stop my neighbors from calling the cops

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knickz34

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I'm in college, and i'm moving into a house that's about 30 feet from the neighbor's house, but rumor has it that theyre anal about great music being played too loud... and I have a rock band.

SO - what is the least expensive way that I can keep the sound in our practice room and not outside? The dimensions are about that of a one car garage. I read that eggcrates and blankets don't do the trick. Any info would help. Thanks

Jordan
 
To stop that kind of volume you need mass, and lots of it. Sound blankets and stuff will cut reverberations inside the room.

It sounds like you are renting this place? If so the options for construction are even more limited.

I know what some amateur rock bands do is to just rent one of those self-storage places. Lots of mass and no neighbors to speak of. They power the whole thing with a small generator.
 
Yeah... you're likely pretty much screwed....

To get the kind of isolation you'd need, you would have to use room-within-a-room construction techniques -- an expensive and complex proposition at best.

And if you're renting, you likely won't be able to perform such changes to the property.

I agree with Inno... finding a rehearsal space somewhere is your best bet.
 
Depending on your local regulations, there may not be a damn thing that your neighbors can do until after a certain time. For instance, around here you might as well not bother calling the cops for noise complaints until 10:00PM, 'cause they won't do squat. What your neighbor CAN do, however, is call your landlord, who will most likely side with them.

Since you are in college, your schedule is probably more flexible than your neighbors. You might try to go over and talk to them and arrange some times during the week when they can expect to hear loud music if they're home.

I would suggest finding a place to live with your bandmates....a big old house or something, a little out of the way where you won't bother a lot of people. There's nothing worse than trying to jam when you know the whole neighborhood can hear you.

Slackmaster 2000
 
hey, i dunno how eggcrates are made in the us, but here in mexico they do wonders : )

i just filled a room with those and now i can record drums at 11pm and no one outside notices (of course i dont do it very often hehe)

i suggest using carpet, eggcrates or anything you have at hand
 
Eggcrates have no magical properties that allow them to defy the laws of physics.

To isolate sound you need mass and insulation from vibration/transmission. So unless you find eggcrates that are made of concrete, they're going to do very little to stop the transmission of sound.
 
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So where can I pick up concrete egg crates? Does Home Depot carry 'em?
 
try on markets, they give them to you for free. just get them clean hehe
 
Alex W said:
So where can I pick up concrete egg crates? Does Home Depot carry 'em?
Click to expand...

I think the abos use them in Australia for hauling around ostrich eggs. Maybe John has some connections on those...
 
Hey, Memo - Were your neighbors not complaining BEFORE you passed out the free tequila, or AFTER ? Or, did you find an area where people can only hear 6.3 kHz? Cause that (and 10kHz) are the only two frequencies eggcrates absorb to any degree, and even at THOSE freqs they are anything BUT soundproof... Steve
 
think about putting LOTS of Markertek acoustic foam tiles on the walls. They're cheap!
 
Giganova said:
think about putting LOTS of Markertek acoustic foam tiles on the walls. They're cheap!
Click to expand...
That won't do it.... foam tiles don't defy the laws of physics either! :p
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
That won't do it.... foam tiles don't defy the laws of physics either! :p
Click to expand...

They work fine. You just need to layer them about 3ft thick ;)
 
fun

... and then u get to watch ur hosue burn down from the big load of fuel sittign around ur room...
 
How about, instead of modifying the structure and going through that big hassle...

You all pitch in for a cheap mixer, plug your instruments into the mixer, and use a headphone amp.

You'd need an electric drummer though, but used electronic drums are coming way down in price on e-bay.

Radical thought I know, but its easier than pouring concrete. And when you move out, you can take the gear with you!
 
Then you'd need all direct boxes, Pods and stuff. I doubt anyone will dig on that idea though done right it could be killer.
 
I did just that with a band quite awhile ago...but our reasons were fairly different..or just the opposite. It was just too friggin loud in the basement we practiced in {FOR US!!>>SCREW THE NEIGHBORS}, so we put our "stacks" in other rooms and mic'd em and we all had our little headphone plugins (which we attached to the ceilings...really kept cords outta the way well). The drummer was in the same room, but since we all had cans on, it cut down on his volume as well. PLUS, we could actually hear the vocals...saved all the monitoring BS and the FEEDBACK of hooking up a PA rig in such a bad environment......
I have to say it worked really well. And you can get pretty elaborate with custom headphone mixes nowadays with all these little headphone amps and mixers available that don't cost shit, that with a typical 5pc band...or whatever, each person can have their own mix for sure.


this was back in the days when combo amps meant Twin Reverbs as a min. btw:eek: not to mention damn loud drummers that all played like "Bonzo"

but you know...this thread is tooo old and I'll bet the kid has dropped out of college by the time they might read this!!:D
 
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