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Please help me keep the lows in my own house

#304
bobyoung53 said:
I would do that, you may be surprised at how loud it is and how far it carriers, bass goes through just about anything.
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Trying to puts things in perspective/relation here?

What I found most interesting was in my backyard when the cars went by behind my concrete wall, the meter was at 70db. The chart says "Average City Traffic Noise" is 80dB and is classified as 'annoying'. My meter readings with my bass notes being played by the looper through my amp, exactly where the cops would take a reading IF those neighbors of mine ever did complain, was 55dB. No one calls the cops or raises holy hell for a 70~80dB traffic noise..And they back up to the same road as me. I am not condoning sonically bombarding them with the intro to Runnin With The Devil at 85dB at their house, but I will stand by my 55dB readings in relation to what else is going on around them, and the local sound level ordinances, if they ever complained, or anyone complained around me. I had the meter in my hand just normal talking to my girlfriend in our bedroom and it was at 68~70dB. Wheres the relationship in all this? Must have something to do with the logarithmic thing going on. I need to read more. I don't know what the OP's levels were but most likely the neighbor just doesn't like the repetition of low frequency bass notes. Maybe its the same as what they do in Guantanamo bay, slow drips of water to the forehead. See, I already had this science work in my favor when I played the drums in 1992 ish and old man Kenny across the street called the Largo cops on me. The sound meter spoke for itself, the cops told him they couldn't do anything. He was a cranky old man who probably didn't like Round And Round by Ratt back then. 55dB is nothing.

chart.PNG
 
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#305
VolverseLoco said:
Trying to puts things in perspective/relation here?

What I found most interesting was in my backyard when the cars went by behind my concrete wall, the meter was at 70db. The chart says "Average City Traffic Noise" is 80dB and is classified as 'annoying'. My meter readings with my bass notes being played by the looper through my amp, exactly where the cops would take a reading IF those neighbors of mine ever did complain, was 55dB. No one calls the cops or raises holy hell for a 70~80dB traffic noise..And they back up to the same road as me. I am not condoning sonically bombarding them with the intro to Runnin With The Devil at 85dB at their house, but I will stand by my 55dB readings in relation to what else is going on around them, and the local sound level ordinances, if they ever complained, or anyone complained around me. I had the meter in my hand just normal talking to my girlfriend in our bedroom and it was at 68~70dB. Wheres the relationship in all this? Must have something to do with the logarithmic thing going on. I need to read more. I don't know what the OP's levels were but most likely the neighbor just doesn't like the repetition of low frequency bass notes. Maybe its the same as what they do in Guantanamo bay, slow drips of water to the forehead. See, I already had this science work in my favor when I played the drums in 1992 ish and old man Kenny across the street called the Largo cops on me. The sound meter spoke for itself, the cops told him they couldn't do anything. He was a cranky old man who probably didn't like Round And Round by Ratt back then. 55dB is nothing.

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We're here for OP to solve his annoying bass. Nobody much cares about legalities.
 
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#306
55 dB is between conversational speech and light traffic according to google! it's really hard to predict what bass sounds like in the next house unless you check it out yourself. I remember from when I was a kid that you could usually hear the bass way before anything else as you drove up to a club.
 
#310
I find it's a BIG deal as to WHEN said noise is.
I'm in suburban Australia and the CONSTANT noise of neighbors reverse cycle heat pumps can be incredibly annoying, and those aren't loud by any means.
A cuppla thoughtless ppl going for an early morning walk and talking loud, shouting to each other = annoying too. The air is still, it's early morning, no other noise around... etc..
When I play my bass in my garage, I'm sure it can be heard within my close neighbors, but, I'm not playing it REALLY loud, ok, maybe sometimes, for a few minutes.
But I can jam along with recorded music and play for hours at a reasonable level, during the day, i.e. when others may mow their lawn, use power tools etc etc.... and there's no probs
Bass IS very resonant and it does carry a lot, but.....
Use thoughtfulness
Use a HPF.... etc..
Heck..... we have band prac at my place sometimes, no complaints, but we're not going into 'quiet times'
 
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#313
VolverseLoco said:
Ok, this is interesting stuff. I got my $15.00 dB sound level meter today. I have a TC 500 head and a 15" Bassman speaker. My practice room in my 1 story house is 12'x12', standard Vegas cheap cookie cutter construction. My room is not a corner room, its in the middle of the length of the West side of the house and has a like a 5'x5' glass window on the wall that faces the outside. There is a 2 story house 15' across from this window and he is on the corner of the street. No fence, all open. The back of my house has a concrete block 6ft high wall and there is a 2 lane kind of main street. If I was to be worried about receiving "The Note", it would be from this 2 story house. I don't even know the people. The back of my Bassman cab faces the wall with this window. I set my amp and playing level a little louder than what I normally play sustained at. The sound meter was 3' away from the cab. It registered average 85db. The notes on the G string got it peaking at 90dB. I played a constant fretted A at the 5th fret which seemed to resonate really nice bass. I play with a pick. The meter sustained 85dB. I then played this same A into my looper pedal and started to walk around the house with the meter. Inside the house in the back bedroom it was 55dB. In the back yard, I could hear the bass a little but the road noise made the meter go in the 70 dB range. I then went to the property line of the 2 story house directly outside my window and it was 55 dB. I am NOT in the least bit worried about receiving "The Note" from ANYONE. To the OP who got the note, I know you had a lot of firepower in your garage and may have been PUSHING it sound wise, but I highly suggest you get a meter with your new rig and find out what your working with, only because you irritated a neighbor and they will have it out for you now. Yes, irritating the neighbor with the bass guitar is not right, but you as a person in your own home have a right to play your music and enjoy yourself, within the law. You might want to check out your local sound ordinances.

So I post the ordinance chart from where I live. If anyone even try's to give me guff, I will have done my research before hand and kindly show them what they are up against, in a nice way, of course. I did my tests giving myself a little 'extra' volume, so I know that when I play regularly I am riding the edge of sound with regards to the one house I *was* worried about (and it wasn't loud at all, and no trace of annoyance like a group of trap music listening teenagers in a car, you know what I mean . I also know that it is only 2 people there and their main bedroom is upstairs on the opposite side of the house as me, so they shouldn't hear damn thing at 10 at night. You need to do reconnaissance on your neighbors too!



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false sense of security... do you know what the meter's weighting curve is?

Also? most inexpensive meters are WAY off below 125Hz, reading low by as much as 20dB depending on weighting.
 
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#314
agedhorse said:
false sense of security... do you know what the meter's weighting curve is?

Also? most inexpensive meters are WAY off below 125Hz, reading low by as much as 20dB depending on weighting.
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Oh boy.. well, it has to be somewhat not to far off from being right in certain spots, it read the same levels as what the chart says for conversation and traffic..but I hear ya, its that below 125Hz thing that is probably most important here.
 
#316
If you are planning on going head to head with somebody over noise legalities, you need a meter that is accurate, calibrated and know how to use it properly. Otherwise, if you end up in court somebody who knows more than you do will squish you like a bug.

That's what you get in more expensive meters generally, and why the pros use them.
 
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#318
Groove Doctor said:
Find out what time he finishes work, and stop playing loudly after he gets home.
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It took 300+ responses for someone to observe this -- the note said that the writer wanted piece and quiet after work. It was in the OP...seems like an obvious accommodation. :)

I can't say that I'm surprised that the new amp didn't make any difference -- that's a little bit of what we call "seeking an electronic solution to an acoustical problem." But good luck, OP...it sounds like you've got the right attitude about it -- unlike some folks, many of whom I'm glad are not MY neighbors.
 
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