Crazy neighbor shouting and getting physical over electronic drums!!

whoreian

Senior Member
im pretty shocked and pissed right now. i live in a condominium and just bought a new yamaha DTX750K electronic set and decided to put it in my room(drumsets were previously in living room). in the 7 years of drumming in my condo, i've only had 3 complaints.

BUT ALL OF A SUDDEN THIS CRAZY OLD MAN COMES UP(I WAS DRUMMING AT 7PM) AND STARTS SHOUTING AND USING HIS WALKING STICK TO HIT MY DOOR ETC. very difficult neighbor.

really not sure what to do at this point.moving it back to my living room would be crazy,and i cant possibly play super soft forever. i could get the yamaha HH65 silent bass pedal but that would affect my playing. please guys advice me on hot to deal with this difficult situation!
 
Awkward one for sure !!!!

The sound of the kick will tavel and if I lived in a apartment block and I could constantly hear it I'm sure it'd drive me nuts and I'm a drummer !!!
I'm sure someone else will have a link but have seen posted on here many times a sound isolating platform that you can make.
 
If you can approach him without him freaking out, try to work with him to figure out what the main problem is. For electronic kits in apartments, the main problem is usually the kick beater impact causing vibrations through the floor and walls, which can be remedied by placing the kit on a shock absorbing riser.

If you can't approach him without fear of being hit over the head with his cane, I'm not sure what to do.

Here's a recent thread dealing with a similar subject, and I posted a few links and suggestions in there:
http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83938
 
Other than provide some dampening/de-vibration effect - as mentioned - simply offer the man to play at your drumset for himself. Might change his attitude. Well aren't elder people usually prone to having hearing problems?? This one seems to have good hearing for his age.
 
find out when he goes to Bingo or the early bird specials, and play then
 
...

shoot him.

...

I like the way you think, but I would suggest waiting for him one night and jumping out and scaring him. Maybe he'll have a heart attack and all your problems will be solved. Not sure if you can be criminally charged with aggrevated scaring.
 
You have to accept that playing drums, in some contexts, is an anti-social activity. Think of it from your neighbour's perspective. Perhaps he was trying to sleep or watch TV. Or perhaps he's just a bit sensitive to noise.

Wait for the situation to calm down and then approach him and enter into a proper adult reasoned dialogue. See if there is a compromise arrangement that would work for both of you. If not then moving your kit back into the living room is what you will have to do. It may be an inconvenience but the obligation is on you to solve the problem. You have to accept your neighbours for who they are and if they are sensitive to things you do that affect the quality of their lives then you have to deal with that. Read the current thread started by Pollyanna about playing quietly. Would you feel the same way about your neighbour if he was your father?
 
I read somewhere that if you set up your drums on a wooden platform that is supported by tennis balls...you decouple the surface you are playing on from your building structure...you could experiment with that. I'm thinking it's more the vibrations than the sound itself that's bothering this cantankerous old man..
 
I agree with Larry, make some sort of anti-vibe platform to mount them on. Seems the easiest thing to do.Not sure tennis balls will work but something along those lines should do the trick
 
First, reintroduce yourself and apologize to the old guy. Even though you are not at fault, suck it up. He will be dead soon. Cut him some slack. The guy hasn't gotten laid in a decade or two. How cranky would you be in his situation? It's just like the old lady driving 10 miles under the speed limit because she can't see over the steering wheel.

Next, invite him in. Show him your kit and play it a bit. Tell him you didn't realize how the sound carried. Tell him you are working on a sound dampening system and give him your phone number to call if it's a problem. Also, try to get access to his unit while someone plays your kit. That way you can hear the problem first hand.

As far as dampening, the more soft layers you can get onder the kit (or the kicks) the better. Of course this will create stability problems so you will just have to experiment.

I'm thinking a couple/few layers of carpet padding, just under the kicks. As many as you can get while maintaining stability. If that won't work, maybe many layers of carpet padding under a 4x6 piece of plywood. It's hard to say how stable this would be. You will have to experiment a bit but I can see it working. You may end up having to screw some 2x2 around the perimeter of the plywood and pad under those as well as under the ply.

If the issue is also coming from the other heads, try building a simple surround out of moving blankets.
 
It's the sound of your foot hitting the bass drum board in almost every case like this. You need an absorbing riser. Lots of guys cut tennis balls in half and sandwich them between large boards. Makes a huge difference. Lots of info on that at vdrums.com forums.
 
I read somewhere that if you set up your drums on a wooden platform that is supported by tennis balls
Surely the neighbours will hear the drums and platform hitting the walls as they roll around the room riding on a load of tennis balls? Or have I not got this right somehow?
 
Sounds to me like the perfect excuse to purchase that set of RUDE cymbals you've always wanted.......of course then he'd probably just shoot you. He might even use his cane to shoot you.

It's the sound of your foot hitting the bass drum board in almost every case like this. You need an absorbing riser. Lots of guys cut tennis balls in half and sandwich them between large boards. Makes a huge difference. Lots of info on that at vdrums.com forums.


I second this.
 
You need to "work with the guy". Say, get someone to play your kit ... (hell, they don't even have to be a drummer) ... and go into this guys crib, an see how loud, and what's causing the problem. You, right now, don't know. And we don't know. Speculation, don't mean diddly. Once you know what the "problem" is, then you work on a solution.​
Now, you say, moving the drums back into the living room "is crazy" ... Why ? If that keeps peace in your condo ... move the drums back into the living room. If you have a garage, move the drums into the garage. Park your car on the street. Do what you gotta do. I've been a drummer for over 40 years .... and I've made a lot of "compromises", over the years, to remain a drummer. I worked jobs that allowed me be to in a working band. I owned vehicles that were drum haulers. I dated/lived with/married women that didn't make me choose between them and the drums.​
Right now, I have about 16 drums scattered about my living room. As soon as my garage/drum studio remodel is finished ... they all go into the studio. And everything upstairs, drums, guitars, bass, keyboards, amps ... as well ... into the studio. For me, it's a lifestyle.​
 
This is what I built for my ekit in my apartment

http://vdrums.com/forum/showthread....oise-Isolating-Platform&highlight=tennis ball

The tennis balls work well actually. I had to put 3 layers of rugs on top of the platform before I really felt it was working but now I feel like I could work on my sledge hammer technique in my room with out bothering. Also side note

This plan has you drilling little holes in the wood for tennis balls, i skipped the wood cutting part and just glued the balls with super strong glue stuff it was thick and STRONG and it worked good up to now so if u can't drill that will work.
 
First, reintroduce yourself and apologize to the old guy. Even though you are not at fault, suck it up. He will be dead soon. Cut him some slack. The guy hasn't gotten laid in a decade or two. How cranky would you be in his situation? It's just like the old lady driving 10 miles under the speed limit because she can't see over the steering wheel.

Next, invite him in. Show him your kit and play it a bit. Tell him you didn't realize how the sound carried. Tell him you are working on a sound dampening system and give him your phone number to call if it's a problem. Also, try to get access to his unit while someone plays your kit. That way you can hear the problem first hand.

As far as dampening, the more soft layers you can get onder the kit (or the kicks) the better. Of course this will create stability problems so you will just have to experiment.

I'm thinking a couple/few layers of carpet padding, just under the kicks. As many as you can get while maintaining stability. If that won't work, maybe many layers of carpet padding under a 4x6 piece of plywood. It's hard to say how stable this would be. You will have to experiment a bit but I can see it working. You may end up having to screw some 2x2 around the perimeter of the plywood and pad under those as well as under the ply.

If the issue is also coming from the other heads, try building a simple surround out of moving blankets.

That is a good approach. I would bring him some cookies. Sometimes people get cranky when they get old. Try to figure out what times would be best for him, or when he is out most.

Can you ever hear him? If you can, go over and let him know that you can hear him and it doesn't bother you and you are happy to accommodate reasonable noise levels from a neighbor and you hope he would be as well.

Some people just jerks and have no interest in accommodating others. If that's the case, do your best to soundproof the kit. An electronic kit is really no more noisy than an exercise machine, or a television. It in unreasonable to expect silence from neighboring apartments 100 percent of the time. As long as you are reasonable, you will prevail.
 
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