Sound levels at local music venues: Too Loud, Not Loud Enough or Just Right?

[ChristmasCarla]

Dear Ken ...
Thank you so much for explaining the way the bass vibrations travel. I have been plagued by subsonic vibrations from some neighbor's music and have been unable to find where it's coming from. It keeps me awake at night with a throbbing in my inner ears, especially when I put my head down on the pillow. It's not every night, but many nights, the vibration goes all night long. As soon as I go outside to see if I can tell which neighbor it's coming from, I don't hear it any longer. I know it's transmitted through the ground, but I have no idea what I can do about it. Currently, I use a white noise machine at night so I can sleep. Do you have any idea how I can deal with this? I'm almost to the point of building a house within a house to be free of it.
Thanks for any suggestions ... Carla

[CyberHippy]

Dear Ken ...
Thank you so much for explaining the way the bass vibrations travel. I have been plagued by subsonic vibrations from some neighbor's music and have been unable to find where it's coming from. It keeps me awake at night with a throbbing in my inner ears, especially when I put my head down on the pillow. It's not every night, but many nights, the vibration goes all night long. As soon as I go outside to see if I can tell which neighbor it's coming from, I don't hear it any longer. I know it's transmitted through the ground, but I have no idea what I can do about it. Currently, I use a white noise machine at night so I can sleep. Do you have any idea how I can deal with this? I'm almost to the point of building a house within a house to be free of it.
Thanks for any suggestions ... Carla

Hi Carla,

The reason you can't tell where the subsonic sound is coming from is due to another unique aspect of those sounds: they are not "directional" so your stereo ears are not able to tell you the direction that sound is coming from. This is why Bose and other companies now often have the subwoofer as a single separate box from the rest of their speaker systems - you can place it anywhere in a room and it will sound OK because our ears can not hear the direction the low sound is coming from. So, you are unlikely to find the source unless you happen upon it while visiting neighbors.

Is your bed on carpet or a floor? From what you describe I'm guessing it's on a solid floor, because bass can travel through solid ground - in fact, we now know this is how elephants communicate over long distances: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant#Communication

A possible solution would be to put padding between the feet of your bed and the floor - foam should work, or go to a hardware store and pick up some "wonder liner" - we use it in live sound to keep speakers from sliding around, it also dulls the vibrations between solids. A carpet with padding under it will also keep the bass from traveling from the ground to your pillow.

[gavio]

Hi Carla:

It's getting away from the topic of this thread, so I won't belabor it here, but your problem is a common one, and I have some simple strategies for approaching it in the "Answers" section of my website, Live better by design. You might find what you need there.

Another place you can go for a very in-depth explanation about soundproofing is Soundproofing 101. It's thorough, but probably more than you need for the issue you describe.

I am very sensitive to sound, and know well how draining it can be. I have often had to employ various strategies for dealing with it. Good luck.

BTW, Ken, your approach towards dealing with sound issues at your venue seems pretty darn sane and civilized to me - thank you for your community-minded approach to balancing the variables.

Gavio

Dear Ken ...
Thank you so much for explaining the way the bass vibrations travel.... Carla