Korean Job Discussion Forums

re:cursive · Joined: 04 Jan 2006

Alright...so I just got another noise complaint and it's starting to get to me...I need relatively loud music and the volumes I'm getting complaints at are ridiculous (my amp is at less than 10%).
Anyone come across any good places to buy soundproofing tiles?

Octavius Hite · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:59 am Post subject:

in my old days of indie filmmaking we used to hang sleeping bags on the walls, but then the place would heat up to 40+ degrees. good luck on the hunt

kitekid · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 4:14 am Post subject:

many 음향 places in nakwon have it.

acoustic panels (음향 흡음판넬) here cost quite a bit, though.

we've got acoustic foam on the ceiling, walls and floor in our practice room.

no one can hear a thing.

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

I have to side with your neighbors. You as most of us, likely live in a more densely populated living environment in Korea than we are accustomed to. How about a set of headphones so you can enjoy what you enjoy without intruding on the peace and quiet of your neighbors?

(I am a little thorny on the subject as my typicaly noisy neighbors are getting on my nervous right now)

re:cursive · Joined: 04 Jan 2006

Satori · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Location: Above it all

Well, if you're just practicing your DJing I dont see how it needs to be so loud. But I know that you need to mix at a decent volume and use speakers. In Japan the walls are even thinner and the neighbours even more finickitty about noise. On my first night in my new place, I got excited about my new monitors and was cranking some house music till about 4am. The next morning someone had broken a couple of eggs on my doorstep and left a note on my door saying, simply "SILENT!!!" Razz

What I do now is I compose my music with phones on the week nights and mix it down on monitors on sat and sun during the day time hours when people are often out and cant so righteously complain.

Bingo · Joined: 22 Jun 2006

I also agree with the neighbours. Your right to make noise ends where your neighbours' right to peace and quiet in their own home begins. A person's home is a sanctuary. Rerspect their right to relax after a day's work without having to kisten to your second-hand noise. It's common decency..

You do, however, have the right to complain about your neighbours slamming their doors, the guy on your apt. intercom, vegetable trucks, your neighbour coughing up his left lung etc. On this occasion, however, I side with your neighbours. Please respect their right to peace and quiet within their own home. Also demand that they respect your right to peace and quiet.

re:cursive · Joined: 04 Jan 2006

Why is everyone assuming I'm making a lot of noise?

I'm actually not. In fact, the volume I play music at is actually quite low (I make more noise chopping garlic). I stop the speakers by 10pm every night. The volume my music is at is far less than the person practicing the piano in the building next door to mine or the guy who plays his saxophone down the road. In fact it's less than the volumes of a normal conversation or the sound of a flushing toilet. I live in an apartment building where people get complaints for the noise their air-conditioner makes (and no it isn't a particularly loud air-conditioner). It seems like any constant noise is an issue and due to the structure of the building I live in, it doesn't take much for a sound in my apartment to become this noise.

Try producing or mixing music at levels lower than an air conditioner and you might understand my frustrations. I've spent a lot of money on equipment I can't properly use. I can't just use headphones when producing at night and mix during the day because the noise complaints still come...the one before last occured at 4:30pm on a Saturday afternoon and the volume was at a reasonably low level (less than if I was picking on an acoustic guitar). Obviously if they can hear it at all, at any time of the day, I am in trouble.

As you will note, nowhere in my posts have I complained about my neighbours dislike of my noise. I have become aware that this is an issue and am looking for a way to continue doing what I love without annoying my neighbours. And, I am prepared to spend money to do it.

I am looking for advice on soundproofing...that is it.

Thanks to those who have provided some useful information.

Satori · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Location: Above it all

Well commercially sound proofing is really really really expensive. For that money you could buy some absolutely top end phones that would probably be as good or almost as good as mixing on monitors. Then your problem is totally solved. You would hate to spend a lot of money on sound proofing and then still find that the noise gets through and there are still complaints...

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

I would find some heavy drapes to put over windows and openings where sound leaks out the most. If you can find them, styrofoam egg cartons will not look elegant but they soak up quite a bit of sound; I had them in the basement walls of my home for my drum kit. Have your speakers sit on something soft so that bass sounds don't travel through the floor. These may be obvious things you've done already, but they can help.

Ken:>

djmarcus · Joined: 12 Jan 2006 Location: Seoul

I know you want sound proofing advice, but I was just thinking...if your speakers are on the floor, could you elevate them? Or what about the bass? Even though volumes are low, the bass may be still audible by your neighbors below.

Is it only your downstairs neighbor that complains? Not your next door neighbor?

This is actually a good thread you started because I dj/produce music also.

brento1138 · Joined: 17 Nov 2004

Heheh, I know how you feel. As I am a music producer, I've ALWAYS had complaints. I don't think I've ever lived in a building where they didn't complain... until recently. The one I am in now, no "official" complaint yet... just a loud stomping noise from the guy above, and when I heard that, I turned it down... but that was at 1:30am or something... oops!

But last night I can hear the guy and the girl next door getting it on at 4am as CLEAR as if they are in the room with me... I can actually hear the girl breathing... sooo... maybe the Koreans in my building are nice and just don't complain.

I think it's nearly impossible to soundproof here. It's all luck of the draw with the neighbors! Wink

bondegi · Joined: 01 Oct 2006 Location: Ilsan

I too have a small studio set up in my place but contrary to you I have found that koreans are way more accommodating when it comes to noise than people back home. When i had my studio set up back in canada (in the basement of a large house) i would get people across the street complaining all the time... and it wasn't really that loud either.

Here, i have never had any complaints... but then again i dont feel the need to crank it up too loud very often.

From what you describe, your neighbours are probably reacting to the extreme low frequencies. There is little you can do to stop this with "soundproofing" panels or the like. The panels suggested in an earlier post dont reduce sound but rather serve to absorb and reflect sound. These are great if you want to tune your room so that it sounds better... but your neighbours won't tell any difference.

You really shouldn't need to mix your tracks at extreme volumes anyway. Try moving your monitors further away from your listening position and focus them clearly to achieve a "sweet spot". The further you are away from your monitors, the better your bass will sound as low frequencies require more air to accumulate amplitude. If possible, try to have at least 30cm or space behind your monitors as well so dont kill the sub frequencies coming out of the ports in the back.

Just my $0.02

Good luck

Satori · Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Location: Above it all

It seems that we have re:cursive, brento1138, bondegi, and myself making electronic music. Anyone else?

Soul Forest · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Location: Seoul Forest

Add me to that list of people making electronic music.

We've had a few threads in the past 6 months or so regarding electronic music. The label "electronic music" definitely seems too wide.

There does seem to be big-name DJs that come through Seoul on occasion, but pretty much none of them have a background that interests me. We all have our preferences, which is fair enough. I respect DJs that can get people rocking -- but I'd rather see something more experimental that may or may not be too noisy or avant-garde for some people.

I didn't actually go to the DJ Shadow or DJ Krush shows, cause I had other engagements, but I would have been into going. Still, those artists are of a certain size that I'm confident I'll be able to see them again at some point.

But I'd love to see stuff like Mouse On Mars, Fernesz, Royskopp, Stereolab, Pole, etc ... nearby in Japan, there's massive talents like Susumu Yokota and Nobukazu Takemura.
I confess that I'm a bit out of touch with the names of newer talents.
I don't think most of the artists I like will ever get booked for Walker Hotel or Lotte Hotel.
I know that a lot of cool groups play in Japan fairly often. It's a shame that they don't come to Korea.
Of course, there's obviously a lot of visa issues associated with artists coming here, or else they probably would.
That said -- I'm not that interested in paying big dough to stand in a crowded club. I'd rather stay home and make music, or make music with a friend. I went to some shows in Japan, and was often disappointed by the high cost, overcrowdedness and the strictness about things -- ie. no photography, no re-entry.
As another recent post has mentioned, check out Resfest in Seoul from December 6th to 10th. They always a good selection of experimental electronic music videos, along with other things.