for you a more suitable home.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I've been mulling this thread over for the last few days. I can see both sides of the problem. I read the posts asking why this lady should be treated with respect and I shake my head! We as a society owe this lady's generation a debt that can never be repaid. They fought a terrible war for us. It it wasn't for them we would all be slaves speaking Japanese or German. Is it really so hard, especially on this the Memorial day weekend, to grant this lady some respect and understanding???

Go talk to the lady, get to know her and act like adults to solve the disagreement.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Paul -

Now you infer a lack of patriotism by those who disagree with you? Shame on you!!

 

[fraublugher]

Well to be fair the correct side of the argument needed some ridiculousness .


For balance.

Anyway it doesn't matter , the Y chromosome will be gone in 75 years.
Bye humans , you had your shot, now it's something else's turn.

 

[BassmanPaul]

Paul -

Now you infer a lack of patriotism by those who disagree with you? Shame on you!!

No Sir I did not. I simply pointed out a reason to treat the old and cranky with understanding. You trying to deflect a comment into something it's not is where the shame lies. :scowl: