How to Reduce Bass Noise from Neighbors
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Are you tired of listening to some heavy metal playing just a few meters apart from your walls?
Do you have those nasty neighbor problems as I once did?
Well, I must tell you - this one won’t be so simple.
You will need a lot of patience, a proper strategy, and even maybe some investments in order to achieve your goal - the peace.
When I was in a dorm, I had similar problems with 2 different residents (2 opposite walls).
Since I talked through with one side and done things quite smooth, I gathered some experience from the firsthand how you should talk to your noisy neighbors.
However, the second side was impossible to normally deal with.
I wish that I knew back then some of the secret weapons of soundproofing.
Now, when I’m an expert in this matter, I can give you some ideas on how to lower the bass coming from your neighbors, if you are unable to talk through with your neighbor.
Low-frequency bass is the most difficult to get rid of. These methods might require some investment from you.
Now, let’s check some strategic moves that can do the job for you.
How to Reduce Bass Noise from Neighbors
1. Talk to your neighbor
First of all, what you need to try with, as any other normal being would do, is talk with your neighbor.
Maybe the noise is just a small negligence of your neighbor.
He got relaxed or something and accidentally turned the volume up.
Of course, we all know how neighbors can be sometimes pain in the neck - unwilling to talk to you, ignoring your doorbell ringing, etc.
If the neighbor is a violent one, which you can conclude even from what he’s listening to (if you already didn’t get to know him), you should probably skip the talking part and get straight to the second step.
Otherwise, try to point out that he is being a bit too loud and you need your daily rest routine to function properly.
2. If you can’t talk to him/her, talk to the police
As I mentioned previously, if your neighbor is unwilling to talk, avoiding door knocks and bells, and still listening to that loud music, there is nothing wrong with you calling the police.
Back then when I was the teenager, people wouldn’t even come to talk to us when we are a bit louder.
They would just send the police straight away.
So, with that experience, I can tell you that the police can work out very well.
3. Make sure that you aren’t loud in the first place
Kind of related to the previous steps, you should probably make sure that you are not making the noise in the first place.
For example, if you have those vengeance-types of neighbors that will turn on their woofers just to show you that they can disrupt as well, then the problem is definitely not in them listening to a loud music but you.
It’s a classic example of how noise can backfire, so make sure that you are not too loud as well.
4. Be polite
Once you see that you can talk to your neighbor, try to be as much as polite as you can.
Seeing you enraged will only spice things up, and revolt them even more.
Imagine a little skinny granny knocking on your door, being so polite, and asking you to lower down some music, would you have the hearth to refuse?
Of course not! So, being polite can only give you an advantage in these situations.
Ask your neighbor nicely if they can quiet down a bit because you have important things to do (sleep, or whatever), and that you need some peace after all.
5. Don’t write the letter, meet in person
It sounds serious, but really isn’t! It’s dumb. Don’t write any letters to your neighbors. Leave the letter attached to their doors or on the lift that everyone uses might backfire.
Also, we all can agree that saying things in person is much better, easier, and quite harder to misunderstand than the letters.
Letters are cold; they sound like a command, and in most of the cases won’t show the real state of your emotional distress required for your neighbors.
Sometimes, you just need to show with those puppy (or kitten) eyes, like from the Shrek movie.
6. Soundproof your home if everything else fails
When your talking-through plan A falls apart, you will need to go to the plan B.
This one will actually require some soundproofing, effort, and unwanted expenses, but, what can you do?
a. Prevent the noise while sleeping
Well, depending on the area from where the bass noise is coming from, you will need lesser or more money into solving this problem.
For example, if the bass noise comes only from one wall, you can solve this with $200 or so.
Use mass loaded vinyl to soundproof the whole wall.
You will get decent results since mass loaded vinyl is one of the best materials to use against bass noise.
Nevertheless, even though its expertise is denying that low-frequency noise, mass loaded vinyl will help with high-frequencies as well.
If you are hearing the noise only once-twice monthly, then you should not maybe even invest into mass loaded vinyl.
You can use other gadgets and tricks.
For example, ear muffs, ear plugs, white noise machines, and sleep masks can do the job just fine.
Of course, it depends whether you are a heavy sleeper or the opposite one.
b. Soundproof your walls
Soundproofing a wall is not that easy job overall, but this article might make it easier for you drastically.
There are several methods that can work when it comes to bass noise. The bass noise is the most difficult one to get rid of.
For these purposes, you can use something like acoustic panels.
I would strongly recommend fiberglass panels since they are great for bass noise.
Acoustic panels are also great sound deadeners, but in most of the cases, they won’t deal with the bass noise completely.
Mass loaded vinyl is a great sound deadener, as we previously mentioned it.
Fiberglass panels are kind of pricier a bit, but definitely worth choice.
Building a drywall can be a solution, but it requires much effort.
If you ask me, I would definitely go with fiberglass panels, but you can try other cheaper methods as well.
It all depends on the noise level.
Maybe 3x cheaper foam panels will work out pretty well, who knows?
c. Soundproof your doors
Soundproofing your doors is a simple job. There are several effective ways to do this.
First of all, you can use blankets.
Moving blankets are great noise absorbers and will deal with a certain level of bass noise.
Thick and large, they will cover up all the gaps that your doors have and prevent the noise as much as it can.
Other than this, you can go with soundproof curtains. I know that sounds weird, but curtains can be used for doors as well.
I will elaborate soundproof curtains in the “soundproof the window” section.
Using weatherstrip tape can make a difference.
Filling the gap underneath your doors, where they meet with the floor will certainly decrease the noise to some bearable level.
Also, you will benefit from thermal insulation and protection from bugs.
They are a lot of drastic measures that you can do. For example, you can buy a brand new solid wood door.
But is it worth?
Solid wood is quite expensive, and there is no guarantee that you will solve your problem.
With that said, keep in mind that I will suggest only affordable, easy ways of soundproofing, yet effective.
d. Soundproof your ceiling
Now, the hardest part is the ceiling. If the bass noise is coming through it, you will have to do some drastic measures.
First of all, you can’t use some methods due to gravity.
It’s a bit harder to install some things as well, hence, you will probably need some assistance.
For example, you can use acoustic foam panels or fiberglass panels.
They are likely self-adhesive and will easily attach to your ceiling.
True, it’s not quite a nice view seeing those on your ceiling every time you wake up, but who cares?
The only thing that matters is that you will have a silent environment.
Mass loaded vinyl is another choice, but I would personally go with the fiberglass panel.
It all depends on your noise level.
You can also consider using acoustic ceilings or installing acoustic clouds.
e. Soundproof the window
Soundproofing the window is the easiest part. Also, this is the most vulnerable part for the bass noise.
There could be some cracks around the windows and window frames that are usually overlooked when soundproofing windows but are actually very important.
This part of windows soundproofing can be done with the aforementioned weatherstrip. Just install it on window frames, and the sound would find it much harder to crawl inside.
There is one more thing that you can try, and that are window inserts.
These inserts act as an additional layer of glass that make an air gap and capture the sound inside so that the sound cannot get inside of a room that easily.
Finally, soundproof curtains are whole other level of soundproofing.
With the thickness such as that, and materials especially used for soundproofing purposes, you will fear no noisy bass coming from your neighbor’s house.
Find those with eyelets- it will make the installation process easier.
On Reducing Bass Noise from Neighbors
Considering the aforementioned, there are some handy solutions to your neighbor’s bass noise.
It’s an annoying thing to hear every often, so preventing it with good old talk-through, or even soundproofing your home is kind of smart thing to do.
Peace is something highly underrated. Once you lose it, you will find out its beauty.
Save your peace, soundproof your home on time.
How to Reduce Bass Noise from Neighbors
Are your neighbors blasting music and bothering you? What do you do after talking to them? Follow this guide on how to reduce bass noise from neighbors.
Instructions
- Talk To Your Neighbor
- If You Can’t Talk To Him/Her, Talk To The Police
- Make Sure That You Aren’t Loud In The First Place
- Be Polite
- Don’t Write The Letter, Meet In Person
- Soundproof Your Home If Everything Else Fails