Our first practice with a drummer and the neighbors are not happy

[mmmiddle]

Halfway through our practice tonight, at about 8:20 PM, an angry neighbor started yelling at us.

 

It's the first time we've had a drummer at the house, so I'm sure that's what caused it.

 

Drummers, can you tell me various ways I can stop the noise from bleeding outside?

 

Budget is under $500.

 

Here's the deal, we practice in the upstairs level of our house. It is about 14' by 15'. The ceiling angles overhead, it is 8' at the center, but only 5' where it meets the wall.

 

What I'm thinking is a Drum Shield.

 

If we had a drum shield in here, would it stop the drum noise from annoying the neighbors?? Or would bass frequencies still travel out somehow? How can I trap those bass frequencies?

[rumblebelly]

Why are you practicing upstairs? Might as well stick a PA on the roof. Try practicing on the lower level.

 

Do you have windows? The best thing you can do is cover em up with some sheetrock. A drum sheild won't do squat. Go outside and see how loud it is. Put some stuff up, you might even need to cover the walls as well as the windows, and go outside and see if it knocks the volume down. The bass frequencies are a pain to stop and require lot's of mass (like sheetrock) to reduce.

 

If this doesn't work, you might have to resort to a. Finding a new practice pad. b. Stop being in a band. c. Deal with the cops. or d. Build a room within the upstairs room using 2x4s and sheetrock.

[Dark Slide]

 

Originally posted by rumblebelly Why are you practicing upstairs? Might as well stick a PA on the roof. Try practicing on the lower level. Do you have windows? The best thing you can do is cover em up with some sheetrock. A drum sheild won't do squat. Go outside and see how loud it is. Put some stuff up, you might even need to cover the walls as well as the windows, and go outside and see if it knocks the volume down. The bass frequencies are a pain to stop and require lot's of mass (like sheetrock) to reduce. If this doesn't work, you might have to resort to a. Finding a new practice pad. b. Stop being in a band. c. Deal with the cops. or d. Build a room within the upstairs room using 2x4s and sheetrock.

 

 

My band practiced on the 3rd floor of my building for quite a while...

 

The cheapest way of pulling this off is to 1) Practice a little earlier and tell your neighbors to eat a dick. 2) Find out the sound ordinances and tell your neighbors to eat a dick. Or do neither and tell your neighbors to eat a dick.

 

The key is to lock your doors and pretend you can't hear the police when they show. I had the cops tell me that most of the time they never responded to the calls because they knew we couldn't hear them anyway, and to be charged with anything, they have to come back twice (first time is a warning).

[mmmiddle]

The upstairs is the largest area in the house and it is most suited to practicing and recording in. We practice a lot in there and never have never had a problem with the neighbors, but we've also never had a loud drummer.

 

A drum shield will reflect most of the sound above a certain frequency, so to me, that seems like an integral part of cutting the noise down. I don't understand how sheetrock can do a better job?

[rumblebelly]

I'm not sure how you plan on placing the sheild but I really can't see how it'll help. Yeah, it'll reflect the frequencies but they'll bounce back and still cut through the walls/windows/floors/ceiling, expecially the bass frequencies. Bass frequencies cut through walls like crazy, practically like water. The drum sheild might make it a little quieter for you but it won't help the noise from the drums leaving the room.

 

You can try it if you want but I'd still try to seal the sound from leaving the house.

[Narsus]

I just soundproofed a room in my house that's like 10 feet from the neighbor's house. The room had 3 windows and a door (2 windows and door facing neighbor's house).

 

You can practice upstairs, but what are you dealing with? How many windows/doors? Is the ceiling insulated? With what? What is the floor made of? Is it close to your neighbor's house?

 

A drum shield will probably not help you at all. Sound "shielding" can be done by surrounding the culprit (drums) by stuff that won't vibrate through and cause noise to travel to the outside of walls and such. On $500, that will be rough. I spent about $2,000 on 2" foam, framing, insulation, drywall and finish/texture on my project, and it does a GOOD (not perfect) job of killing the sound. MOST of the sound comes through the window and the door, even though we added another door.

 

Research a floating riser for the drums. Consider buying large rubber pads for the windows and doors. That may fall within your budget. Oh, and talk to your neighbor once he/she is not so pissed. If you're nice about it and apologize for not asking him sooner, you can probably accomplish a lot.

 

If none of that will work, then it sounds like you're going to have to go the "eat a dick, neighbor" route.

[ulank]

Yah, the shield will just block the directional bleed of the drums within the room, but will do very little, if anything at all, to reduce bleed outdoors. Now a giant bubble is a different story....

 

I would:

 

1) Talk with your neighbors before your next practice and tell them you're working on ways to reduce the volume and you would appreciate that they keep the cops out of it while you work on respecting their space as well. Also, let them know you don't want to be a big disturbance, but music is important for you so you guys need to practice. Ask them if there are any days/times where they would not be bother by the noise. (i.e. blow kisses up their asses and let them know you're trying to do what you can, but it will take some time and work)

 

2) As rumble mentioned, the windows are a big culprit. Board them up with something heavy if possible. Line the walls, floor, ceiling with heavy, absorbant material, such as carpet and leave some air between the carpet and the walls.

 

3) Try dampening the kick a ton. Have the drummer play with rods or lighter, smaller sticks.

 

4) When all else fails, resort to Dark Slide's tactic. If you guys aren't practicing late and it isn't brutally loud, then {censored} em.

[rumblebelly]

Ok, here's my story. I used to live in a trailer park and my nearest neighbor was probably about 10' away. We practiced in the tiny 10x10 bedroom with two windows and only 4" outside walls. There wasn't much to block the sound so I bought a {censored}load of soundboard. The stuff is light (I could haul it on my jeep) and doesn't do a whole lot (the heavier the better, such as sheetrock) but with enough layers covering the outside wall and some more on the inside walls we made it bareable for my neighbor. She could still hear us but it didn't bother her. You could hear the kick and snare from about 50' but it was pretty muffled and quiet. The bassist had to turn down a bit but we compensated buy putting his amp up high and off the floor so everyone could hear it better.

 

Granted you have a larger room to deal with but I think that if you cover the outside walls and windows with something you should be okay in a stick built house. It'll take some experimenting about a modest amount of cash but I think you'll be fine.

[mmmiddle]

There are two small windows and a door, but the door faces out to the stairs, which face toward the front of the house, which is a busy street, so I'm not so worried about the door.

 

I'm sure it is the windows more than anything. I'll forget the drum shield then and work on dampening material like you suggested.

 

Thanks so much for the help! You probably know how much trouble this is going to save me.

[Old Steve]

 

Originally posted by mmmiddle Halfway through our practice tonight, at about 8:20 PM, an angry neighbor started yelling at us.

 

 

That's 90% of the problem. 8:20pm is when most non-musician people are sitting back after dinner watching "Watch My Stepdad Get Laid" or whatever the latest reality show happens to be. It's also prime time for people with young kids to be putting them to bed for the night. The LAST thing people want to hear at this point is you and your band working on the same song over and over.

 

Problem #2 is your location. The ONLY thing that can stop sound is mass. So in an ideal world, you'd be practicing in a room with 3' thick cement walls...no leakage whatsoever. Instead, the room you're in has almost no mass or insulation...the exterior walls most likely have a layer of drywall, some insulation underneath, some form of plywood outside, covered by the exterior of the house. Same with the floors and roof. Soundproofing a room like that will be a big job and will be very expensive.

 

So what's the solution. First off, consider moving to the basement if possible. The room you're in WILL leak like the Titanic. Next, consider timing. Think of your band as a big annoying telemarketer (that's what your neighbors will think of you). If you practice during the day when people are working, mowing the lawn, or otherwise distracted by life, they'll be less likely to care that you're making noise. Interrupting their dinner, bedtime, or relaxing time, and they'll be all over you. Perhaps it makes sense to approach your immediate neighbors and come to an understanding...you promise to quit playing by 8 or 9pm, and they promise not to call the cops. Other than that, if you insist on practicing when you are, and you can't figure out a way to make it quieter, your problems will persist.

 

As for sound shields, a more apt name should be near-field sound reflectors. They may make it possible to separate loud sound sources for purposes of controlling mic bleed, but from 50 feet away, the sound reduction is negligible. In your case, putting a shield between the kit and the wall facing the neighbors house will only redirect the sound a little bit, think of it as trying to hold back the ocean with a 5 foot square of plexiglas...the water will just flow around it...it might be a little less choppy right up against the back wall of the shield, but it's not going to keep the tide out.

 

As for ignoring the cops, that has a funny way of backfiring. In the short term, they may leave you alone, but eventually they can make your life hell. They can start issuing tickets requiring you to show up at court and/or pay fines. Worst case, they can get a warrant (assuming you're ignoring them on a regular basis), let themselves inside and while they're at it take a look around for anything else that peaks their interest....oh yeah, and still fine you. One last thing...it does make sense to acquaint yourself with the law on this. There may very well be noise ordinances in your town, and if you AREN'T in violation (and can prove it) it'll help you fight any neighbors who do get ridiculous about your rehearsing.

[keanu reeves]

buy them all something off of the mcdonalds dollar value menu.

[JBecker]

Practice out of prime time, go to carpet store and see if they have any shag or heavy carpeting left overs for free, hang that {censored} over the windows and walls and everywhere.

 

Buy sound absorbing foam and maybe even those corner bass blockers. You need dense materials to absorb the sound.

 

But, best idea of all, is get in the basement. That's where my band practices, with two huge egressed windows facing a neighbor exactly 10' away. I have yet to recieve a complaint about noise.

 

Also, be considerate. Don't practice late, and try not to be constantly loud for more than 3 hrs.

[iplayloudly]

stand a bunch of old mattresses up against the walls and windows, and attach carpet to the ceiling. maybe that would work

[Mopzilla]

8:20??? You gotta be kidding me! City ordinance most likely states that you can make noise until 10pm. Be friends with the cops and explain the thing about the room. Tell your neighbors to kiss your ass. What have you got to lose... it might feel good too!

[Old Steve]

Originally posted by Mopzilla 8:20??? You gotta be kidding me! City ordinance most likely states that you can make noise until 10pm. Be friends with the cops and explain the thing about the room. Tell your neighbors to kiss your ass. What have you got to lose... it might feel good too!

 

I diagree. Our town ordinance won't let you make a racket past 9pm. The next town over has an ordinance based on sundown...so in the summer you might get until 9pm, but in the winter you'd be screwed by 5:30...not that I've ever heard of it being a problem for anybody.

 

Also, the more belligerant you are toward the cops or neighbors, the more likely they are to hassle you. Who do you think the cops are going to side with...the crazy rock and roll guys, or the fine upstanding citizens who were just trying to watch Americas Stupidest Videos in peace!?!

 

Bottom line, as long as you keep making noise and as long as it pisses off the neighbors, you're going to have problems...either having the cops called, your neighbor harassaing you in some way, or some other kind of BS. IT CAN ALL BE AVOIDED...you just need to soundproof, and soundproofing the room you're in will be harder than soundproofing something like a basement. No matter what, it sure as hell can't hurt to try to come up with a reasonable comprimise with your neighbor before telling them off.

 

Mopzilla: I've been on the other end of this as well...my across the street neighbor's college aged kid was coming home at 2am and hanging in the street making noise with his pals and waking my kids in the process. I went out and told him and his buddies to take it somewhere else...they were smart. They did. If they'd responded as you suggested, they'd have wound up in the hospital...they knew it and I knew it. I've known the kid for several years, and he's seen me get angry before. I'm the 'upstanding citizen' in the eyes of the cops, and all I'd have had to tell my friends (the cops) was that I politely asked the kids to be quiet and they swung first. Then it's their word against mine, and who's the cop going to believe...the taxpaying property owner who was trying to sleep at 2am, or the drunk college kid out to party?

 

Remember, you gotta live there as do your neighbors.

[rumblebelly]

 

Originally posted by Old Steve I diagree. Our town ordinance won't let you make a racket past 9pm. The next town over has an ordinance based on sundown...so in the summer you might get until 9pm, but in the winter you'd be screwed by 5:30...not that I've ever heard of it being a problem for anybody.

 

 

When I was trailer trash, I had to go by the trailer park rules. I managed to get 3 warnings in 3 years from the park management that I was there. They said if you could hear it out in the street then it was too loud. One more warning and they could have evicted me from my own wonderful singlewide that I owned. The park was filled with lots of retired folks and they wanted it to be a quiet neighborhood. I kept the communication open, they offered suggestions on what I could do and it helped. I talked to my neighbor as well and she was cool about it (however, I had one neighbor that wouldn't reason with me at all. He said if he could hear it at 7pm, he didn't wanna hear it at 3pm blah blah blah.)

 

Also, I was outside city limits where in our county the cops make a judgement call on what's too loud. No decibel specification and it didn't matter what time of day it was. You would be at their mercy, even at noon. Gotta love the old west.

[mmmiddle]

Well I'm in Seattle and I looked it up. If your neighbor hears prolonged noise above 55 decibels before 10 pm they can call the cops on grounds of public disturbance.

 

That's sad because 55 decibels is pretty quiet. In fact, I'm pretty sure that it is always above 55 decibles where I live because a major road runs straight past my house.

 

I don't want to quarrel with my neighbors. I'm going to do what I can to make it quiet for them. I'll follow Ulank's advice and let the neighbors know I'm working on the problem.

[NecroSocial]

Here's how my band and our current (temp) drummer handle the sound situation. We stopped using acoustic drums and went with an electric kit. We run the drums, guitars (two guitars, one with a POD, the other with a V-Amp), keyboards, bass and vocals all directly into our mixing board. Then we either run the output through the PA if we have the freedom to be loud or through headphones if we need to be virtually silent. The best part is that what comes out of the speakers is a perfectly leveled mix of the whole band from one soundsource (instead of everyone with a whole slew of different levels coming from every corner of the room out of their amps and whatnot). Not only does it kill any chance of the neighbors calling the cops on us it also really helps the band to be studio and stage ready because you can basically hear the final product every time you practice.

 

I dunno if this set up is within your budget though since we basically had all the equipment in our individual possession when we got together. Best of luck to you though.

 

-Necro

[Old Steve]

 

Originally posted by mmmiddle That's sad because 55 decibels is pretty quiet.

 

 

True. I'd take another look at the ordinance and make sure it actually makes sense. There's such a thing as "A" weighted and "C" weighted (probably a "B" in there too). This has to do with transient noises versus average levels. If the ordinance doesn't speak to the issue, then they haven't really defined anything. All you have to do is get a sound meter from Radio Shack and ask the cop which level you should be measuring at. If it's just transients (quick peaks), a door slamming would probably constitute a violation.

 

Anyway, FWIW, I've heard of places where they wrote the law without knowledge of the science behind what they were supposedly trying to enforce, and the law was basically impossible to enforce as a result.

[Mopzilla]

Originally posted by Old Steve Remember, you gotta live there as do your neighbors.

I agree with you on some of this, but think about it, how much are you really going to have band practices in your house? Once, twice a week at most? Maybe have it on Saturday nights, when all the other neighbors might be watching a movie or eating late dinner or whatever.

 

Basically, what I was trying to say was, don't be hostile, but if they are hostile towards you for playing loud before 9pm, then you could go to the cops yourself. And if you're going to soundproof your room, don't spend too much money on it just because some asshole neighbor can't take once a week of "loud" music up till 9pm.

[mmmiddle]

It's 55 dB A weighted.

 

You can read all of it at:

 

http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/dclu/Noise/

 

But why would you want to waste time on that when you could be drumming?

[noelpaz]

Lucky for me - I live in a place where everyone has an acre or smore and our house is adobe. We have played sometimes till 12 AM and no cops ever come. Sometimes we do drum circles while my wife and friends do fire dancing- whirling fire poi balls and the worse the can happen is that neighbors come with beer and join in. The nice thing is even the most uptight neighbor likes to have an annual mariachi party. Maybe it helps I play the saxophone too and even at 12 midnight when I am playing by my porch, it is mostly soothing -- so when the experimental avant garde jazz jam with sometime 2 drumsets and marshall half stack go wailing, the neighbors don't really mind the noise --- but usually we warn them and we are done by 9 PM.

[mmmiddle]

As an update, we are going to sell the drum set we have and force our drummer (whoever that turns out to be) to play that so we have a balanced mix.

 

We decided to do this because this would save our hearing also.

 

Thanks Necrosocial! That's an idea I didn't really think about before and after talking about it, that's going to be the best way for us.

[pjb]

 

Originally posted by mmmiddle Halfway through our practice tonight, at about 8:20 PM, an angry neighbor started yelling at us. It's the first time we've had a drummer at the house, so I'm sure that's what caused it. Drummers, can you tell me various ways I can stop the noise from bleeding outside? Budget is under $500. Here's the deal, we practice in the upstairs level of our house. It is about 14' by 15'. The ceiling angles overhead, it is 8' at the center, but only 5' where it meets the wall. What I'm thinking is a Drum Shield. If we had a drum shield in here, would it stop the drum noise from annoying the neighbors?? Or would bass frequencies still travel out somehow? How can I trap those bass frequencies?

 

 

No rehearsal studios near you? or rent out a small factory unit on an industrial estate. The rent is usually cheap and you can jam whenever you want... a lot of bands I know do this.