First noise complaint from neighbors.

[u6crash]

I'm kind of fuming here. It has been a ridiculously difficult month. Today I plugged into my Peavey Classic 30 and let 'er rip for about 10-15 minutes. This was about 11:30am. Not early or late for most folks (except me, who works third shift). I live in a bungalow in town. There are at least two exterior walls and a yard between me and the complaining neighbor. I've lived here five years and never had a problem with anyone. By the time the cops even go here I was already in bed. I got up and answered his questions. He didn't seem to think I hadn't done anything wrong, but told me if this continues that it may result in a situation where I'm issued a citation and fined. He also said sometimes it is better to try to make friends with the neighbors before you become enemies, but I just can't see myself taking them a plate of cookies when they have called the police on me. I'm not exactly sure when they moved in, but I don't think they have been there very long.

 

I looked up the city noise ordinance and it says the sound has to be below 60dB as measured from the complainant's property line between 7am and 10pm, after that it drops to 55dB. I tried an app on my phone and 60dB doesn't seem like much, but I may end up buying a decibel meter and installing some sound diffusers and absorbers (which has been the plan anyway). Yes, it was pretty loud here on my end, but I have a difficult time believing it was terribly loud and disturbing by the time it got to their home. There are all sorts of people playing music in the neighborhood and I can hear them fine when I'm outside, but once I'm inside it's all gone.

 

Anyway, just needed to rant. I could use any suggestions you have though.

[Grant Harding]

It's a really tricky one. I'm friends with all of my neighbors, so there's a lot of give and take and never angst. But... because we're friends I never blast with a tube amp anymore. I swapped it for a Kemper amp that I can play with headphones at home, but still push a guitar cab onstage or in a practice room.

[catscurlyear]

i`d take it as an insult and learn some better tunes.lol...............

if they sent the coppers round take that as a serious warning ,if they know their common law rights they can sue you for a breach of the peace ,noise in their house coming from you is trespass by you ,the copper is now a witness should they go down that path . If they don`t know their common law rights the local authorities MAY (is what they always say) serve legislation on you ,you`ll get a few warnings from your council or whatever you call it over there and probably get a fine ,over here in Great Britain after a few warnings they will (try)confiscate the offending noise gear in your case your amp .

try strike a happy medium go round and apologise with a box of chocs, give them your phone number and say in future if i`m ever too noisy for any reason just give me a ring and let me know ,try get a friend to stand outside and see how loud you are while you have a blast.

[Mikeo]

I'm kind of fuming here. It has been a ridiculously difficult month. Today I plugged into my Peavey Classic 30 and let 'er rip for about 10-15 minutes. This was about 11:30am. Not early or late for most folks (except me, who works third shift). I live in a bungalow in town. There are at least two exterior walls and a yard between me and the complaining neighbor. I've lived here five years and never had a problem with anyone. By the time the cops even go here I was already in bed. I got up and answered his questions. He didn't seem to think I hadn't done anything wrong, but told me if this continues that it may result in a situation where I'm issued a citation and fined. He also said sometimes it is better to try to make friends with the neighbors before you become enemies, but I just can't see myself taking them a plate of cookies when they have called the police on me. I'm not exactly sure when they moved in, but I don't think they have been there very long.

 

I looked up the city noise ordinance and it says the sound has to be below 60dB as measured from the complainant's property line between 7am and 10pm, after that it drops to 55dB. I tried an app on my phone and 60dB doesn't seem like much, but I may end up buying a decibel meter and installing some sound diffusers and absorbers (which has been the plan anyway). Yes, it was pretty loud here on my end, but I have a difficult time believing it was terribly loud and disturbing by the time it got to their home. There are all sorts of people playing music in the neighborhood and I can hear them fine when I'm outside, but once I'm inside it's all gone.

 

Anyway, just needed to rant. I could use any suggestions you have though.

 

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https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BrakeLiteSA--dr-z-brake-lite-stand-alone-45-watt-attenuator?mrkgcl=28&mrkgadid=3311211046&rkg_id=0&product_id=BrakeLiteSA&campaigntype=shopping&campaign=aaShopping%20-%20Core%20-%20Guitars&adgroup=Guitars%20-%20Guitar%20Amps&placement=google&adpos=1o2&creative=226299461039&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjwguDeBRDCARIsAGxuU8ZeIGqroCWp3GeUsvS6pcUdqRwb06fDggnWR8CXo47OeS9sjd-yYJkaAkAWEALw_wcB

[gardo]

This is part of the reason that small tube amps are so popular

Killer tone at lower volume

I have a decibel meter It's surprising how loud I tend to play and the damage this will do to my ears

I already hear crickets 24/7

[Phil O'Keefe]

You can get a SPL meter for your smartphone and use that to measure with. I highly recommend that. Ideally you'd need a friend to play so you could measure... or use a stereo as the noise source instead.

 

Foam and diffusers are not going to do much to stop sound from entering or leaving the room - they'll make it sound better inside the room, but they're not going to do much of anything for isolation. That generally takes mass... but in the meantime, make sure all doors and windows are closed up tight, and keep your volume levels half-way reasonable... and get the meter and measure so you have an idea how loud things actually are. 60dB at the property line during the day is pretty low... distance is your friend, and if you can't increase the distance (sound level drops at the inverse of the square of the distance from the source) then you have to increase the acoustical isolation, or decrease the level at the source...

[daddymack]

60dB? Starting a Harley is louder than that...an average conversation, measured at 3 feet is 60-65 dB...most gasoline engines, at idle, are over 75dB, so every motor vehicle driving in your town is breaking the law....not to mention lawn mowers and leaf blowers.

It could be, that, like you, your new neighbor works 2nd or 3rd shift, so take that into consideration. It might be worth the short walk to go find out, as there may be an opportune time between your schedules when you can 'let it rip' and no one will b!+c#.

 

On the other hand, running a 30w tube amp wide open in an enclosed space is very likely to damage your hearing...I know, because the crickets sing to me night and day, unabated. [years of playing 100w Marshalls and 40w Fenders...now I am into 5, 15 and 20w tube amps, and they're still too loud for my neighbors running wide open ]

[catscurlyear]

very likely to damage your hearing...I know' date=' because the crickets sing to me night and day, unabated. [years of playing 100w Marshalls and 40w Fenders...now I am into 5, 15 and 20w tube amps, and they're still too loud for my neighbors running wide open ]

haha,although it`s not funny, i hear those same crickets and i`m right over the pond in England, noisy drummers cymbals and accidents with headphones have also dammaged my ears.

 

[u6crash]

60dB? Starting a Harley is louder than that...an average conversation, measured at 3 feet is 60-65 dB...most gasoline engines, at idle, are over 75dB, so every motor vehicle driving in your town is breaking the law....not to mention lawn mowers and leaf blowers.

It could be, that, like you, your new neighbor works 2nd or 3rd shift, so take that into consideration. It might be worth the short walk to go find out, as there may be an opportune time between your schedules when you can 'let it rip' and no one will b!+c#.

 

On the other hand, running a 30w tube amp wide open in an enclosed space is very likely to damage your hearing...I know, because the crickets sing to me night and day, unabated. [years of playing 100w Marshalls and 40w Fenders...now I am into 5, 15 and 20w tube amps, and they're still too loud for my neighbors running wide open ]

 

Definitely wasn't playing it wide open. It's difficult for me to believe that it was loud enough in their house to truly disturb them, but you're right, 60dB is not a lot.

 

I think they are an elderly couple. Not sure what their story is because I never saw a moving van and the place never went up for sale, but they definitely haven't been here longer than a couple months. It will be interesting to see what happens when the drums get properly set up.

 

[Danocoustic]

I sympathize, but...you don't have the right to piss off your neighbors with your noise. You just don't.

 

I've been on both sides of this pissin' match. I'm lucky in that what I'm currently getting from my neighbors (I live in a trailer park) is, "Turn it UP!".

[u6crash]

I sympathize, but...you don't have the right to piss off your neighbors with your noise. You just don't.

 

I've been on both sides of this pissin' match. I'm lucky in that what I'm currently getting from my neighbors (I live in a trailer park) is, "Turn it UP!".

 

If anything I was doing was unreasonable, I would agree. I've worked third shift for 12 years and have never asked anyone to be quiet or make an exception for me. This was a reasonable volume, at a reasonable time of day, for a very short duration.

[Danocoustic]

 

If anything I was doing was unreasonable, I would agree. I've worked third shift for 12 years and have never asked anyone to be quiet or make an exception for me. This was a reasonable volume, at a reasonable time of day, for a very short duration.

 

Again, I sympathize.

 

But if they can hear you---AT ALL---inside their home, whether you think it's "reasonable" or not, no matter what you have tolerated in the past or are willing to tolerate going forward, at ANY time of day or night---you're wrong. No one is required to listen to our noise if they don't want to (notice I said "our"). That's just the way it is.

 

If I want to crank out Smoke On The Stairway To Freebird at high volume, I'd better buy that 140 acres in BFE that I've always wanted.

 

People have a right to peaceful enjoyment of their homes.

 

Now if they were complaining about you running your lawnmower in the middle of the afternoon, I'd tell them to suck a dick up 'til they hiccup.

[Chordite]

I have been in the bizarre situation of trying to record music and being unable to because the neighbour was playing trance all day.and of course the mics picked it up. It wasn't horrendously loud I just had to wait the whole weekend for his drossy party to end.

Currently I am a writer (fiction) which really does need detatched quiet, luckily I have good neighbours now so I use decent budget enclosed headphones if I want to play loud.

Though I play at normal levels daytime and its OK I guess being folky jazzy oriented rather than metal helps considerably.

Try phones because now you have scared the horses the problem won't be going away, they will be primed.

The clipped waves of distortion seem to cut through a lot more wall db for db which is likely the root of your problem, you might be surprised how loud it sounds from your neighbour's house.

 

[DeepEnd]

I feel your pain, at least sorta. When I was in my first apartment there were complaints from the old lady downstairs about my playing acoustic in the evening. Nothing was ever said to me, no, she reported me directly to the Building Manager. But somehow nobody said a peep about the guy across the landing from me rehearsing with his jazz band. Oh, no. Still, we've all gotta get along and if that means using an Amplug and phones that's what it means.

[Freeman Keller]

60dB? Starting a Harley is louder than that.....

 

My neighbors had to get used to me going to work at 7:00 each morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

60dB? Starting a Harley is louder than that...an average conversation' date=' measured at 3 feet is 60-65 dB...most gasoline engines, at idle, are over 75dB, so every motor vehicle driving in your town is breaking the law....not to mention lawn mowers and leaf blowers.[/quote']

 

My city has similar regulations / 60dB(A) limits - which is why I wanted to get a house on a large (in my case, 1/2 acre) lot - distance and the inverse square law are your friends if you want to make noise.

 

A lot of those codes specify a time limit for noises that exceed that 60dB(A) limit - X amount of minutes per hour if over 70dB, Y amount of minutes per hour if over 80dB, etc. At least my city does. And remember, it's not measured at the source, but at the property line... but you're absolutely correct that 60dB is quite low, and can be easily exceeded by normal activities such as mowing your lawn or starting your car up in the morning.

 

The best bets are to turn down, increase the mass and air-tightness of the room perimeter, and / or get on friendly terms with your neighbors and try to work around their schedule.

 

 

[Phil O'Keefe]

Smoke On The Stairway To Freebird

 

You should write a song with that name!

[Danocoustic]

I perform that tune with The Lonely Boners,, my occasional bar band.

 

For some reason, they don't like to advertise us on their sign ?

[doublecross]

That sucks. But unfortunately that's the world we live in today and some people are just like that. Personally I would have been knocking on your door if you were pissing me off. But the bad is kind of on you here as a lit up 30w Peavey tube amp in a bungalow in town might not be the best of ideas. I'd have probably been pissed too and more so if you cant play worth a {censored}. My neighbors tried the full blast boombox in the backyard once. Rap music. I hate rap music. So I shut them down in my own way. https://imgur.com/a/q4du7kI

[sammyreynolds01]

Get an attenuator. Problem solved.

[bluesmann]

Buy some good pedals. Place a volume pedal after your comp and drive pedals. Get some tone at any volume. I'd rather buy pedals than pay the fine. You could also ask when was the last time the cops had their decimeter calibrated. Buy a Harley and rev it in your drive way. Ask 10 of your biker buddies over for a spin out. Wear your colors. Open carry. Roll a doobie.

[Misha]

Look at this site: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Acoustic/isprob2.html

 

I'm always worried to be too loud for my neighbours. I started using an app on my android phone, too. I'm not sure it's well calibrated, though...

 

I've had a teacher who used a home made stage curtain. He got a comforter sewed inside a duvet cover made with thick fabric. It actually looked pretty good and was very efficient to stop the sound from one piece to another. If the neighbours are downstair, a carpet may help. It they are upstair... Then I don't know!

 

between 50 and 60 Db, it says: "quiet library" ??? That is not loud!

[Misha]

I forgot... I also wonder if using a fan/humidifier/climatiser in a room next to where I play can create white noise that will cancel, at least partially, the noise I'm making with my guitar ???

 

(This method is used by persons who have to sleep with a snoring partner! )

 

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Edit: ... Before divorce!

[mrbrown49]

It just makes it easier to ignore, mostly a psychological effect. No real cancelling or noise reduction at all.