will be moving out soon and want to know what it's like playing in an apartment. obviously, you have to keep the volume down, but i was wondering how big of an issue this is in general. are there ways of soundproofing without ridiculous cost?

don't buy acoustic treatment if you don't want to spend a couple thousand dollars (just to treat the room, soundproofing is a whole different topic), no point as bass frequencies need a lot of dead air space just to deny them to travel the distance they do. if you'd like to know, it'd take around 6-8 feet worth of dead airspace for a 60hz signal to be trapped. high frequencies are easier, but that's not really what will be annoying your neighbors, it's the rumble of the lows

just find out how late you can play loud music and work your parties around that

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Originally posted by jupiterone just find out how late you can play loud music and work your parties around that

That and find out what the times of the day no one is home. Also depending on your apartment, the sound may travel farther/shorter than you think.

If you want to be a model neighbour, get used to mixing in your headphones.

I used to live in a terraced house with my room directly adjacent to the bedroom of a woman who used to get really bad migraines - when she was in I couldn't turn it up loud enough for monitors to really be of any use, so I started just mixing in my headphones with my monitors off.

That doesn't mean I never turned it up - I knew when she was out and I'd take advantage of that to write tracks, which is a lot easier on a pair of monitors than on headphones.

I've carried on mixing in my headphones since, which hopefully has stopped other neighbours and housemates since getting too pissed off (I now live in a flat), plus it's got the added bonus that if I turn up to a gig and the monitors don't work I'm already used to just ignoring them and sticking to my cans.

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Stu Cox |

problem is i don't play out at all. i'm just a loser who stays in his bedroom. is it better to be on the first floor, the top floor, or does it not matter?

If your speakers are on a desk or on stands, the bass will travel downwards a bit more easily than it'll travel upwards... so ground floor would be your best bet to avoid pissing other people off, but remember that you could then potentially have some **** who's less considerate in the flat above you with his bass pouring through your ceiling.

Ground floor flats are also an easier target for break-ins and you don't want someone nicking all your lovely DJ gear.

The more important point when trying not to piss off the neighbours is avoiding having your speakers in a room which is adjacent to another flat, if you can help it. My room's surrounded by the rest of my flat on 3 sides so I don't have any problems, but my housemate's room shares a wall with next door so he has to be a bit more careful.

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Stu Cox |

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Originally posted by trancypantzzz problem is i don't play out at all. i'm just a loser who stays in his bedroom. is it better to be on the first floor, the top floor, or does it not matter?

doesn't matter what floor, it'd be amazing if your place had lots of dead space between your room and your neighbors and no one living below your apartment. my place is perfect (well almost) i'm on the top most floor, but, i have at least 10-12 feet of space between each apartment room next to me and no one below

just get a place that has space separating your room from the neighbors. i'm not supposed to play loud music after 10pm, but i get away with it because of the location of my room

see if you could look at a blue print or layout of the apartment complex, my apt manager let me do that. told her i play music a lot and wanted to see how far away i am from neighbors

also, if you do get a studio apartment (i'd recommend a 1br) then make sure your gear isn't visible from your entrance, sometimes you get people walking behind you, you open the door and they look in. it's a paranoid thought but, there are lots of shady people out there and a break in is the LAST thing you want as stu said

quote:

Originally posted by trancypantzzz will be moving out soon and want to know what it's like playing in an apartment. obviously, you have to keep the volume down, but i was wondering how big of an issue this is in general. are there ways of soundproofing without ridiculous cost?

no you pay ridiculous amount and everything will be ok. we live in desperate times, cash equals sound, if you don't have it then dont bother