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Author Topic: How to record neighbours... low range, low volume noise pollution recording  (Read 131241 times)

Doc11

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Hi everyone! 

I've barged into your forum with a question thats probably very different from most getting asked....  I need to know how to better record my upstairs neighbours...

Now the disclaimer here is I don't want to record things that I can't already hear (in other words, I don't want to "spy" on them).  I only have to have a clear audio recording of the noise and racket they make.


The upstairs neighbours have recently attempted to complain about the occasional bit of noise from my level.  These includes things like the thud of a closing door, and the occasional outburst from my puppy (hes still learning).

....Now this situation is one that I find completely abhorrent as my neighbours seem completely oblivious to amount of noise they generate, from a screaming child (whos favorite game seems to be "hammer the floor), them screaming "shuttup" at the child, their dog running around, their walking.......  the insulation is so poor that I can hear the vibration of their cellphone when its left on a coffee table.


I figure this situation can be effectively remedied with a bit of cold hard evidence in the form of an audio recording.... the only problem seems to be picking up the low, booming sounds they produce with a conventional microphone and recording software (GoldWave).


I need tips on generating a clear and concise recording of the noise they pound through my ceiling.  How can I do this?

Do I need a better mike?

Do I need some kind of cup or bowl around the mike to channel the sound into the mike?
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Dinogi

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Ah, the joy of apartment living. Before I moved here I had the exact same issue with my upstairs neighbors. They would make a racket at all hours, but complain if I flushed my toilet in the middle of the night. Let me start by saying that if your neighbors are such jerks that they won't discuss this with you to come to a mutual understanding, a recording will probably not be much help, and may actually make things worse. That being said, you may be able to get some satisfaction by having the apartment manager hear the recording. Again, this might just escalate things to where you will find your car vandalized, as I did. In my case I was able to get several neighbors to corroborate the all-hours noise, and a few other things the jerks upstairs were doing, and ultimately they were evicted from the place. It was an ugly, drawn out ordeal that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Even then, I ultimately went into unneeded debt to move out of that $#!+hole.

Now as far as recording goes, you should be able to get a usable for your purposes recording with what you have, and microphone placement will be the key. If you have access to a condenser mic it may pick up the low frequencies better than an SM58, but almost anything should do the trick. A little post recording equalization might be needed, but where you place the mic will be the biggest factor. The hardest part will be the time it takes to begin the recording once the noise begins. That's where I had a problem. It took weeks to compile enough audio to show the extent of the noise coming through the ceiling. It was a real PITA.

In the mean time I would talk to your other neighbors to see if they are having similar issues with this family. That was ultimately what did the trick for me.
Dean
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I'd trade everything I own now for a good sounding room and a bucket of 57's.

Tim Halligan

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Almost any old sound recorder will do the trick in terms of letting the building supervisor hear the nature of the issue.

If you want to get a little more scientific about it, in addition to the recordings you make, you could rent or buy one of these: http://www.bksv.com/Products/handheld-instruments/sound-level-meters/sound-level-meters/type-2239-a

Once you have hard data about the level, you can compare your results to local laws to see if there is a legal angle that can be used as leverage to make your noisy neighbours play nice.

Cheers,
Tim
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An analogue brain in a digital world.

Dinogi

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A sound meter might be a good idea if they are making a really loud racket like playing a stereo at ear slitting levels. Chances are that the sound ordinances in your area won't pertain to someone stomping around on your ceiling, but it would be a good idea to look into it. If your neighbors are at least decent folks, you might be able to bring them down to hear what it sounds like when there little darlings are beating on the floor. As I said before, if they're jerks you might be better off bringing the landlord in to hear the noise. In all honesty I would be looking for another place to live as soon as it would be possible. Having neighbors above and below is always going to suck unless the place is really well built. For most affordable apartments that ain't the case. In the mean time, record them and let the landlord deal with it. If the management won't get involved, your'e pretty much screwed. I'd eq the dickens out of it to exaggerate the bass but thats just me.
Dean
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I'd trade everything I own now for a good sounding room and a bucket of 57's.

Fletcher

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If you can't work it out by inviting the guy who lives above you down for a beer [while the kid is hammering the floor]... either buy a shotgun for when they try to do a home invasion because you made "too much noise" or move to a building with better isolation.

FWIW -- when I lived in a building with a screaming kid who used to drive me nuts I put on some Reggae with the bass turned up a bit... not loud, but loud enough to drown out the kid.  When the upstairs neighbor knocked on my door to politely ask me to turn down the music [which was only like 75db SPL] I invited him in for a beer... then turned the music WAY down... then asked which he preferred... the wafting strains of Jimmy Cliff or the incessant banging of him darling toddler.

He got the picture... which was when his kid annoyed me I played music... and when I played music that was his signal to escape his apartment and join me for some beers.  It worked beautifully for the 18 months I had the place. 

No recording or building management required.

Peace
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CN Fletcher

mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid


"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and  they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too.  It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
Malcolm Chisholm

Dinogi

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Brilliant!
As long as the guy is reasonable, that the way to do it. If he isn't, you should plan on moving. Apartments suck and that's just a fact of life I guess. Between the lack of privacy and the gang wars in the parking lot I just had to get my family the #*!! out of the place I was living. It cost me dearly but in the end it was more than worth it....d
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I'd trade everything I own now for a good sounding room and a bucket of 57's.

Kamilla

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Nice posts. Keep posting such needed information. Thank's!
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Rindani

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thanks a lot for this advice we have big problems with our neighbours! http://puressay.com/blog/environmental-problems-essay-what-is-pollution will make you think about pollution!
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lioneljohn

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Re: How to record neighbours... low range, low volume noise pollution recording
« Reply #8 on: September 21, 2017, 06:11:07 AM »

From reading your post, I don’t think you need to have the most sophisticated devices for doing the process. Devices with less precise recording abilities can be used for the purpose. Anyway you have to check the legal issues related with the same.   Pacific Die Casting California   
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Fletcher

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Re: How to record neighbours... low range, low volume noise pollution recording
« Reply #9 on: September 21, 2017, 07:40:51 AM »

While I'm not a lawyer [don't even play one on TV]... one would think that recording ambient sounds in YOUR OWN domicile is perfectly acceptable.  While the neighbors have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their own domicile, at the end of the day their sound is invading your space -- and you are recording the ambient sounds of your space.  There is no reasonable expectation of privacy once their sound has entered your air.

Peace
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CN Fletcher

mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid


"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and  they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too.  It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
Malcolm Chisholm
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