I'm been told that neighbors have complained about noise levels from my bass when practicing. Each time this has happened I thought I was just "in the mix" at an appropriate level compared to the other instruments in the band. The comments are usually something like, "the neighbors say the bass is too loud". They never say the drums are too loud or the guitar is too loud, and, heaven forbid, the keys are too loud. I like a full-sounding bass; what I call the Motown sounding thump. Anybody else tired of having to play at low volume and barely hearing yourself because the bass frequencies carry and the neighbors complain?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
disturbing the neighbors
- Thread starter Garry Raines
- Start date
Maybe roll off the bass in your EQ and bump the mids so you can hear yourself at lower volume then? You live in a society, and if you can't practice without pissing off your neighbours, then it's incumbent on you to try something different.
Speaking personally: As an audience member, I HATE bassists who are all about the fundamental. I don't like the experience of not being able focus on the music because the bass frequencies are past the point of physical pain.
Speaking personally: As an audience member, I HATE bassists who are all about the fundamental. I don't like the experience of not being able focus on the music because the bass frequencies are past the point of physical pain.
Last edited:
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
No. Perhaps EVERYTHING is too loud. Bands shouldn't be practicing in residential areas without speaking with their neighbors.
If it is you playing Al my with a recording, the bass is already at an acceptable level without you.
If it is you playing Al my with a recording, the bass is already at an acceptable level without you.
I had one comment about this a few years ago. Had no idea I was booming through the walls like that. I still play open air during reasonable hours, but always use headphones early in the AM or in the evening. If I'm hosting a band rehearsal, always keep it midday and try to shut it down by 8 PM - 9 PM at the very latest.
If it weren't for the other neighborhood noises, I'd care more, but my neighborhood is littered with barking dogs and we seem to have a lot of people with those stupid, boomy car stereos that you can hear coming for 4 blocks, (How do they sit in those cars?) so I'm just making my contribution to the noise....
If it weren't for the other neighborhood noises, I'd care more, but my neighborhood is littered with barking dogs and we seem to have a lot of people with those stupid, boomy car stereos that you can hear coming for 4 blocks, (How do they sit in those cars?) so I'm just making my contribution to the noise....
I'm not at all sure what "being all about the fundamental" means to you, but in my world it has little or nothing to do with volume. It's about a tone that minimizes harmonic frequencies and focuses on the "fundamental" frequency of the note. That can be at coffee shop volume as well as thundering arena loud.
This is true, if you know what you're doing.
If you don't, the wavelengths are super long (a 40Hz wave is about 28 feet) and the amount of power it takes to make them audible is huge, so you might think you're sitting well in the mix from the stage, meanwhile you're liquefying the audience in front of you. In the case of the OP, his neighbours are complaining, and he also mentioned that he can barely hear his instrument at lower volumes, so he's definitely not doing it right.
You gotta remember bass carries and makes things rattle in a way other sounds don’t. Even on my little 25 watt amp I notice the basement rattles even when I only put it up to like 3.
We've been practicing at my house for 4 years now and what the neighbors think is of huge importance to me. If anybody ever complains I am shutting it down. We have a live and let live neighborhood. No one calls the cops on anybody else. If you have a problem you take it to the person that you have a problem with. The average value of a house here is around $135k but everybody keeps their property up by keeping their lawns mowed and getting rid of junk so it doesn't accumulate. Houses here tend to mildew on the North side and everybody cleans their houses so the mildew doesn't accumulate.
I do ask my immediate neighbors if what we're doing bothers them from time to time and they always say no. We have a community Facebook page and no mention has ever been made about the rock band in the neighborhood.
I do ask my immediate neighbors if what we're doing bothers them from time to time and they always say no. We have a community Facebook page and no mention has ever been made about the rock band in the neighborhood.
It's the nature of bass, and living in an apartment means you should watch the noise levels. Time for a good set of headphones. Or move to a house separated from neighbours.
By the way... the neighbours didn't complain to you directly, by the sound of it. So who are they complaining to? It sounds strange...
Bass carries within structures in a way that other frequencies don't. Specifically that low-mid "Motown" type frequency. Get headphones.
I live in a single-family home and still ask my neighbors ALL THE TIME to let me know if my drums or bass practice bothers them or their kids. You gotta put consideration of your neighbors first, even if it steps on what you want to do. (By way of example, I don't have the 35-foot multi-band ham antenna in my backyard that I really want, even though I have a federally-protected right to do so, because it will piss my neighbors off and I'm not going to do that. They're good people and I like them.)
ETA: if you're having band practice in an apartment, which is an interpretation of what you've written, just stop. You'll get evicted.
As you said about the cars going by, and if you think about what a rock club sounds like when you arrive late, it's the bass (and mebbe the kick) that seems to come through the walls.
If you need that volume, then you might ameliorate the problem by rolling off some bottom and raising some mids/highs.
More likely, you hafta turn down to stop the bleed.
If you need that volume, then you might ameliorate the problem by rolling off some bottom and raising some mids/highs.
More likely, you hafta turn down to stop the bleed.
Is your amp sitting on the floor? If so, it'll be worth raising it for two reasons.
First, the closer to ear-level it gets, the less you need to turn it up to hear it to your liking.
Secondly, acoustic coupling could easily be the issue. Disconnect the amp from the floor, and suddenly the building is no longer an extension of your cabinet.
First, the closer to ear-level it gets, the less you need to turn it up to hear it to your liking.
Secondly, acoustic coupling could easily be the issue. Disconnect the amp from the floor, and suddenly the building is no longer an extension of your cabinet.
2 words. Hearing damage. My best friend was heavily into car audio competition stuff. At reasonable volume, his 80s Ford Tempo sounded incredible. At competition volume...just so we’re clear, I can handle loud. I can handle a loud guitarist and a drummer beating the living crap out of a china and a piccolo snare. But I couldn’t stand more than 3 or 4 seconds before my eardrums felt like they were turned into liquid. Even with plugging my ears. 4 15s and somethin like 1000 watts each is astoundingly loud. He could sit in there all day. No wonder he had the worst guitar tone when we started jammin... or maybe it was just his Crate GFX212 and Boss GT6 bedroom tone lol.
Ford Tempo? Those things rattled like crazy back when they were new.
But yeah - the toms and snare on my Gretsch USA Customs, played quietly, are around 75db (10x10, 12x12, 16x16, and a brass Ludwig 14x5.5). The kick (22x22) is 85db (right on the line of hearing damage). It's the only part of the kit you can hear outdoors.
Last edited:
I'm the opposite. I love when the bass punches me so hard in the chest that it causes my heart to skip beats.
My neighbours listen to good music.
Whether they want to or not.
Whether they want to or not.
