How to reduce bass noise from neighbors A quiet and peaceful home where we can spend our nights after long hours at work is one of the most desired things in life. Unfortunately, this can be ruined by selfish neighbors playing loud music, kids next door crying and loud bass and can result to some nasty conflicts.
Not only can loud bass from your neighbors make life in your own house a living hell but it can also result to some serious mental and health problems. Lucky for you, I’m going to show you some of the things you can try at home to reduce bass noise from your next door neighbors. These are actionable guides you can try today and sound dampen irritating noises from the next door.
how to reduce bass noise from neighbors
1. The First Step: Talk to Your Neighbors
Honestly, reducing bass noise is never going to be easy or cheap either- you’ll have to invest your time, spend your money online buying sound dampening materials and apply some technical expertise. So before you make a visit to your local store or online store, I would recommend one of the simplest methods.
The first approach is talking to your neighbors– it can be tough especially for introverts like me- but you can always get a friend to help you out. If you find talking to your neighbor in person impossible, you can phone them and politely request them to lower their stereo volume. You can also request them to soundproof their apartment or notify the landlord to have a chat with them on your behalf.
If you decide to approach your neighbors for a one on one chat- remember to be polite- don’t let the adrenaline get hold of you because things might get out of hand especially if you both disagree. Introduce yourself and try to get to know them before you touch on the subject (bass problem). You can request them to keep it down or even arrange for some quiet periods during the day.
2. Neighbors Too Rude? Try These Alternatives
Despite your efforts, some people will disagree with your ideas- and some might even accuse you of trying to trespass. Some people are just bad. If that’s the case, I would recommend you to engage the property manager/landlord or even call the cops if things get out of hand. But it’s always good to make the approach calmly.
On the other hand, if your neighbors are good and open to suggestions- you can tell them to soundproof their apartment with soundproof materials such as isolation pads.
However if you’ve spoken to your neighbors about the bass problems and nothing has been done you might resolve to other solutions.
I did my best and researched better ways in which you can use to deal with the loud music problem from next door. Below are some tips that should help you significantly reduce the low frequency noise volume.
3. Soundproof the doors and windows
Sound dampening the windows and doors is one of the effective techniques that will dramatically reduce irritating loud music from the neighbors. You can fill the window/door air gaps, block the whole window or alternatively use noise absorbing curtains for windows.
Sound dampening curtains are designed in such a way they absorb noise- they are created using thick sound proofing materials.
What I like about these curtains is the fact that they are available at a friendlier price and yet very effective. One of the best sound dampening curtains I can recommend is the Nice Town Noise Reducing Drapes. (Check it out on Amazon).
Alternatively, you can use sound absorbing weather-strips to fill in the gaps on the doors that allows noise to pass through.
What I love about soundproof weatherstrips is the fact that they are quite effective, they are cheap and are really easy to use- you don’t need to hire an expert- all you need are few YouTube tutorials and you’re good to go.
However if you find yourself tight on budget, you can use thick blankets and cover the door. The rule of thumb here is to ensure that the blanket is thick enough to help with sound absorbing.
4. Try white noise to drown the bass sound
You might be thinking and asking- aren’t white noises for babies? White noise is great for blocking low frequency sounds including low frequency stereo bass sounds. The reason being, white noise is a combination of all humanly detectable frequencies between 20-20000 Hz. However, I should alert you that white noise machines wont get rid of that irritable bass noise- but with a combination of other bass dampening techniques, it should work fine.
If you’re on a budget and find it hard to afford other sound dampening tools, a sound dampening machine might be a better solution for you. There are plenty of white noise machine on Amazon that work just fine but I would recommend the Adaptive Sound Technologies White Noise Machine which is available on Amazon.
5. Soundproof the walls
If money isn’t a problem and are willing to get rid of the bass problem once and for all, dampening your thin walls is the only viable option. Check out this article I wrote the other day on how to soundproof a room cheaply. Sound dampening the walls can be approached into different ways:
Soundproof the walls using Green Glue and Dry Wall
This is the most effective method. It’s also known as building a room within a room because it involves adding a layer of drywall over the existing wall which helps in overall sound dampening.
Using acoustic panels to soundproof the walls (Cheaper method)
Acoustic foams are effective. You’ll find them in studios or night clubs because they help in reducing reverbs and echoes.
These panels are cheaper compared to room within a room method but are not as effective. I recommend Foamily acoustic panels– it’s a well trusted brand that produces high quality panels.
6. Reduce bass noise from neighbors using bass traps
If you’re familiar with bass traps, I’m sure you know how great they’re in trapping unwanted bass. Like acoustic panels, bass traps are used in studios to sound dampen the room and eliminate reverb. But I must admit that soundproofing low frequency sounds can be quite difficult, so don’t expect these traps to be a complete soundproofing solution to your bass problem.
7. Get earmuffs or headphones
A final tip that can help you deal with bass problems is getting yourself some noise canceling earbuds or headphones. This might be a tip that you already know about. While earmuffs are specifically designed to be noise canceling, headphones and earbuds on the other hand are an added benefit of blocking external noise while playing some music.
8. Call the cops
If you suspect that your neighbors are violent and they won’t reason along with you when you approach them, I would suggest you call the police immediately.
The reason?
If you confront your violent neighbors first and later call the cops, they will know it was you who called the cops on them.
This can trigger their revenge button, and who knows what they could be capable of- break in and steal your appliances when away? Ruining your apartment door or probably crush your skull with a baseball bat?
These are some of the bad things that could happen. So I would recommend you call the cops and inform them that you want to remain anonymous. You can call them using a hidden number to make sure your neighbors never know it was you who called the cops on them.
9. Is your record clean?
Is your record clean?
I remember back in my college days when we’d let the bass loose just to annoy our next door neighbors who’d come in the middle of the night drunk and banging all the apartment doors.
This might be the cause of your bass problems. Probably you’re loud at time. Probably your smoothie blender is so noisy that it wakes the neighbors in 5Am in the morning. Maybe it’s your annoying coughing the heck out of your throat, or probably constant baby cries are being a nuisance to your neighbors. Or maybe you vacuum your apartment at night when the neighbors are sleep.
If you’re being loud, your neighbors won’t also feel any moral obligation to be quiet.
10. How to reduce bass noise from neighbours- using furniture
If your bass annoying neighbor wont knock it off, there’s no need to relocate to another apartment.
I went to visit my younger brother in college and here’s a technique he’s invented during his campus stay to address his bass problems. Just rearrange your furnitures and put some stuff between your room and the chaos next door.
You can place bookcases or other heavy furniture- if you’ve got portable wardrobe the better- against the dividing wall and make sure that you cover as much wall as possible.
Additionally you need to rearrange all the fabric covered seats and make sure they’re close to doors and windows. You should also use a lot of decorative throws and pillows.
The denser and heavier the textile the greater it’ll absorb bass sounds.
On how to reduce bass noise from neighbors
I hope this article helped you in understanding how to reduce bass noise from neighbours. What tips are you going to try now that you’ve got a basic understanding? Please let me know in the comment section below. If you have any question kindly shoot it over to me and I will be glad to help.
Read these articles and learn how to soundproof your room for music drums.