Forums Archive Index > General Chat > Oh what a HAPPY drummer am I.

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 13 Dec 2005 7:20 pm

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Lemme ask you folks what you'd do.

Last year, my wife got me a set of drums. They're in my basement, and the walls down there are a foot and a half thick. She does not mind when I play, after all, she did buy them for me. I go downstairs when I'm feeling particularly stressed (as I am now, with finals looming), and I play my drums in order to get some pent up energy out, and after I year, I've gotten pretty good.

My neighbor, on the other hand, does not appreciate that. The basement walls are thick, but the window lets the sound escape, as does the rest of my house since the sound radiates. My neighbor's wife waited until she was about to explode with pent up anger and let my wife have it one day. I went mano a mano with her husband, and he and I agreed his wife should have voiced her displeasure a long time ago instead of releasing a hormone induced viscious attack on my wife, and then me when I went to go talk to her about it.

I muffled the sound coming through the window by putting some baffling there - cardboard, foam, rubber matting, a throw blanket. Then a while back I actually broke the window in an unfortuntate hose reel accident (fell over into the basement window well) so now the top double pane sash has one piece of plexi in it.

So last night I'm in the kitchen after coming upstairs from my usual 6-7PM drum session, and I'm talking with my wife about how good I'm getting (her reply was she hardly notices anymore), and I hear my neighbor yelling from his driveway, trying to get my attention.

IT'S TOO LOUD AGAIN. WE HEAR IT THROUGH OUR CLOSED WINDOWS

I apologized, and told him it's problably because our windows were open a little upstairs to air out a smoky kitchen, or that the plexi isnt as sound resistant as the glass was. Whatever. He complained. I said sorry.

Then I got really pissed. Again. Drumming is the only thing that's helping me keep my stress level down, and I really enjoy it, and I have no idea how to deal with it.

Meanwhile, he's got HAM radio stuff that used to cause interference on every electronic device in my house, including a lamp - that's right, a touch lamp I had would blink like crazy through all it's dimming cycles every time he key'd up his mic. I'd hear him through my TV, and my phone, and the lamp would flicker. I went and talked to him about it as soon as it started to happen, I didnt wait a year and explode on him, and when i talked to him, he said the FCC says his equipment puts out interference and if I have a problem with it I have to put ferrous chokes on all MY wiring, he does not have to turn down his amplitude. I threw my hands up and I lived with it until he got really into the internet instead.

I probably have to build a sound-proof room for my drums. Or, save that money and just get a set of electronic drums for about 3 times the cost of my acoustics. Then I can plug in a headphone set and bang away.

But it irks me. It's not really THAT loud. I do not play for more than 45 minutes most of the time. I never play beyond 7:30 at night. I did my best to muffle the sound coming through the window.

And she said she'd call the cops on me. I say let her. I'm not breaking any laws.

What say you fine people?

ND

Author: snowshoveler

Date: 13 Dec 2005 7:33 pm

i would make some noise ...maybee a lot of noise.
snowblower ,chainsaw ,drums ,
and then reach some sort of compromise.
maybe even before you kill her.


i would perhaps check with the police just to see when things are supposed to get quiet.
around here its midnight to 6 am.never gets enforced cause then somebody has to buy a decibell meter and have it certified ,costs a lot and whos gonna pay.
chris

Author: bbwb

Date: 13 Dec 2005 7:43 pm

ND
I know what you are going through...I have had similar incidents with a sub woofer. What is happening is that the walls of your house and their house are acting like speaker diaphragms. Your sound is being dispersed by your wall, and theirs is acting like a receiving dish. The low frequency is the tough sound waves to stop. The methods you used generally only cut the high frequencies. Perhaps, you might be able to move the drums to a room centered in the house. The farther the distance, the less sound pressure. Also, there is more mass and absorption of the sound energy.

Speaking of energy, you might want to check with the FCC about his radio output. I will bet that he is over the limit.

Tit for tat! 8)

bbwb

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 13 Dec 2005 7:54 pm

I called the local PD.

No excessive noise after 10 PM.

No noise that extends past the real property lines of my house, which the officer said is open to interpretation.

My house is less than 15 feet from my neigbors house. Therein lies the problem.

reflection, resonance, you name it. We got it going on.

Perhaps I'll break out my Fender Stratocaster and plug that in to my amp, turn up the volume, and practice my riffs.

ND

Author: Walt

Date: 13 Dec 2005 9:10 pm

I know that my old neighbor had sound studio sound proofing in his studio; although I don't know if that kept his noise in, or just the other noises out.

Concerning the law, if they are going to give you a citation for minimal sound passing your property, then tell them that every airplane flying overhead is bothering you, and you want everyone of them citationed because the noise is coming onto your property.

They may look at you like you are crazy at first, but then you can ask them why your drums are any different than airplanes noises.

Walt

Author: ramit

Date: 13 Dec 2005 9:57 pm

As far as the FCC, he has limits he needs to obey.
If his equipment is out of tune ( it's not only power but harmonics based on proper tuning and modulation), or he's running too much wattage for a given band, if he's out of compliance he can have his tickets yanked and or be fined.

There is basic truth to what the neighbor says... but basic, not the whole truth. The FCC will investigate and make measurements. They do have vans set up just for it.

BUT the hams I know that were running legal,but powerful setups did produce the same problems on their neighbors. Difference is they did what they could to to help, not tell them to blow off like he did.
They bought chokes at hamfests and stuff like that to help out their neighbors.

I would offer him up a deal.
The law says your allowed to make reasonable noise from your own house and he's allowed to radiate this RF.. But if he's not going to help you, your not going to help him. His wife starts screaming, you'll play louder.
Why should you burned yourself with solving both his problems.
(his RF and his load a$$ wife).

There are DB limits that your town will have on record that are used for such problems. When I was with the RC airplane club it became a legal matter , we researched it and found the town codes. We bought a DB meter from RS and tested all our planes and documented our levels.
When complaints were made, and the cops showed up, we showed them the meters, the town codes and made the measurements in front of them, and they went away.

On LI we have county cops (except for NYC, but there are still "townships in NYC), the noise codes in Suffolk and Nassua are town by town. The cops dont keep track of that and don't rightly know, based on my experience.
Get the codes from your town, get a DB meter. Makes some measurements.

And maybe I'll come visit ya at 12midnight with my oilburner and park and idle between the houses. I'm all legal, I even have a muffler. But the windows shake nice on a house.
Snowblow real early in the morning... as SS says.

Or you can do some midnight commando work, and put straight pins through his coax. That'll drive him nuts.

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 13 Dec 2005 10:36 pm

He gave up the Ham hobby, really.
He still uses lighter fluid on his BBQ even though I told him that the fumes he makes fills my house every time he does it. His wife took offense that I had the nerve to complain while they were having their BBQ. I suppose I should have waited until the winter to complain.
She forgets that I have answered every car question her husband has ever had.
That I went next door and helped him solder a pipe to his water heater.
That I have helped them when it snows.

Neighbors work with eachother to live in harmony, or at least that's what is supposed to happen.

Had they said something right after I got the drums, like "gee, we guess you got some new drums. did you know you can hear them outside the house too? We hear them from inside our house"

I'd have apologized, and done something about the db level that makes it out of the basement. I also might have had a shot at returning the drums to Sam Ash and getting the electronic set I've got my eye on now.

But no. They had bottle it all up and say nothing. Until the wife blew up at my wife about 10 things she did not like about me, calling me names, making my wife cry.

I dont need this BS. I don't need the cops coming to tell me to keep it down. It's 10:47. I ought to go play my drums right now. My wife and son are asleep, so that's not gonna fly.

I guess I'll have to find a way to let this go. Time's gonna come where it's going to snow, and I'm going to have to use my Ariens to help my other neighbors out, and if I don't help these people because of all this, I'm going to have even more trouble from them.

Things you have to do to get along with people. This is why I want to move somewhere where I've got to drive to my nearest neighbor. Not look right out any window on the south side of my house.


ND

Author: ramit

Date: 13 Dec 2005 10:59 pm

I hear ya, I would love to move to texas or montana and buy a ton of land and not be able to see my neighbors. The island has just gotten too crowded, to congested, to many people,too little space, too many cars and we're all stepping on each others nerves.

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 14 Dec 2005 2:14 pm

Because you only live once.
And I am just way too spoiled.
And lucky to have the best wife in the whole world who understands why I just spent a good chunk of money to save my sanity.
I went and bought these:


I am going to set them up soon and play until my arms fall off. Right after next tuesday's nursing final.

Until then I'll only play until my fingers fall off, or one hour elapses...whichever comes first. Because then I'll have to go back to studying.

anyone want to buy a one year old set of acoustic drums? Free delivery on LI.

ND

Author: ramit

Date: 14 Dec 2005 4:24 pm

now you can put in the headphones and wack away.. :oops:

enjoy..
We sold my daughter set last year.
Sorry, no need here.But I'll ask her if she knows anyone looking.

Gotta pix of the other set and asking price?

PM me..

-Bob

Author: Paula

Date: 14 Dec 2005 6:49 pm

NurseDaddy wrote:
Because you only live once.
And I am just way too spoiled.
And lucky to have the best wife in the whole world who understands why I just spent a good chunk of money to save my sanity.
I went and bought these:


I am going to set them up soon and play until my arms fall off. Right after next tuesday's nursing final.

Until then I'll only play until my fingers fall off, or one hour elapses...whichever comes first. Because then I'll have to go back to studying.

anyone want to buy a one year old set of acoustic drums? Free delivery on LI.

ND

Do you play to recorded music or solo or both?

There is a great percussion group out there (can't remember the name) but they use all kinds of odds and ends (just about anything BUT drums) to create percussion sounds...like garbage can covers, etc. I've always wanted to see one of their shows.

Author: snowshoveler

Date: 14 Dec 2005 7:16 pm

hi ND...
looks like you ARE going to have a merry christmas afterall.
good job done and you dont have to be the bad guy about your neighbors.
when you get ready to move ,just head north .No problem for you and yours to get good jobs here,and probably get signing bonus and moving alowance to.
also lots of room .
chris
ps... i like neighbors ----- on the other side of the road 8)
but you would be welcome on this side

Author: Paula

Date: 14 Dec 2005 7:30 pm

snowshoveler wrote:

ps... i like neighbors ----- on the other side of the road

Aw he!!...I was planning on moving next door... :cry: :cry:

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 14 Dec 2005 8:56 pm

I am SUCH a HAPPY DRUMMER BOY!

MERRY CHRISTMAS INDEED

I have been neglecting my studies all night and instead banging away on my drums. It's a wonder I can type. My fingers are numb. The sticks kept flying out of my hands.

This set is amazing.
There are preprogrammed songs in it that you can play along with, just hit mute for the drum section and it's all you. Kinda like karoake, but with drumsticks.

It has an input for an external audio source, so I've plugged in my iPod, and I'm jammin along with the likes of Lynyrd Skynyrd, BTO, the Stones, the Who, you name it. And for each song, I can change the drum kit. Skynyrd songs seem to demand the live rock concert kit. If I want to I can get a patch cable that will let me hook the kit up to my PowerBook and use Apple's GarageBand software to make mutlitrack music. Then all I've to do is break out my guitar and plug that in to the audio in and I can jam with myself.

I'm sitting there banging away with my headphones on right here in the living room, and NOBODY is complaining. Yippie! Now to figure out where to put them and what to do with my acoustic set.

I am grinning like a happy idiot. WOO HOO! FREE BIRD!


ND - NOISELESS DRUMMER today.


Acoustic set info, for anyone interested:
1 year old TAMA SwingStars in vintage blue
here's exactly what they look like:


It's a shame that I probably wont play them anymore. They're great drums. They sound great, they feel good to play, they're my first set ever, and my wife got them for me as a gift, so it'd make me sad to part with them, but I don't know what I'd do with them. I dont want to let them sit and deteriorate, it's better someone get good use from them I suppose.

I'm keeping the throne, and the base pedal to use with the electronic set.

I guess I'd take $450 for them. They cost $700 just last christmas.

Author: Walt

Date: 15 Dec 2005 4:34 am

Why don't you see if your neighbor wants to buy them :lol:

Author: Paula

Date: 15 Dec 2005 6:18 am

Walt wrote:
Why don't you see if your neighbor wants to buy them :lol:

Author: Termy

Date: 15 Dec 2005 5:14 pm

Well as far as I am concerned this is what you need to do. You need to sound proof the basement, if that means removing the window, who cares. All you need to do is install some lighting down there with a dimmer switch or something. But sound proofing would be your best bet. :wink: That way you don't have to listen to his complaining remarks anymore. Or his wife who decides its time to go raging rampage. :roll:

Author: NurseDaddy

Date: 15 Dec 2005 6:42 pm

Termy wrote:
Well as far as I am concerned this is what you need to do. You need to sound proof the basement, if that means removing the window, who cares. All you need to do is install some lighting down there with a dimmer switch or something. But sound proofing would be your best bet. :wink: That way you don't have to listen to his complaining remarks anymore. Or his wife who decides its time to go raging rampage. :roll:

Termy... too late, buddy.

I've bought electronic drums that I can play any time, day, night, whatever. With my headphones on, I'm the only one who hears anything other than the sticks hitting rubber pads. See my earlier additions to this thread for details.

This was the solution I chose because soundproofing the basement would have been nearly as costly between materials and labor. I don't really require acoustic drums for my purposes, but as my wife says, if I really feel inclined to still play them, I can do so when the neighbors are not home.

I'm loving my electronic set. They are distracting me from my studies at the moment, so I must lay down my sticks and get crackalackin.

ND