Please help me keep the lows in my own house

[byacey]

My self enforced compromise is that I will use headphones nearly all the time but maximum twice a week in the afternoons before dark I will play at a manageable level through the big rig. As nice as the note was your neighbors expectation of having complete peace and quiet after work is an overall general statement and allows little room for you at all which is not really fair for you (who sounds like a responsible and friendly person). I say, like many have, fair compromise is important for best results. If it makes you feel better then communicate the compromise is best practice for sure but also any neighbour having the expectation of complete peace and quiet will unlikely be as fair with a compromise..IMO. Maybe suggest they put headphones on for their own peace and quiet they are so happy to expect of you...I would spend the $500 on some nice sets for them!!

No, the neighbors shouldn't have to make any special concessions for what they are hearing in their own home. If what you are doing in your own home is disturbing the neighbors, you are the cause of the disturbance.

No matter what you think, it just plain isn't necessary to practice with balls to the wall volume.

 

[coy garcia]

I have this! And the guitar version! And the extension cab that bumps it up to 6w! I got them for campfire songs and computer speakers, but they may start seeing more use around the house.

I use them as my computer speakers and practice with them. I have a larger amp next to my desk for afternoons when I get the chance.

 

[Rum Ham]

Moderators: the Amps/Cabs forum seemed like the best fit for this, but obviously we have more to consider than amplification here; please move this to Live Sound or elsewhere if more appropriate, with my thanks and/or apologies.

Contributors: I have read a bit about this subject on TalkBass and elsewhere, but obviously do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the topic or what has already been said on TalkBass. I hope you will kindly provide advice with my specific circumstances in mind. I would strongly prefer to solve this problem by containing my sound rather than changing or eliminating it. In that light, please do not suggest turning down, using headphones, or radically altering my settings. I can figure out any of those approaches easily enough on my own if containing my current decibels and frequencies proves infeasible. I can probably spend up to 500 USD if necessary.

With the preliminaries out of the way:

2020 forced an unexpected and unwanted major relocation upon my family, but at least we landed somewhere wonderful. We moved from a very rural location to a relatively dense neighborhood of single family homes in a college town, and I have literally no complaints about my neighbors. I wish they could say the same about me! We found this on the door this evening:

View attachment 4032003

The care they took to put this as kindly as they did indicates just how good we have it with neighbors, I think. (I suspect that this would have come up in an equally friendly conversation if not for the ongoing pandemic.)

I DO NOT want to be "that guy" around here, but I would rather not retire my big iron. Can I contain my sound? If so, how?

I currently have things set up like this:
View attachment 4032008

Things I have tried:

•1x15 solid state 80w combo on a stand facing the outside wall. This seemed unobtrusive until that 30-year-old combo stopped working.

•Tube 200w 1x15 combo on floor facing outside wall, or solid state 200w head w/1x15 cabinet on casters facing outside wall. Perhaps not surprisingly, these setups seem to project into my neighbor's home

Things I could do now but have yet to try:

•I could put my extremely heavy tube combo on the stand.

•I could face any rig in any other direction.

Fun things on the way:

•I have finally cracked and will receive a brand new 200w Class D combo with a neo 1x12 by the end of the week. I can easily put that on the stand.

•I also have a period correct 2x12 on the way, but unless I use it as a somewhat expensive platform for elevating other speakers, it won't help matters.

Things I am considering that would require expenditures:

•Something other than a stand to elevate the modular solid state rig

•Gramma pads or similar

•furniture blankets hanging everywhere

•garage door insulation, if it would allow continued use of the garage door

•a (relatively) inexpensive drum booth

It also occurs to me that I probably haven't thought of everything.

What should I do?

Thank you for any helpful suggestions (or clever jokes).

Oh: nobody playing but me just yet, but my son's acoustic drums will likely enter the picture soon as well.

To keep the lows in don't debase yourself with moral impropriety.

 

[Riff Ranger]

To keep the lows in don't debase yourself with moral impropriety.

?

 

[agedhorse]

I have used it , it work's great if applied properly the key here is its cheap .
probably not going to use it for a fancy studio build
It's not going to sound proof anything but dollar to effect ratio it would be hard to beat

Can't see how it can prevent low frequency transmission when the STC is essentially zero below 125Hz.

Could you explain how it works when the math and my experience says that it makes no perceived difference?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Tbc....

 

[Honkey tonk]

Can't see how it can prevent low frequency transmission when the STC is essentially zero below 125Hz.

Could you explain how it works when the math and my experience says that it makes no perceived difference?

Op is looking for a cheap solution that doesn't exist for his budget , I offered something that might help some . .better than nothing and its within his budget.

 

[waltdogg]

Obviously out of budget but I'd just build a second room in the garage to at least contain some sound. That way you get an extra office space, a bit more privacy, and with any luck with good construction you can keep the dBs down but yeah those low freqs are going everywhere. A few more walls can help. Maybe make the office standing off the garage floor using those fancy Auralex U-Boats for isolating studio rooms from the building they're in.

 

[Chrisk-K]

An acoustic kit does work in an apartment. It did for me, 2nd floor, for a month, until the letter came from the leasing office telling me they are not going to renew my lease. That's when I rented a storage garage thing, indoors in Florida, air conditioned. Of course this was 1990 when the storage garage business was booming for bands/musicians. I don't even know if they will rent those out today for bands or individuals with loud instruments.

You played an acoustic drum kit in an apartment? I am glad you are alive and well.

 

[silky smoove]

It's not going to sound proof anything but dollar to effect ratio it would be hard to beat

I stated this earlier, but the cost performance ratio of felt and MLV is quite bad by the time you get to the lower midrange and upper bass. By the time you hit midbass, let alone anything truly deep, it is utterly useless. It is in fact quite easy to beat it in terms of a performance to cost ratio. Drywall. It wins every time. There's no higher performing product than drywall in terms of cost to performance ratio in an above ground structure.

 

[Foz]

You could build a room in the room you have that would do the job pretty easily assuming your foundation [floor] is not connect in a resonant/vibratory fashion with the neighbors - but not for $500.

FWIW you can build partition walls a lot better than 12 dB at 63 Hz without getting fancy or doing anything silly as far as mass is concerned - and there will probably be fluffy bits involved in an efficient partition design and control of reverberation in the new room.

The only real complications will be maintain high LF transmission loses when you add the door and provide ventilation but there are tricks to pulling this off without great expense.

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[Roxbororob]

I think you will find roofing felt (even 30 pound) to be essentially transparent to low frequency energy.

I can attest to this because I tried it. Nope, money better spent on layers of Gyproc.

 

[pcake]

Op is looking for a cheap solution that doesn't exist for his budget , I offered something that might help some . .better than nothing and its within his budget.

i've lived by people who took small steps to mitigate noise - for me as a neighbor, it wasn't better than nothing

 

[chris_b]

Turn down. It's the sensible, cheap and immediate solution.

If the guy next door can feel your bass through his house then, either it's made of paper or you are playing very loud. Turn down or use headphones.

 

[agedhorse]

Op is looking for a cheap solution that doesn't exist for his budget , I offered something that might help some . .better than nothing and its within his budget.

It is essentially nothing. I know that you are trying to help though.

He would be better off spending the money on something that works than literally burning it or throwing it away.

Giving it to the neighbors to go out for dinner once a week would be an option would buy him 10 rehearsals for example. Not a great solution but at least it has a little merit and may in fact improve his relationship with the neighbor.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

Spend your $500 on buying guitars for your neighbours! They'll be over every day and no complaints! LOL
Fishheadjoe

 

[UnderTheRadar]

i've lived by people who took small steps to mitigate noise - for me as a neighbor, it wasn't better than nothing

This rings very true. I've been the victim of these circumstances. A neighbor decided he wanted home theater. His soundbar bass sub poured into the house like it was in the room with us. He turned it down but it eventually started creeping back in again and again ..testing us, I guess.
As stated earlier, it can have physical consequences to some. It triggered chronic insomnia which is miserable. I lost 12 lbs and I'm not overweight.
I don't know if it has been brought up yet, but consider property value. A seller may have to disclose negative issues such as excessive ambient noise. That effects home value and sellability. Now there are several levels that lawyers can be involved.
That said, I applaud Riff Ranger's attitude for being a good neighbor.

 

[mcnach]

Were you hip to an HPF? That can be a help but, it does add to the signal chain thereby suggesting practical advice from others that may interact with your sound?

Tough audience!

 

[VolverseLoco]

If you went down to a single 8" speaker you'd reduce the problem a little. but in a room with a 12". No.

You played an acoustic drum kit in an apartment? I am glad you are alive and well.

Yes. Started drum lessons Oct 1989. Got income tax refund of $375.00 March of 1990. Heard another drummer in our apartment complex playing and introduced myself. Rushed to music store and immediately bought 5 piece drum kit thinking it must be OK to play in apartment. Setup drum kit in 2nd floor apartment and proceeded to bang out rudiments and rolls and whatever else I 'thought' was musically correct. Got letter from leasing office not renewing lease that was supposed to renew April 1 1990. Moved into 2nd floor private condo and at same time rented storage garage.

Have grown up a little bit since then. I do empathize with the OP's neighbor and the 'NOTE'. I do not want to get such note either. It's like once you get 'The Note', you are marked, in the system, known about. Its like facial recognition, once you know the place has coordinates of your face you will always wonder if when you go into that place again they will send the goons after you. Same thing with 'The Note' if you keep playing your always wondering when the cops are coming. If my neighbor was playing the bass guitar, or any instrument that was somewhat annoyingly loud, I too would produce "The Note" to them, and I love to play music myself.

 

[knumbskull]