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How to play bass in a condo? Please help!
- Thread starter scottm
- Start date
Thanks, I will be checking out both.
Those in-Ear Monitors look pretty sweet.
-ScottM
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Amp/cab sims are going to be your best friend in any multi-family dwelling. If you share a wall with people not related to you, any actual speaker-in-air solution is going to be heard through that wall, especially bass. You can reduce it with some acoustic treatment, but the volume/square footage those solutions will take up in your new place is likely far better spent, especially when you're downsizing from a larger home; there will always be more you'll want to bring into the new place than will really fit. The solution is to put the speakers right up against your ears, with a direct headphone monitoring setup of some kind.
If any of your amps have a DI, you can at least get the sound of your actual amp by just disconnecting the cabs or turning the master volume to zero (assuming the line-out has independent level control), and running the XLR output into an audio interface with a headphone out. Make absolutely sure your amp can support this; most newer amps, especially with solid-state Class D power sections, can be run without a load, but some cannot. Your owner's manual should have some information on this. I did something similar for years, running from my Fender Bassman 150's XLR out back into my Mackie mixer and monitoring on headphones from there. That's all still hooked up (though I'm moving out from my mancave into the main area upstairs; more square footage, no door) so it's still a go-to for grab-and-go practice or tracking in my music space. The upside is that if you know your neighbors are out for a while, you still have the speaker available, just plug and play at a reasonable volume.
If your existing amps need a speaker hooked up, or the direct tone (even EQed) just ain't quite there, a relatively inexpensive option for a total amp replacement is the NuX Melvin Lee Davis preamp pedal. It has three available amp sims - the MLD signature model, an Aguilar Tone Hammer and a Markbass-derived sim - and about a dozen built-in cab IRs to choose from with space for aftermarket, giving you a more realistic bass-through-amp tone in headphones. It has a built-in and independently switchable drive circuit that is simple but flexible, and it has its own headphone out (and an aux-in) so there's no extra gear needed for silent practice, though you can of course run the XLR into something more complicated for tracking or group practice. Totally speaker-free and therefore totally silent, unless the walls are so thin your neighbors can hear the smack of string on fret. They sell new for about $185, you can find 'em used a few bucks off of that.
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Very impressive gear.
Headphones is the only answer that works 100%
Headphones is the only answer that works 100%
Heard. My own solution to that is a TV with a headphone output. I run that through a cheapo isolation transformer and then into that small mixer I mentioned above that is the audio nerve center of the whole mancave. That's a fairly complex solution, not without its benefits but also a lot of cables running around. Any headphone amp unit with an aux-in (including the aforementioned MLD) should handle a wire from the TV.
If you're not wearing headphones, you'll need speakers at least as loud as you need to be heard over the TV, which means you'll need to control the total volume of both of those to keep the neighbors happy. Again, lots of options depending on budget, space and tolerance of cable runs, my personal solution is to centralize all my inputs and outputs through that mixer, so I have full control over what combination of things I'm listening to and through what. Those outputs include a studio monitor triangle for mixing and a home stereo for mix-checking and general "turn it up" uses, but these days about 75% of this system's use is into headphones.
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meet your neighbors, see what they think about the noise level, times of day that it's fine with them vs when it would bother them. they'll appreciate your concern for your impact on their lives. but unless there is a specific rule or by-law for your condo association banning any sort of noise at any time, it should be fine to play at reasonable volume during the day and through headphones at night.
I can't believe we're three pages into this thread and no one has suggested KILL YOUR NEIGHBORS yet!
j/k
I've lived in apartments (condos, co-ops, and rentals) for my entire adult life, and the solution has always been a combination of:
- headphones; and/or
- getting to know your neighbors, letting them understand you're a professional musician, telling them your practice schedule, and then sticking to that schedule...with the amp at a modest volume
j/k
I've lived in apartments (condos, co-ops, and rentals) for my entire adult life, and the solution has always been a combination of:
- headphones; and/or
- getting to know your neighbors, letting them understand you're a professional musician, telling them your practice schedule, and then sticking to that schedule...with the amp at a modest volume
Dude: you are screwed. Your neighbors are especially screwed if they don't like bass. You are about to discover the wonderful world of earphones! Get one of those vibrating floor matts to stand on to experience what you used to get through those cool cabs. Otherwise you will become the least favorite person to your neighbors and homeowners association. That's the way it rolls in a condo....
Headphones for the win. I just had security called on me last weekend for lightly playing in my condo.
Which condo will you be moving into? I have friends in Vistas on the James, and i think you could have a full band in their unit and no one would hear it.
+1 more for the Phil Jones stuff. I recently bought a Double Four, & have been very impressed. Placement of the amp is critical; if it's off the ground or in the middle of a room, the bass response is cut by quite a bit. Not good for recording, but might be just the ticket for playing along with your TV & leaving your neighbors undisturbed.
Occasionally, I will plug in a set of Meters (Ashdown Engineering) headphones. Passive or ANC mode sound the best to my ears.
Occasionally, I will plug in a set of Meters (Ashdown Engineering) headphones. Passive or ANC mode sound the best to my ears.
My advice is to drag an amp down near the pond or river and play loud and proud, and hope none of the other retired people have a heart attack trying to drag their Marshall full stack down to join you.
There might be a full band lurking in the shadows trying to "play softly" for their neighbours.
There might be a full band lurking in the shadows trying to "play softly" for their neighbours.
It really depends on your neighbors and their level of tolerance. I'm stereotyping, but if you're in a retirement village, gated community, my money is on their tolerance level being low. Keep an enclosure or two for when you play out somewhere. But most of the time, it's going to be headphones. Bass frequencies travel. Just my low end Bose soundbar without a sub shakes glass cabinets in the house and I'm not even playing at loud levels.
You're assuming there's a problem - maybe there isn't one? Get your setup in place, with the standard things already suggested (get the cabs off the floor, keep the volume reasonable), then send your son or wife to the neighbors to let them know you're about to be noisy, and see what they say when you're playing. They could be so deaf they can't hear anything, or the building may be constructed in a way that nothing gets through, or they could say "Hey, that's fine before 10:00pm." Saves you a lot of work/money you may not need to invest!
Anyone have suggestions that do not include headphones? My cardiologist does not want anything magnetic anywhere near my shoulders since he put a pacemaker in me.
The Phil jones stuff is noted. I think that'd be my only option. At the moment I have very understanding neighbors in my duplex. But people move out now and then, and it's only a matter of time until someone less friendly comes along.
The Phil jones stuff is noted. I think that'd be my only option. At the moment I have very understanding neighbors in my duplex. But people move out now and then, and it's only a matter of time until someone less friendly comes along.
Acoustic Bass Guitar.
You won't bother anyone with that..play unplugged, watching TV, no headphones, to your hearts content
Headphones.
An inexpensive 4 channel mixer, run your bass + effects into it, plus a phone or tablet with songs to practice, another bass or guitar, then out to headphones. Use a Y splitter for another set of headphones.
They have separate controls for volume as a mixer should, usually a 3 band EQ for each channel, pan each channel left to right [great for play along]. I use this set up every time I play. I also use 1 channel for E-drums which is great for spontaneous jams, but those can still potentially annoy neighbors.
An inexpensive 4 channel mixer, run your bass + effects into it, plus a phone or tablet with songs to practice, another bass or guitar, then out to headphones. Use a Y splitter for another set of headphones.
They have separate controls for volume as a mixer should, usually a 3 band EQ for each channel, pan each channel left to right [great for play along]. I use this set up every time I play. I also use 1 channel for E-drums which is great for spontaneous jams, but those can still potentially annoy neighbors.
This…Broughton Messenger V2. Ive got a Waza- too finnicky. The Phil Jones wont handle a hot signal. The Aguilar in this format wont give you enough headphone aux volume. The Broughton will allow you to blend an Aux In signal with your instrument beautifully. I typically pull up stuff on yootube via an ipad, and play along. I'm in a townhouse and feel that, despite my neighbors' blessings, my cabinet is simply too loud at the hours i like to play. The sacrifice you make over the Waza is the fact that your cans are connected. The freedom the Waza offers is really nice, but the entire setup is counterintuitive to operate- the controls are poorly described, theyre on the phones, you cant see them, you get dropouts, to initiate the entire setup is laborious and the program often will not respond to the changes you attempt-ie the volume will not change regardless of what you wish. The Phil Jones BigHead is well suited for practice, but if you wish to use effects, it can't handle a hot signal.
