Headphones/solution for music mixing neighbour???

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <4255648f$0$26339$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk>,
tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk says...
>
> Sorry if this is a totally ignorant question but I really don't know much
> about mixing music.

Just to be clear: When folks talk about "mixing" here, they're
discussing taking performance by, say, a vocalist and a guitarist,
recorded on individual microphones on separate tracks of tape, and
combining them to make the records you hear on the radio. As several
people will no doubt reflexively tell you, you can't mix through
headphones, because they won't give you a good idea of what the end
result will truly sound like on the radio; it's like driving while
looking through binoculars.

But it sounds like your teenage neighbor is "mixing", as in DJ'ing or
turntabling - playing one song through his speakers, cueing up the next
in his headphones, as you'd see someone doing at a nightclub, or, if
he's particularly self-loathing, at a bar mitzvah. That's going to be a
totally different ball of wax, and I don't know how much expertise we
have here on the topic. I've got next to none, but here's what I know:

He should certainly be able use his existing mixing board to route both
tracks through his existing headphones, but more than likely, he simply
doesn't want to. Presumably, he's not hosting a large party in his
room, so the audience for his DJ'ing is himself, and possibly a friend
or two; he's just practicing the art.

Maybe a solution is to buy him a set of "open-back" headphones, which
let much more of the room sound through. Most DJs use "closed-back"
headphones, which intentionally block out room noise so they can hear
the next track in their ear in the middle of a deafening crowd. If
he's using those, and putting them on both ears, he would need to turn
his speakers up fairly loudly. Then again, he could solve this right
now by taking one side off - like all the cool DJs do! - so it's
probably willfulness as much as anything.

Also, make sure his speakers are isolated from the floor by some viscous
means - anything from foam squares to neoprene "Vibrapods" - depends
what you feel like spending. That'll stop some of the floor-shaking.

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | I feel calm. I feel ready. I can only
Faster: jay at jay dot fm | conclude that's because I don't have a
http://www.jay.fm | full grasp of the situation. - Mark Adler

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Is the young man renting or buying? If he is renting, I wouldn't hesitate
to file some complaints with the land owners, followed by the police
department. I'm sure there are some rules in the lease as well as
some city ordnances that will protect you.

Don't let the young chap fool you... there is no such thing as a track
descriminate pair of headphones. At any time, he can eliminate the
use of the speakers entirely, unless his equipment or technique is
severely lacking something.

Also, it's his responsibility to soundproof his domain so that it doesn't
interfere with yours. Obviously, he needs some acoustic work done...
and just guessing, it should improve his work as well.

It's not necessarily a good thing for a serious music mixer to work
in headphones, but it's also not a good thing to impose on others.

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s DOT com
Morgan Audio Media Service
Dallas, Texas (214) 662-9901
_______________________________________
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com



"Tash" <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote in message news:4255648f$0$26339$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Sorry if this is a totally ignorant question but I really don't know much
> about mixing music.
>
> My teenage next door neighbour is a fanatical music mixer, but the walls are
> very thin and its driving me mad - we've rubbed along for some years now and
> have tried various solutions to the noise problem, but teenagers will be
> teenagers and the problem escalates again.
>
> Now we are expecting our first child and are really starting to worry about
> the effect of the loud bass coming from next door. The babies room and this
> lads room are on a party wall and neither can be moved.
>
> I've looked into the cost of soundproofing his room, but the cost seems so
> high and I've been told that it would only reduce the bass by around 50%, so
> is not worth the great expense.
>
> At the moment, he uses one pair of headphones to listen to one track whilst
> the other track comes out of the speakers (and through the wall), he says
> that the speakers need to be loud enough so he can hear the track coming
> through them whilst listening to the other track on the headphones.
>
> I had an idea that I could buy him headphones that can play both tracks
> through them so no noise escapes into the room (and my house, honestly I've
> been round there and you can hardly hear it, its all coming into my house!).
> I've had a search but haven't found anything that seems to do the job.
>
> I don't want the lad to give up something he is good at, but it can't go on
> like this! It doesn't help that I am disabled and at home all day. - can
> anyone on here offer a solution to our problem?
>
> Thanks
> Pixeltash
>
>

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 17:49:16 +0100, Tash wrote:

> Sorry if this is a totally ignorant question but I really don't know much
> about mixing music.
>
> My teenage next door neighbour is a fanatical music mixer, but the walls are
> very thin and its driving me mad - we've rubbed along for some years now and
> have tried various solutions to the noise problem, but teenagers will be
> teenagers and the problem escalates again.
<snip>
> At the moment, he uses one pair of headphones to listen to one track whilst
> the other track comes out of the speakers (and through the wall), he says
> that the speakers need to be loud enough so he can hear the track coming
> through them whilst listening to the other track on the headphones.
<snip>

Many DJs use single ear headphones, so they can hear both the mix and the
track they are cueing. You can even buy them like that. The Stanton DJ PRO
300 is one example. They also look kinda cool, so you should be able to
persuade him to use them.

Also, most any DJ mixer will let you hear both tracks, it just feels a bit
weird when mixing.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"Tash" <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4255648f$0$26339$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Sorry if this is a totally ignorant question but I really don't know much
> about mixing music.
>
> My teenage next door neighbour is a fanatical music mixer, but the walls
> are
> very thin and its driving me mad - we've rubbed along for some years now
> and
> have tried various solutions to the noise problem, but teenagers will be
> teenagers and the problem escalates again.
>
> Now we are expecting our first child and are really starting to worry
> about
> the effect of the loud bass coming from next door. The babies room and
> this
> lads room are on a party wall and neither can be moved.
>
> I've looked into the cost of soundproofing his room, but the cost seems so
> high and I've been told that it would only reduce the bass by around 50%,
> so
> is not worth the great expense.
>
> At the moment, he uses one pair of headphones to listen to one track
> whilst
> the other track comes out of the speakers (and through the wall), he says
> that the speakers need to be loud enough so he can hear the track coming
> through them whilst listening to the other track on the headphones.
>
> I had an idea that I could buy him headphones that can play both tracks
> through them so no noise escapes into the room (and my house, honestly
> I've
> been round there and you can hardly hear it, its all coming into my
> house!).
> I've had a search but haven't found anything that seems to do the job.
>
> I don't want the lad to give up something he is good at, but it can't go
> on
> like this! It doesn't help that I am disabled and at home all day. - can
> anyone on here offer a solution to our problem?
>
> Thanks
> Pixeltash
>
>

Well this situation requires diplomacy first a heavy hand second.

Explain the soon to be newborn baby situation to him...Try and present and
understanding attitude but this is a non negotiable discussion. He either
changes his method of mixing, move his rig to the basement of his house,
soundproof his room or all of the above or you move on to step two which
is...

Contact the landlord of the place assuming he's renting and explain the
situation to him or her...if nothing comes of this move on to step three
which is

First sign of noise, call the kid and ask him to turn down. Give him 60
seconds then call the cops, but be prepared for a quickly deteriorating
relationship with this kid Repeat as necessary.

Lastly be prepared to move.

Don

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Tash <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote:
> >"Don Nafe" <dnafe@magma.ca> wrote in message
> >news:xNidnTck69qtFsjfRVn-og@rogers.com...
> >> I'd have a little talk with Mom ASAP and let her know the
situation.
> >
> >Thanks, but been there done that and had the noise control people
round no
> >real difference... these are really cruddy walls!
>
> Fight fire with fire. Rent a small club PA system and play
Tannhauser
> at full volume in the middle of the night. Beethoven's Ninth is
another
> good choice, but don't just play the last movement. Start at the
beginning
> and let it build.
> --scott
> --
> "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

That was exactly what my father did in this situation when I was a kid.
Except it was Carmina Burana, at maximum volume all day and most of the
night, 7 days a week. He claimed that he was doing it for me and my
brothers, but we were a lot more bothered by Carmina Burana turned up
to 11 than the dulled music coming through the walls. I remember, and
hate, every note of Carmina Burana to this day.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Thanks for all the advice... I will look into open headphones so as to
reduce the level he has to play his music at.

BTW I should have said, he lives there with his Mum - who owns the house
(but that isn't a huge help in stopping the noise, because as soon as she
goes out up goes the volume!)

Pixeltash

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

I'd have a little talk with Mom ASAP and let her know the situation.

Don


"Tash" <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote in message
news:425588fa$0$26345$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Thanks for all the advice... I will look into open headphones so as to
> reduce the level he has to play his music at.
>
> BTW I should have said, he lives there with his Mum - who owns the house
> (but that isn't a huge help in stopping the noise, because as soon as she
> goes out up goes the volume!)
>
> Pixeltash
>
>

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"Don Nafe" <dnafe@magma.ca> wrote in message
news:xNidnTck69qtFsjfRVn-og@rogers.com...
> I'd have a little talk with Mom ASAP and let her know the situation.
>
> Don

Thanks, but been there done that and had the noise control people round no
real difference... these are really cruddy walls!

Pixeltash

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Tash <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote:
>"Don Nafe" <dnafe@magma.ca> wrote in message
>news:xNidnTck69qtFsjfRVn-og@rogers.com...
>> I'd have a little talk with Mom ASAP and let her know the situation.
>
>Thanks, but been there done that and had the noise control people round no
>real difference... these are really cruddy walls!

Fight fire with fire. Rent a small club PA system and play Tannhauser
at full volume in the middle of the night. Beethoven's Ninth is another
good choice, but don't just play the last movement. Start at the beginning
and let it build.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <d343vc$esd$1@panix2.panix.com>, kludge@panix.com says...
> Fight fire with fire. Rent a small club PA system and play Tannhauser
> at full volume in the middle of the night. Beethoven's Ninth is another
> good choice, but don't just play the last movement. Start at the beginning
> and let it build.

That is, quite clearly, the best solution proposed.
--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | I feel calm. I feel ready. I can only
Faster: jay at jay dot fm | conclude that's because I don't have a
http://www.jay.fm | full grasp of the situation. - Mark Adler

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Ben Nevis wrote:
> On 7 Apr 2005 14:08:38 -0700, huwgareth@my-deja.com wrote:
> >That was exactly what my father did in this situation when I was a
kid.
>
> This has also always been my approach. If someone is so socially
> maladjusted that they don't think to consider their neighbours then I
> figure I'll let my woofers do the talking for me. I think some earth
> shaking gabba techno gets the message across far better than a polite
> request. Selfish people are always going to need an incentive, a gain
> for them to change their behaviour, this is it, they stop, you stop.
>
> Just simply mirror the noise from the night before, the next morning.
> I think early morning is better, being awoken when in the midst of
> dream sleep is far more disturbing. That said I accept during the day
> people can make a racket if they want as long as it's not all day
> every day, night time when I'm sleeping means if I lose sleep, you
> lose sleep, works every time. Worst case is I never sleep, in which
> case they never sleep.
>
> My personal favorites are 'Neophyte - We are at War' and of course
> 'Rotterdam Terror Corps - Hardcore Generation'. Of course if you hate
> this sort of music as much as your neighbours will then it's not the
> solution. Fortunately I love it!!!! - Mind you, you can always go out
> if you don't wanna hear your own noise, or leave it going 24/7 while
> you go on holiday if things get really bad.
>
> It's all about cause an effect. I'm sure if the buses got "you were
> late" graffiti scribbled every time they turned up late, i.e it would
> then cost them money to clean it off they might try to turn up on
> time, otherwise where's the incentive? IMHO complaining often gets
you
> nowhere, but them experiencing what you are experiencing always seems
> to work. Most antisocials/criminals might stop what they do if they
> experienced the same back constantly. So let's wake up the noise
> pollutants and burgle the burglars...
>
> PS is 'Talented DJ' not an oxymoron? I mean how hard is it to operate
> a turntable? with its on/off button it's hardly guitar/piano/cubase
> now is it? Get a DJ round and start explaining cubase or better still
> logic-audio! and watch them wilt.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On 7 Apr 2005 14:08:38 -0700, huwgareth@my-deja.com wrote:
>That was exactly what my father did in this situation when I was a kid.

This has also always been my approach. If someone is so socially
maladjusted that they don't think to consider their neighbours then I
figure I'll let my woofers do the talking for me. I think some earth
shaking gabba techno gets the message across far better than a polite
request. Selfish people are always going to need an incentive, a gain
for them to change their behaviour, this is it, they stop, you stop.

Just simply mirror the noise from the night before, the next morning.
I think early morning is better, being awoken when in the midst of
dream sleep is far more disturbing. That said I accept during the day
people can make a racket if they want as long as it's not all day
every day, night time when I'm sleeping means if I lose sleep, you
lose sleep, works every time. Worst case is I never sleep, in which
case they never sleep.

My personal favorites are 'Neophyte - We are at War' and of course
'Rotterdam Terror Corps - Hardcore Generation'. Of course if you hate
this sort of music as much as your neighbours will then it's not the
solution. Fortunately I love it!!!! - Mind you, you can always go out
if you don't wanna hear your own noise, or leave it going 24/7 while
you go on holiday if things get really bad.

It's all about cause an effect. I'm sure if the buses got "you were
late" graffiti scribbled every time they turned up late, i.e it would
then cost them money to clean it off they might try to turn up on
time, otherwise where's the incentive? IMHO complaining often gets you
nowhere, but them experiencing what you are experiencing always seems
to work. Most antisocials/criminals might stop what they do if they
experienced the same back constantly. So let's wake up the noise
pollutants and burgle the burglars...

PS is 'Talented DJ' not an oxymoron? I mean how hard is it to operate
a turntable? with its on/off button it's hardly guitar/piano/cubase
now is it? Get a DJ round and start explaining cubase or better still
logic-audio! and watch them wilt.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Take 'em to court!

"Tash" <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4255648f$0$26339$db0fefd9@news.zen.co.uk...
> Sorry if this is a totally ignorant question but I really don't know much
> about mixing music.
>
> My teenage next door neighbour is a fanatical music mixer, but the walls
> are
> very thin and its driving me mad - we've rubbed along for some years now
> and
> have tried various solutions to the noise problem, but teenagers will be
> teenagers and the problem escalates again.
>
> Now we are expecting our first child and are really starting to worry
> about
> the effect of the loud bass coming from next door. The babies room and
> this
> lads room are on a party wall and neither can be moved.
>
> I've looked into the cost of soundproofing his room, but the cost seems so
> high and I've been told that it would only reduce the bass by around 50%,
> so
> is not worth the great expense.
>
> At the moment, he uses one pair of headphones to listen to one track
> whilst
> the other track comes out of the speakers (and through the wall), he says
> that the speakers need to be loud enough so he can hear the track coming
> through them whilst listening to the other track on the headphones.
>
> I had an idea that I could buy him headphones that can play both tracks
> through them so no noise escapes into the room (and my house, honestly
> I've
> been round there and you can hardly hear it, its all coming into my
> house!).
> I've had a search but haven't found anything that seems to do the job.
>
> I don't want the lad to give up something he is good at, but it can't go
> on
> like this! It doesn't help that I am disabled and at home all day. - can
> anyone on here offer a solution to our problem?
>
> Thanks
> Pixeltash
>
>

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

> > I don't want the lad to give up something he is good at, but it
can't go
> > on
> > like this! It doesn't help that I am disabled and at home all day.
- can
> > anyone on here offer a solution to our problem?


move,
nothing else will work, you will be the villian,
it is their house, you lose!

dale

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"Jay Levitt" <jay+news@jay.fm> wrote in message news:MPG.1cbf688c9e1b47d89898ba@news-east.giganews.com...
> In article <d343vc$esd$1@panix2.panix.com>, kludge@panix.com says...
> > Fight fire with fire. Rent a small club PA system and play Tannhauser
> > at full volume in the middle of the night. Beethoven's Ninth is another
> > good choice, but don't just play the last movement. Start at the beginning
> > and let it build.
>
> That is, quite clearly, the best solution proposed.
> --
> Jay Levitt |
> Wellesley, MA | I feel calm. I feel ready. I can only
> Faster: jay at jay dot fm | conclude that's because I don't have a
> http://www.jay.fm | full grasp of the situation. - Mark Adler


Indeed! I envision a cut-mix of Tannenbaum and Oh, Danny Boy...

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <1112908118.085304.28690@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
<huwgareth@my-deja.com> wrote:
>
>... but we were a lot more bothered by Carmina Burana turned up
>to 11 than the dulled music coming through the walls. I remember, and
>hate, every note of Carmina Burana to this day.
>

That's okay. My father says it's pornographic trash anyway.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On Thu, 07 Apr 2005 16:08:12 -0400, Scott Dorsey wrote:

> Tash <tash.bentley@zen!!!!!nospam!!!!!.co.uk> wrote:
>>"Don Nafe" <dnafe@magma.ca> wrote in message
>>news:xNidnTck69qtFsjfRVn-og@rogers.com...
>>> I'd have a little talk with Mom ASAP and let her know the situation.
>>
>>Thanks, but been there done that and had the noise control people round no
>>real difference... these are really cruddy walls!
>
> Fight fire with fire. Rent a small club PA system and play Tannhauser
> at full volume in the middle of the night. Beethoven's Ninth is another
> good choice, but don't just play the last movement. Start at the beginning
> and let it build.
> --scott

Pixeltash mentioned that there was a baby on the way in his original post.
I bet the kid next door will be begging for quiet in a few months time.  

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <pan.2005.04.08.16.36.17.279857@localhost.com>,
philicorda@localhost.com says...
> Pixeltash mentioned that there was a baby on the way in his original post.
> I bet the kid next door will be begging for quiet in a few months time.  

Mic the baby.

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | I feel calm. I feel ready. I can only
Faster: jay at jay dot fm | conclude that's because I don't have a
http://www.jay.fm | full grasp of the situation. - Mark Adler

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Jay Levitt wrote:
> In article <pan.2005.04.08.16.36.17.279857@localhost.com>,
> philicorda@localhost.com says...
>
>> Pixeltash mentioned that there was a baby on the way in his original post.
>> I bet the kid next door will be begging for quiet in a few months time.  
>
>
> Mic the baby.


Does Countryman make a kid-sized E6?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

On Fri, 08 Apr 2005 15:37:50 GMT, philicorda
<philicorda@localhost.com> wrote:

>
>Pixeltash mentioned that there was a baby on the way in his original post.
>I bet the kid next door will be begging for quiet in a few months time.  

Yeah. I had a neighbour who spent 2 years ripping his house to
pieces. The banging started at 8.00 a.m. Then they had a baby. My
piano became a federal offence.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Hi Tash,

Ask the kid to read the mixer's manual... it should have an A / B / A+B
switch (or a crossfader) dedicated to headphone monitoring. If not, ask
his mother to buy him a cheap Behringer DJ mixer like the DX052 (around
90 bucks new) which has that feature.

Good luck,

Evangelos


%
Evangelos Himonides
IoE, University of London
tel: +44 2076126599
fax: +44 2076126741
"Allas to those who never sing but die with all their music in them..."



Oliver Wendell Holmes
%