Next Door Complains About Bass .. Need Advice

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JayOne wrote: »

Im asking for the legal side of things. I know that by law there is a certain volume you can listen to your music at a certain time of day.

I don't know the answer to this, but does it really matter? Regardless of whether you are adhering to the legal side of it, your music IS disturbing your neighbour. If the LL gets sick of the complaints, he may well issue you with notice to leave at the end of the term of your tenancy.

I know that you are trying your best to keep it down, but you admit that you do have to play the music sometimes and your neighbour CAN hear it. As others have said, it can be soul destroying to have to listen to your neighbours music through the walls.

The only thing you can really do now if you insist on continuing is try to come to some agreement with your neighbour. Find out when she is at work and play it then?

Catblue

JayOne wrote: »

Im asking for the legal side of things. I know that by law there is a certain volume you can listen to your music at a certain time of day.

In your situation the law is irrelevant. The landlord can simply give you notice to leave with no reason given. And can give you a terrible reference for the next rental that you have. Presumably your landlord does not actually even know that you use his apartment to work out of and don't use it on a purely residential basis? Cos I suspect that you forgot to mention to him that you are a full-time music producer working entirely from home and would be using the flat as premises for your business?

Well, he soon will know when the caretakers or your neighbbour tell him.

It isn't your fault that the walls are thin, equally it is not your neighbours' fault that the walls are thin.

With you having been on the other side of noise disturbance, it is strange to see that you feel that you have no option but to make noise that neighbours can hear. You are not forced; you can hire a rehearsal hall and make noise.

In any event, this flat is clearly not suitable to be working out of - I am astonished that you thought that it would be. A music producer that simply HAS to use speakers to emulate the sound as it would be in a club? That is never going to work in an apartment block. You'll have every resident in the building on your back soon.

You said that the flat is expensive. Well, use your money to rent more suitable premises.

JayOne

Torchboy wrote: »

Is the flat complex less than 5 years old? If so, I think it would have had to comply with noise regulations (part E) to prevent this sort of thing happening.

I think it's around that yes. I wouldn't count on these flats being the "best" build for quality. We've had a lot of problems in here already.

Edit:

I've just tapped the wall and it sounds like the only thing separating our apartment is plasterboard. It sounds real hollow. But, the same wall in our living room is concrete.

I'll write a letter tonight and try and get it sorted. For now I'll use headphones and take the part finished productions to a mastering studio and have them sort out the audio frequencies.

BitterAndTwisted

I dunno what "dubstep" is but I have a feeling that I wouldn't like it.

Your neighbour may not be working from 9am to 5pm if you're not doing your mastering much outside of these hours. Try and find out specifically when you're disturbing her and work round them. In the meantime do your mixing with headphones only and your mastering when you know your neighbour isn't home. It might be worth trying to find a band with a rehearsal space somewhere and renting/borrowing it outside of the hours they need it.

Mr_Thrifty

Dubstep. That says it all. The kind of moron that listens to this repetitive drivel would probably be UNABLE to understand the concept of anti-social behaviour. Listening to muffled bass, let alone repetitive dubstep, is enough to drive anyone NUTS. He's probably thinking "oh, but I only listen to it for about 6 hours a day and then only at 75 decibels or so" whereas his neighbours are thinking "I can feel the rumble of this dam rubbish through the walls and floor and can't take this repetitive crap for 1 second longer!!"

Basically, get some decent earphones and don't worry too much about having to listen to it full blast in order to "test how it will sound in the club" because the kind of people that listen to that rubbish wouldn't be able to tell the difference between "premium-quality" dubstep and recorded noises of london underground trains thundering past a platform being played over and over again with a siren in the background changing pitch around once every 10 seconds with a rolf-harris waffleboard being played once every now and then too.

JayOne

Catblue wrote: »

In your situation the law is irrelevant. The landlord can simply give you notice to leave with no reason given. And can give you a terrible reference for the next rental that you have. Presumably your landlord does not actually even know that you use his apartment to work out of and don't use it on a purely residential basis? Cos I suspect that you forgot to mention to him that you are a full-time music producer working entirely from home and would be using the flat as premises for your business?

Well, he soon will know when the caretakers or your neighbbour tell him.

It isn't your fault that the walls are thin, equally it is not your neighbours' fault that the walls are thin.

With you having been on the other side of noise disturbance, it is strange to see that you feel that you have no option but to make noise that neighbours can hear. You are not forced; you can hire a rehearsal hall and make noise.

In any event, this flat is clearly not suitable to be working out of - I am astonished that you thought that it would be. A music producer that simply HAS to use speakers to emulate the sound as it would be in a club? That is never going to work in an apartment block. You'll have every resident in the building on your back soon.

You said that the flat is expensive. Well, use your money to rent more suitable premises.

You've read it wrong. Totally wrong.

MY MUSIC IS NOT LOUD! ... Simple as that. I've said it 1000 times if you'd read properly. My neighbor can hear music, but she does not define a level at what it can be heard. I know for sure it is not loud.

A music producer that simply HAS to use speakers to emulate the sound as it would be in a club

I said I listen to it through the speakers to separate audio frequencies so when I play it in a club it's well mixed. Mixing down is not "emulating" how it would sound in a club. I've never had the music so loud that you can't have a conversation.

And to finish the landlord will never know I use my bedroom to make a living. As far as he and anyone else are concerned it's a hobby and I create tracks to play out in clubs when I DJ.

JayOne

Mr_Thrifty wrote: »

Dubstep. That says it all. The kind of moron that listens to this repetitive drivel would probably be UNABLE to understand the concept of anti-social behaviour. Listening to muffled bass, let alone repetitive dubstep, is enough to drive anyone NUTS. He's probably thinking "oh, but I only listen to it for about 6 hours a day and then only at 75 decibels or so" whereas his neighbours are thinking "I can feel the rumble of this dam rubbish through the walls and floor and can't take this repetitive crap for 1 second longer!!"

Basically, get some decent earphones and don't worry too much about having to listen to it full blast in order to "test how it will sound in the club" because the kind of people that listen to that rubbish wouldn't be able to tell the difference between "premium-quality" dubstep and recorded noises of london underground trains thundering past a platform being played over and over again with a siren in the background changing pitch around once every 10 seconds with a rolf-harris waffleboard being played once every now and then too.

Please don't be bias to myself or the music. Yeah some Dubstep is hard on the bass frequencies, some does not even have bass. There are a lot of genres to Dubstep. I didn't mention what type of Dubstep I create. Don't assume.

Again, I do not emulate the sound of a club in my bedroom. Read what I put above. Don't assume or read between the lines.

And why associate me with ASBO's or morons? It's besides the point. Don't judge a person because of the type of music they listen to or the type of music they produce.

Gothicfairy

rather then a letter how about going round with a box of chocs or a bottle of wine and just being honest and saying you understand there has been complaints and is it possible for you to come into the flat and listen to it yourself so that you can try and fix it.

If it were me that is what I would rather as it is more personal and also shows that you are trying.

JayOne

Gothicfairy wrote: »

rather then a letter how about going round with a box of chocs or a bottle of wine and just being honest and saying you understand there has been complaints and is it possible for you to come into the flat and listen to it yourself so that you can try and fix it.

If it were me that is what I would rather as it is more personal and also shows that you are trying.

I don't think she likes me, but I'll attempt it.

Gothicfairy

That's why I think the personal touch might help as she might be thinking you don't care and that is what is making her seem like that. I honestly think people have a harder time being nasty to your face if you do it right.
Be nice and it might just get you further and to be fair you have not really got anything to lose so why not and at least then you can hear it for yourself and that might help you work out what needs to be done