Music / Guitar Playing in an Apartment

fake

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Gaiz,

Do you play guitar in your apartment? Do your neighbors complain? Do you feel self-conscious while playing? Is there anything you do to dampen the noise? Is there any difference in noise travel between living on the first floor vs. the second or third?

Apartment dwellers, do you have an annoying neighbor who plays music? How clearly do you hear it? Is it a mild annoyance or something worse?

I'm shopping around for apartments and am trying to decide what to do...
 

ggallegos1

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I used to play electric but my neighbors are all older, so the loud music and guitar playing went to low volumes. Eventually I just stuck with an acoustic and it does the job
 

fake

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For more context, I'm a pretty seriously player and I don't play acoustic, unfortunately. I try to play an hour a day most days, some days as much as three hours.

I own my favorite guitar (PRS Custom 24) and amp (late '90s two-channel Dual Rectifier) and I'd rather not relegate them to my parents' basement and only be able to play them once a week. I really don't crank my amp. It's a master volume tube amp, so I can turn it down pretty low without losing much of the "oomph". My amp at its normal setting is definitely louder than the normal volume of a TV.

I'm wondering doing the following would help:

1. Get a stand for my speaker cabinet (it's a 2x12, so this wouldn't be an issue, plus projecting the sound toward my head would sound a lot better than having it on the ground)

2. Create baffling with heavy blankets on the back and sides (back may not be necessary since it's a closed-back cab)

3. For recording, ditch my mic and get a Universal Audio Ox, which bypasses the need for a cab and goes straight to the audio interface
 
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wyo

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I use headphones with my amp to play late at night.
 

Ip Man

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i used to practice during the day without the guitar being plugged into the amp. sounds weird at first, but you get used to it after a while.
 

fake

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I use headphones with my amp to play late at night.

That's another thing the UA Ox does -- you can plug headphones into it. (Most tube amps don't have a headphone jack.)

I'd be potentially OK with this. But there's definitely something missing when using headphones - you don't get that slam of air against your body when you're standing in front of the speakers :lolz:
 

FilthyRear

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1. Get a stand for my speaker cabinet (it's a 2x12, so this wouldn't be an issue, plus projecting the sound toward my head would sound a lot better than having it on the ground)

This was going to be my suggestion. Project it upwards to "fill" the room - You can still move air and keep the amp at a reasonable volume.
 

wyo

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That's another thing the UA Ox does -- you can plug headphones into it. (Most tube amps don't have a headphone jack.)

I'd be potentially OK with this. But there's definitely something missing when using headphones - you don't get that slam of air against your body when you're standing in front of the speakers :lolz:

Yeah it's not quite the same feel but I actually like how it sounds via headphones. Most household rooms have shit acoustics anyway ;)
 

terry.330

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Luckily my neighbor plays so me listening to music and fucking around with TT isn't a big deal. The guy before him played bass professionally which was a bit more intrusive than the intro to smoke on the water for three hours.
 

Kiel

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I haven't played since I moved into my apartment :(
 

Neo Alec

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If you have to rent, get an apartment with lots of students. Those people don't care. People over 30 lose their shit over the slightest sound. I never had problems in any of the seven apartments I had in Seoul, but I suspect that since that was a large city, people were more tolerant of noise than they are here in the Midwest.
 

terry.330

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If you have to rent, get an apartment with lots of students. Those people don't care. People over 30 lose their shit over the slightest sound. I never had problems in any of the seven apartments I had in Seoul, but I suspect that since that was a large city, people were more tolerant of noise than they are here in the Midwest.

Doesn't your giant forehead just catch all the reverb automatically?
 

Late

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If you have to rent, get an apartment with lots of students. Those people don't care. People over 30 lose their shit over the slightest sound. I never had problems in any of the seven apartments I had in Seoul, but I suspect that since that was a large city, people were more tolerant of noise than they are here in the Midwest.

I bet you were a real party animal.
 

Neo Alec

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Doesn't your giant forehead just catch all the reverb automatically?
I wish.

I bet you were a real party animal.
Not really. In college a band used to practice next door. It was a ridiculous amount of noise for an apartment, but no one seemed to care.

In adult apartments, a loud TV or stereo is all you need. But I've seen it all - I lived in a townhome where the neighbor lost his shit from us just closing the kitchen cabinet doors. At the place I live in now, the guy below doesn't even like us walking around. Fortunately, the building management is not taking his side on that one.
 

Setherial

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I play bass and neighbours never complained when I lived in an apartment. It depends on how tolerant they are of your playing hahaha. Nah, jk, how well isolated is the room?
 

fake

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I play bass and neighbours never complained when I lived in an apartment. It depends on how tolerant they are of your playing hahaha. Nah, jk, how well isolated is the room?

I'm still shopping around. I'd love to rend a townhouse (like, vertically split) to keep the noise on the far side of the wall, but 95% of the apartments around Boston were made back in the day before that style was a thing. Top floors are usually several hundreds of dollars cheaper than bottom floors, but it sounds like the bottom is best for noise isolation.
 

Setherial

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I'm still shopping around. I'd love to rend a townhouse (like, vertically split) to keep the noise on the far side of the wall, but 95% of the apartments around Boston were made back in the day before that style was a thing. Top floors are usually several hundreds of dollars cheaper than bottom floors, but it sounds like the bottom is best for noise isolation.
If you can afford it, do it!
Do you have a band btw?
 

oldschool

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I usually jam with modelling amps of the sort which are suited for low volume / headphone support. The worst neighbors are the ones who practice EDM tracks.
 

Rocko

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I don't play guitar but I have an electronic drum kit which I play with headphones, but naturally it makes sounds even though I have mesh heads. The kick is the worst in terms of noise I think.

I'm very self-conscious when I play, maybe a little to much since I think it hinders how I play. Sometimes I try and strike a little lighter and that fucks up my rhythm. Neighbors haven't complained, but they've asked what the "noise" is. When I told them what it was and I actually got mostly positive reactions.
 
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SonGohan

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For more context, I'm a pretty seriously player and I don't play acoustic, unfortunately. I try to play an hour a day most days, some days as much as three hours.

I own my favorite guitar (PRS Custom 24) and amp (late '90s two-channel Dual Rectifier) and I'd rather not relegate them to my parents' basement and only be able to play them once a week. I really don't crank my amp. It's a master volume tube amp, so I can turn it down pretty low without losing much of the "oomph". My amp at its normal setting is definitely louder than the normal volume of a TV.

I'm wondering doing the following would help:

1. Get a stand for my speaker cabinet (it's a 2x12, so this wouldn't be an issue, plus projecting the sound toward my head would sound a lot better than having it on the ground)

2. Create baffling with heavy blankets on the back and sides (back may not be necessary since it's a closed-back cab)

3. For recording, ditch my mic and get a Universal Audio Ox, which bypasses the need for a cab and goes straight to the audio interface

Man, you are talking about playing through a goddamn tube monster. You are losing so much tone by playing that thing at a low level. A dual rectifier sounds its best when you're pushing your tubes. It's just the nature of how tubes color tone, rectifiers, especially.

As much as it sucks to hear, that simply isn't a "bedroom" or even an "apartment" amp. If you're insistent on it being your main amp, there are still a few things you can do to go about it:

1: A stand will help the sound not immediately hit the floor, which, if you're not on a bottom apartment, will help. However, you may just want to find an apartment on the first floor so you don't have to worry about it.

2: If you can, pick a room and cover the walls with U-Haul moving blankets. Those things are thick and huge so they will take up a very large space. It won't take a lot of them to completely cover the walls. If you want to, you could also go a step further and put some sound-absorbing foam on the walls as well. The guitar is a midrange instrument, so those blankets will cut most of the highs and mids that like to travel. It's the bass that goes through the walls and is what you have to worry about bothering your neighbors. The guitar doesn't have a lot of it, and what it does have can be treated, even if the dual rectifier tends to be big on the low end. Another thing you can do is get a power attenuator so you can get that fat tube tone at lower volumes.

3. I've never heard of the Universal Audio Ox. I just did some quick research, and it looks like it has a built-in attenuator, which is cool, but I guess I don't see the purpose of it since your sound is going direct into your interface. In theory, it shouldn't matter if you crank it at that point, since the sound is being handled and processed through the interface to the computer. It looks like it models speakers/cabs, but not a whole lot (judging by the reviews), and it looks like it doesn't allow for custom IRs, which is a huge deal-breaker, imo.

I'd honestly recommend at least trying the Line 6 Helix Native plugin. For direct recording, it's hard to beat, and the tones are beautiful. I think it retails for $400, but every once in a while Line 6 does a special, and you can get it cheaper (I think a couple months ago I was able to grab it for $280). But it has a ton of amps, cabs, effects, all of which are constantly being updated and added to, for free. It also allows for custom IRs, which made it a no-brainer for me. Check out the video:


Also, you can try it absolutely free for 14 days, so why not?:

https://shop.line6.com/software/plug-ins/helix-native.html

I use mine in Reaper which cost me $60, and I plug into a Behringer U-Phoria UMC404D which was only around $100.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the desire to play through an actual amp. I have the multi-watt Dual Rectifier and I play it through the 2x12 reco cab and it's amazing. When I play live, it's my go-to setup (with an Orange 4x12). When I sit down to practice/write, it's 50/50 whether or not I use the Helix plugin or the recto setup (or my EVH III setup). Fortunately, I have a studio in my backyard that is setup for this sort of thing, and no neighbors. I remember the "lean" days when I had to swing a shitty pocket pod in my apartment. I think I even created a thread where I uploaded a video of me blasting my guitar to my upstairs neighbors because they listened to that bass-heavy mariachi shit.

I digress. But there's my take. I work in a music store and also as a session musician for a studio located right next to our store. I've ordered all of their stuff and listened to every detail of how they went about setting their rooms up.
 

fake

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Man, you are talking about playing through a goddamn tube monster. You are losing so much tone by playing that thing at a low level. A dual rectifier sounds its best when you're pushing your tubes. It's just the nature of how tubes color tone, rectifiers, especially.

As much as it sucks to hear, that simply isn't a "bedroom" or even an "apartment" amp. If you're insistent on it being your main amp, there are still a few things you can do to go about it:

1: A stand will help the sound not immediately hit the floor, which, if you're not on a bottom apartment, will help. However, you may just want to find an apartment on the first floor so you don't have to worry about it.

2: If you can, pick a room and cover the walls with U-Haul moving blankets. Those things are thick and huge so they will take up a very large space. It won't take a lot of them to completely cover the walls. If you want to, you could also go a step further and put some sound-absorbing foam on the walls as well. The guitar is a midrange instrument, so those blankets will cut most of the highs and mids that like to travel. It's the bass that goes through the walls and is what you have to worry about bothering your neighbors. The guitar doesn't have a lot of it, and what it does have can be treated, even if the dual rectifier tends to be big on the low end. Another thing you can do is get a power attenuator so you can get that fat tube tone at lower volumes.

3. I've never heard of the Universal Audio Ox. I just did some quick research, and it looks like it has a built-in attenuator, which is cool, but I guess I don't see the purpose of it since your sound is going direct into your interface. In theory, it shouldn't matter if you crank it at that point, since the sound is being handled and processed through the interface to the computer. It looks like it models speakers/cabs, but not a whole lot (judging by the reviews), and it looks like it doesn't allow for custom IRs, which is a huge deal-breaker, imo.

I'd honestly recommend at least trying the Line 6 Helix Native plugin. For direct recording, it's hard to beat, and the tones are beautiful. I think it retails for $400, but every once in a while Line 6 does a special, and you can get it cheaper (I think a couple months ago I was able to grab it for $280). But it has a ton of amps, cabs, effects, all of which are constantly being updated and added to, for free. It also allows for custom IRs, which made it a no-brainer for me. Check out the video:


Also, you can try it absolutely free for 14 days, so why not?:

https://shop.line6.com/software/plug-ins/helix-native.html

I use mine in Reaper which cost me $60, and I plug into a Behringer U-Phoria UMC404D which was only around $100.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the desire to play through an actual amp. I have the multi-watt Dual Rectifier and I play it through the 2x12 reco cab and it's amazing. When I play live, it's my go-to setup (with an Orange 4x12). When I sit down to practice/write, it's 50/50 whether or not I use the Helix plugin or the recto setup (or my EVH III setup). Fortunately, I have a studio in my backyard that is setup for this sort of thing, and no neighbors. I remember the "lean" days when I had to swing a shitty pocket pod in my apartment. I think I even created a thread where I uploaded a video of me blasting my guitar to my upstairs neighbors because they listened to that bass-heavy mariachi shit.

I digress. But there's my take. I work in a music store and also as a session musician for a studio located right next to our store. I've ordered all of their stuff and listened to every detail of how they went about setting their rooms up.

Thanks, man. I was hoping you'd show up. I think you're right. It would be just wrong to leave this thing at low volume. The thing is an absolute beast. I think I could literally cause some structural damage with it. So I think I'm going to leave it in my parents basement for the foreseeable future, leave my recording setup in their basement as well, and build a new one for my apartment with a smaller, low watt amp.

One thing I've been looking up but am hesitant to try is pulling a pair of 6L6 tubes and one of the rectifier tubes (and then obviously halving the ohms to my cab). Do you think this would lower the volume that's required to get that cranked tone? Or is that a kind of lame strategy?

Also, have you had any experience with the Mini Rectifier? 25 watts seems much more manageable than 100.

Finally, the apartment I'm looking at actually has a detatched garage. Not sure how safe it would be to house an amp, cab, mic, interface, monitors, and iMac, but there's hope.
 

SonGohan

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Thanks, man. I was hoping you'd show up. I think you're right. It would be just wrong to leave this thing at low volume. The thing is an absolute beast. I think I could literally cause some structural damage with it. So I think I'm going to leave it in my parents basement for the foreseeable future, leave my recording setup in their basement as well, and build a new one for my apartment with a smaller, low watt amp.

One thing I've been looking up but am hesitant to try is pulling a pair of 6L6 tubes and one of the rectifier tubes (and then obviously halving the ohms to my cab). Do you think this would lower the volume that's required to get that cranked tone? Or is that a kind of lame strategy?

Also, have you had any experience with the Mini Rectifier? 25 watts seems much more manageable than 100.

Finally, the apartment I'm looking at actually has a detatched garage. Not sure how safe it would be to house an amp, cab, mic, interface, monitors, and iMac, but there's hope.

Man, I'm not sure if that's a good idea. The next time I see my tech I will ask him. I don't think it's anything I would try, though.

I haven't tried the mini rectifier. I've watched a lot of videos of it and it sounds really fucking good, though. But, like anything else, you don't know how much of those videos sound good because of post-processing/mixing/mastering. If I were you, I'd maybe consider getting a Mesa/Boogie Mark V 25. I mean, you already have a dual rectifier, so having something like a Mark V 25 shakes things up and gives you different tonal options even if you wanted to record with it (as opposed to having only a dual rectifier tone in a 25 or 100 watt). Mark V's are tone monsters, yet different than the DRs. Something to think about, man.

A detached garage is great, man. Those are easier to isolate and soundproof. I'd recommend getting an alarm system for it. I have probably $50,000+ worth of gear in my studio and I have an alarm system and two 24/7 cameras (one inside and one outside).

Off-topic (sorta): I recently purchased a Strymon Bigsky Reverb pedal that is amazing. I highly recommend checking it out (they make other great pedals too).


I swear, I turn into a kid every time new toys come out.
 

HellioN

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Ever consider one of those 1/2 or 1 watt tube practice amps?
They can still be pretty loud but you usually don't have to really crank them up if you have hot pickups or put an OD pedal in front of it.
Perhaps a small SS modeling amp?
When I played bass I ended up shelving my stack & just going with a 1x10 ampeg (back when they were still St. Louis made)
Just random thoughts.
 

fake

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@SonGohan - Yeah, that's a good idea about the Mark V mini. I love the Mark series tone.

So I saw a demo for that Strymon pedal and said to myself, "I'm buying this and nothing's going to stop me." I opened it up on Sweetwater, saw the price and got real sad :lolz:. Gonna stick with my Hall of Fame for now.

@HellioN - Yeah, I was watching a demo of the mini amp that Hughes and Kettner make, which I think can be switched between 15, 8, and 1 watt. For bass, I have an SVT preamp / DI box and go straight to the computer when I don't want to use my amp. It sounds good enough - I'm not really a fan of direct bass, but it's just so much easier than breaking down my guitar mic and bringing it over to the bass amp and tweaking it for an hour.
 
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