How to (NOT) annoy your neighbors :)

Hey guys, this is my first post.

I'm a musician, and in the next month or two I will be buying my first RV and diving right into full timing.  As musicians, we often practice the same thing over and over...a least I do...but I am a bit of a perfectionist.  Other musicians get it, but roommates/neighbors sometimes don't.

I know RVs have thinner walls than a house, but how sound proof are they?  If I was inside an RV singing and playing an acoustic guitar, would somebody standing outside be able to hear?  What about neighbors in an RV site?  If they were parked next to me, could they hear me from inside of their RV?

Thanks!

Hi and welcome to the boards. I was a professional musician for many years, so I know what you are up against.

The answers to your questions are all yes, your neighbors will be able to hear you both inside and outside their RV's if you are playing inside of yours. An easy way for me to judge the sound proofness of my RV is to listen to my two dogs bark while inside compared to barking inside my house. While I can barely hear them when standing outside my house, I can hear them from 50 feet away from my MH as plain as day. RV's do not have as much insulation as a house, so they will not have any sound deadening characteristics.

That having been said, it will also depend on what instruments you play. I played woodwinds, primarily sax, so that wouldn't work at all, just like brass instruments. But if you play a soft acoustic guitar, you might get by with it.

So you're saying it's like not even having walls?

No woodwinds or brass for me.  Just guitar and singing.  Electric guitar can always be turned down...although I may be the first guitar player to admit it.  Singing on the other hand...it's hard to sing really quietly, at least for me.  It takes a certain amount of breath support to sound ok.  That's what I'm worried about. 

One sound board tech described me as having "a big voice"; I wouldn't attempt to sing in our coach, unless I was consciously entertaining others.

I am a musician and I have electric guitar, an acoustic amplified guitar, a Casio synthesizer and a Playstation drum set in my RV. My approach is to play at a reasonable volume and then ask my neighbors if I am bothering them with my music. The usual response is "what music?".  I don't need to play at garage band levels. Very soft works very well for me. Here are some photos of my setup:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,52922.msg489211.html#msg489211

Turn the guitar way down and lip sync.  ;D

SeilerBird said:

I am a musician and I have electric guitar, an acoustic amplified guitar, a Casio synthesizer and a Playstation drum set in my RV. My approach is to play at a reasonable volume and then ask my neighbors if I am bothering them with my music. The usual response is "what music?".  I don't need to play at garage band levels. Very soft works very well for me. Here are some photos of my setup:

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,52922.msg489211.html#msg489211

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Same results here with a Karaoke setup we have--and we have used it outside more than in. I always ask permission from neighbors and so far no one has said no. I often ask if they want to join in and many have. It is funny that those that first decry "no way will I sing" seem to end up hogging the mic before the night is through. I should note we only try this outside when campsites are spread out--not right next to one another.

Now inside the RV it is not very noticeable as long as the door and windows are closed.




Michael

Funny, when we crank up our little trailer stereo, even opening windows so we can enjoy it outside, we can barely hear it as we sit under the awning;  go inside and it's blasting.

Of course I'm a bass player in a loud classic rock band, so I'm prolly half-deaf anyway.

Hmm...What about a Diesel coach?  Will the heftier construction help at all? 

Zach

BigSkyTrailerGuy said:

Funny, when we crank up our little trailer stereo, even opening windows so we can enjoy it outside, we can barely hear it as we sit under the awning;  go inside and it's blasting.

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One problem with judging sound levels and its impact on neighbors is the hearing condition of the judge.  Now, if I were to try to judge the sound level of my music, I'm afraid the neighbors three doors down might complain.   So, I generally stick with a headset or ear buds since my DW doesn't like to listen to music anyway.  As for singing loudly, perhaps your neighbors won't complain if you wear a headset and they can only hear your voice...assuming your voice is not unpleasant.

I am traveling with a retired musician friend these days. He plays and practices music, typically outside. We've had no complaints other than folks who holler "Turn it up so we can hear!"

A lot of it will depend on WHERE you are camping. We are often in nature parks where the lots tend to be a lot larger than the private parks, some of which cramp you in like mall parking. Many nature parks also have lot of trees, maybe that helps dampen the sound.

I also like to play music on the stereo, inside and out. We will be rocking inside, step outside to do something and can't even hear the music that is playing inside. I've played music outside and walked around to see if it could be heard beyond our lot. It often depends on the terrain and the weather.

Foggier weather will make noises louder than clearer weather. Ever noticed how trains are so much louder in the fog?

On another note...

Many campers are gone all day sightseeing and so on. Many times it seems like we are the only ones not out in a car 24/7, so you may find yourself alone many times during the day and able to practice with no one around. Like now, it's 2:30pm and I look outside at my neighbor's, I can see 6 campsites from mine and not a soul is home, everyone is gone off except us.

I think if you just use good common sense about when and where you play, you will be fine. Loads of musicians running around with instruments in their RV's. I often see and hear guitars and singing at tent sites, and they are not in an RV and I haven't seen or heard anyone get bent out of shape. I suppose it could happen.

If someone asked us to stop making joyful noise, we would promptly comply and apologize.

I've had campers that played their TV's super loud and even though I hate TV, I never complained. So it's entirely possible the other RV-ers are making their own noise and won't hear or be bothered by your noise.

THe world needs more music.  ;D

DearMissMermaid said:

I am traveling with a retired musician friend these days. He plays and practices music, typically outside. We've had no complaints other than folks who holler "Turn it up so we can hear!"

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I say the exact same words when some of these young kids pull up beside me at a stop light and the sound is so loud, my car shakes.  You can hear them coming a 1/4 mile away.  ;D  Maybe that's what they were getting at in your situation.  ;D

Rene T said:

I say the exact same words when some of these young kids pull up beside me at a stop light and the sound is so loud, my car shakes.  You can hear them coming a 1/4 mile away.  ;D  Maybe that's what they were getting at in your situation.  ;D

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Haha!

Well here's a funny situation...

Country music is about my least favorite. Yes, I own maybe two country songs, but otherwise I prefer a huge variety of tunes that just doesn't seem to include country.

So... last winter I was in a park and the neighbor chose to park as close as possible to us, despite his big lot. Actually, he may not have given it any thought, he seemed to care very little for his RV. He was a heavy beer drinker who had a penchant for country only music.

One evening we were outside eating dinner. He was tossing beer cans and listening to country music. He came over to ask us if we could hear his music. We said no. We were listening to our own music at a normal volume. He drained his beer and left to fetch another one.

That's when he turned his music up full blast! You could hear it all over the place, and it was awful. Cheap speakers blaring out country music at full volume. It was dreadful. We hastily finished dinner so we could walk the dog to get far far away.

DearMissMermaid said:

Well here's a funny situation...

Country music is about my least favorite. Yes, I own maybe two country songs, but otherwise I prefer a huge variety of tunes that just doesn't seem to include country.

So... last winter I was in a park and the neighbor chose to park as close as possible to us, despite his big lot. Actually, he may not have given it any thought, he seemed to care very little for his RV. He was a heavy beer drinker who had a penchant for country only music.

One evening we were outside eating dinner. He was tossing beer cans and listening to country music. He came over to ask us if we could hear his music. We said no. We were listening to our own music at a normal volume. He drained his beer and left to fetch another one.

That's when he turned his music up full blast! You could hear it all over the place, and it was awful. Cheap speakers blaring out country music at full volume. It was dreadful. We hastily finished dinner so we could walk the dog to get far far away.

Click to expand...

The lesson I get from this is to never answer "no" if asked if you can hear someone's music. Instead answer, "yes, but as long as it doesn't get any louder it is fine."



Mike

I'm a gigging keyboard player in the process of transition to what I expect will be a near full time RV'er.  I've been packing a Yamaha CP300 along with a "T" stand and a bench in one of the pass-thru storage compartments of our coach on our last several outings.  When I've felt like playing - I've simply opened the compart, pulled out the tray - and put the keyboard on the stand out on the patio.  There's a volume knob on the thing - so keeping volume under control hasn't been any sort of issue.  Where anybody to complain - I've always got headphones. 

To be honest, it works well as an icebreaker.  Every time I pull the piano out - seems like anybody/everybody walking by stops for a few minutes.  It isn't very long before I'm getting the "aren't you the guy who plays piano?" from the folks I happen to see when I'm walking around the park. 

gruzzy47, what's about an exercise cabin? Would such a cabin be a solution to your problem?
Ok, depends on the size of RV and/or instrument.

Mike