So I know this is a very "stereotypical" problem for drummers, and I always thought it was a myth-my neighbors called the cops while I was jamming story. But yesterday while jamming at my friend's house this crazy old aunty deprived of sex or whatever started banging our window and cursing us to keep it down. So we tried to keep it down to a low level,but she still threatened us. Obviously,we can't move and she won't budge either.

A few solutions we are thinking of trying
1)Stick eggtrays all over the wall-does it actually work?
2)Buy the black muffling things in studios-freakin expensive
3)I already put cushions in my bass drum, squashtaped tissue on my drum skins to dampen the sound, used hot rods(the feeling sucks!) and bought ring arrestor drum mufflers-really good. She still complained
4)turned guitar and bass to a down low

We asked the other neighbors and only play at 3 in the afternoon-not in the morning or after 6. And we even asked a friend to stand outside to see if it was really that loud. It really wasn't. We even have a neighbor next to us who plays his car boombox more loudly. And this lady lives across the street,two houses away from the parralel house opposite us and she complains every day..

Solutions?

ask your other neighbors if it really is very noisy.. if they say no, the i think just ignore her.

Errmm... I do encounter but never have this prob before(since i play guitar using my headphones during practice). Old aunty like that is indeed troublesome . Well, we have to respect senior citizens, but she who lived across the street can hear it ? I dunno if sticking eggtrays to the wall will actually work but a few cheap jamming studio use them, it do reduces the sound though. The guitar maybe can turn the treble level down or something. And just don't hit the drums too hard (sometimes pple do lost control and let loose). If all method fails then just buy that aunty an iPod for her to listen to(yeah, this is sarcasm ). Similar case happened to my friends but worse it's a dormitory and the uni's Dean come rushing in and put the those guys with their instrument on detention .

i'm facing the same problem, but i'm on the noise tolerance side.

what you can do is to ask *why* she think it's noisy (assumed after you asked other neighbours that it's not too noisy). not everyone will be away from home at 3pm, some might be sleeping at this very moment, and some simply cannot take the sound of drums.

egg trays wouldn't help to isolate your drum sound, it'll only help to prevent reflections. you can always DIY for a little less money. Say, built wood frames, wrap with fabrics and stuff things inside like your old cloths etc etc, then stuck them on the wall (to cover as much area as you can, best if you cover all). say, 6' tall x2' wide, then lay them on the wall (and on the door too). then for the floor you can lay carpets.

there's one thing i've come across about the curtain for windows, it's called the "cinema grade" curtains where the curtain will cover completely without letting any lights going through, and have excellent sound isolation. but it's very rare to find, and it's quite expensive.

assumed you're playing in a room, or else it can be troublesome and ugly to mod e.g. living rooms etc. that's about it of what you can do without spending big money.

I crank my guitar amp gain knob all the way up & its 12 o'clock midnight. Just right after i stop surfing the net, go in my room & practice. No people complain so far lol.

First off, let me say you are one very considerate drummer! Many other musicians would just say to hell with the old aunty! Good for you man!

Like little ice mentioned, maybe go over and ask the lady why it bothers her so much playing in the afternoon. It seems like it only bothers her and not the other neighbours... her favourite drama might be on at that time!

Perhaps you can reach a compromise - agree to only practice at full volume for hour long lengths, maybe only on alternate days, etc. Maybe even offer to buy her a pack of earplugs she can stuff in her ears to wear while you practice? (cheeky!)

Going the DIY route? I've tried it before. The problem with drums, I think is the bass. I guess any low sound actually - they will travel pretty far and need mass (i.e lots of filling to stop it). High frequency noise like from guitars are more easily absorbed by material.

None of these work to completely cover all noise, but could muffle enough to decent levels:

- Heavy curtains/ layers of curtains over the windows.
- Carpet the floors. One or two layers. Maybe even put the carpet up on the walls.
- Roll up towels or cloth and put them at the foot of doors.
- The old DIY standard: mattresses against the walls/windows.
- Any mass helps - get foam or those cheap foam matresses you can get at a pasar malam and put those up against the window and walls.

Of course, having done all this, you'll be too tired to practice and that room will be hot as hell!!

Even the air conditioner is turned on?

lolz drumming is a real workout ma!

If you have an air conditioner, maybe not so hot, but still - drumming, singing, playing guitar, I'm sure you work up a sweat rocking out!! Plus. you've basically plugged or blocked all the airflow into/out of the room to help muffle the sounds... so maybe a fan is in order, so you can rock out with your hair flying everywhere, 80s style!

This post has been edited by monosyllabic: May 2 2009, 02:18 AM