Living in a big city and managing the noise (of me mixing)

[Gravis]

Hi guys

I just moved to London from Western Australia, and my big question is, how on earth do you guys actually practice here? I'm living in a flat/small house atm, but 99% of the houses here are like this, I can hear people upstairs creaking around when they walk, i can hear conversations of some guy telling his wife to stop being so dumb, and another homeboy on his phone trying to be a gangsta.

Basically at home, (West Aussie) i could crank up my system as much as i wanted without pissing off the neighbors, here, it seems like that's going to be completely impossible, now i don't want to be a wanker, but how else can i mix?

How do you guys cope in big cities where everyone is so close together?

Cheers!

[kristoffer1989]

seems like you have to get a good pair of headphones and set your mind and ears for headphonemixing..

[Minimal Justice System]

You need to get yourself some speaker spikes!! You can get the sounds to a decent level without too much greif from the neighbours as they limit the ammount of vibration that passes through the speaker into the floor.

[synnack]

For things like band practice and recording where you need it up loud to get into it, you'll have to use headphones.

However you mentioned mixing. I have found that I get better mixes by keeping the volume low. People generally think "the louder the more i can hear" so they turn up the volume during mixing thinking they can then hear more frequencies and make better choices.

But in reality the louder your speakers are in the room, the more likely the surfaces of the walls and objects in the room are coloring the sound. Unless you're going to tell me you've got sound deadening foam on everything in there, turn the volume down for mixing!

Helps with the neighbors too.

[Green Lemon]

I have a DJ mixer with a split cue function, which helps a great deal for mixing in the 'phones.

[Gravis]

I mean i COULD mix in the phones, but ALL the time ... i'm a pretty bit fan of not wearing them, and just using them to get levels correct and cue points etc.

Guess i might be screwed, bummer ..... or my neighbors will hate me ..... decisions decisions.

[Dick Cheney]

yeah i hate phones and i have the similar problems, and wood floors to boot! I recommend mixing early in the morning on a weekday (if thats possible! lol)

[Tarekith]

I'm with tempus, I actually prefer mixing at pretty low volumes, then I do quick 10 second checks at a bit higher volume later in the process. I find I get more consistant results than just mixing loud all the time.

[mikemc]

Sounds like what you need to do is set up a stereo mic and capture some of that authentic London ambience, then put out a sample library

{edit} +1 on low volumes, then playing louder briefly, particularly during bassier portions of the track. It also helps to try it out on multiple systems-- something I've done before is go to one of the larger consumer electronics stores, put in a CD that i've burned and blast it briefly 'just trying it out with the music i like'

[sven303]

You need to move to the countryside....i can play my music with the dial at 11 with no neighbours to piss off

Personally i think i would have stayed in Oz, i dont see the attraction with London let alone UK (not being rude by the way) once this bloody recession is under control you wont see my arse for dust from uk.

Before you start playing your music loud, i would introduce yourself to your neighbours and explain the situation that occasionally you like to play your music loud and for them not to be worried about knocking your door. Otherwise you could end up pissing them off and they make you life hell including calling local enviromental health and they have the power to remove the offending audio equipment if you persist.

Good luck hopefully this noise issue wont hinder your creativity

[kristoffer1989]

for them not to be worried about knocking your door.

That's a really good tip man!

[Green Lemon]

for them not to be worried about knocking your door.

That's a really good tip man!

Yeah, I gave my neighbors my cell number and tell them to text me if I'm pissing them off.

[kristoffer1989]

for them not to be worried about knocking your door.

That's a really good tip man!

Yeah, I gave my neighbors my cell number and tell them to text me if I'm pissing them off.

I will remember that when i move to the city next year

[3dot...]

the only way is to make your studio a 'floating room' which is too much of a hassle..
my method is.. as soon as I move in to a new place..
I play as loud as I can ...as late as I can...for some time...
then the wars with the neighbours break out..
and then you settle with them on terms that you both can live with...

[beats me]

My friend and I just moved into an apartment with amazingly thick walls. Not only can we not hear the neighbors for the most part, even when you walk down the main hall and can hear music blasting out their front door you still can't hear it in our apartment. I've been in my roommate's room when he was doing DJ mixes and we had to talk at a louder volume but if I close his door and go to my room and close my door I can't hear him at all. Brilliant.

I've concluded in a lot of places hardwood floors are the enemy and I don't like them at all, cold and uncomfortable, people claim their easier to keep clean but that's offset by the fact that dust constantly kicks up and everything else in the room gets dustier a lot faster, and of course sound carries and bleeds a lot more. So boooo on hardwood floors.

Large cities generally mean a lot of old buildings from a time period when apparently people didn't mind hearing every little thing their neighbors were doing and of course predate today's stereos and surround sound systems. That would drive me up the fricken wall. I can't even sleep if there is a wrist watch ticking somewhere in the room.