The Loud Bass Rant, (not about fish... or Mega Man ;P) Options

[The Doctor Who]

We have new neighbors. They are about my age, perhaps a bit younger (so in their mid-to-late twenties). There were concerns about it when they arrived. My roommate was all like "Oh great, we're going to have more twenty-somethings living next door." and I was all like "Don't judge them by their age. You never know, they might play obnoxious music and stuff."

Of course they do. And they play that genre of music that seems precisely designed to inspire irritability, frustration and general tension in yours truly: Heavy Base Music.

Maybe I'm just odd like this, maybe there's some strange quirk in my physiology that makes me unusually sensitive to bass frequencies, but I cannot stand prolonged low-frequency sound. After a while it makes me feel physically ill and tense to the point of violence. In essence: I don't just hate it, it hates me.

I have to confess, though, that they have been reasonable enough. They don't play it constantly and tend not to play it after nine or ten at night. I can live with this.

But the fact remains: It's there. And it's got me wondering about this strange phenomenon of ultra bass sound systems. Are there people who just like the feeling of having all their internal organs vibrated like Superman phasing through a solid wall or is there something else?

I like a little bass. Enough to give the sound depth and punch, but after that it starts to get into the territory of painfully discomforting. And before anyone says 'don't knock it till you've tried it' I have. I had the misfortune to ride with some friends, in a car with one of those stereo systems that have audible bass for a city block radius. It was, perhaps, one of the most singularly painful experiences of my life. It was like my whole insides were being scrambled and I was seized with the incredible urge to just throw the door open at the next light and make a run for it. Like, curling-up-in-a-fetal-ball miserable.

Is this normal? Is it just me?

This post has been edited by The Doctor Who: Mar 28 2012, 09:55 PM

[MrBlud]

This wasn't about Mega Man either? What the hell! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

[The Doctor Who]

This wasn't about Mega Man either? What the hell! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

There, happy?

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

[John Nemo]

I too expected some sort of screaming Dr. Wiley creation.

I am disapoint.

[lordtaco]

If it's too loud, you're too old

[tec]

Here in south TX not a day or hour go by without some car bass shakeing the windows......(in fact just as I was writeing this a car went by with huge bass)
It gets to a point here where unless I like the song most of the time its some rap stuff I hate I just dont pay attion anymore

[Pennpenn]

Here in south TX not a day or hour go by without some car bass shakeing the windows......(in fact just as I was writeing this a car went by with huge bass)
It gets to a point here where unless I like the song most of the time its some rap stuff I hate I just dont pay attion anymore

I get the distinct impression that it is hard for the good Doctor to ignore it, considering it's making him feel like Dr Manhatten is playing merry hock with his insides.

[Bass X0]

Aww, its not about me either.

[The Predaking]

So let me get this straight. Superman can phase through walls? I thought that he just went through them?

[Dissever]

Damn this isn't about my stupid fish either. Although my bass is loud too when she picks up small rocks in her mouth and tosses them at the acrylic sides of the tank.

More to the point: I love music with heavy bass. Generally anything around 100 Hz in pitched is considered quite bassy, but you also have some folks that really enjoy a 30 Hz line. If your neighbors are experimenting with infrasonics (adding a bassline with a pitch of less than 20 Hz), you are not insane or unusually sensitive:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrasound
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/...01201152406.htm

If you decide to research further, be on high alert for quackery. And I am happy to hear that they don't go super late at night. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif) That's much to be grateful for, right there.

[Lizard King]

I'm the exact same way. Especially if I'm in a car or something that's playing really loud, bassy music. It's makes me nauseous and light headed and pissy. It's generally just obnoxious.

[Pennpenn]

So let me get this straight. Superman can phase through walls? I thought that he just went through them?

Yeah, no phasing. The Flash probaly could, and Martian Manhunter can. Batman just glares walls into submission and then there is a door there. In fact, the sheer force of Batman's will has ensured there was always a door there. Everybody else just smashes through the wall and makes Lex Luthor annoyed since he put all that money into clearly marked doors and skylights so he won't have to keep paying to replace the roof. Again.

This post has been edited by Pennpenn: Mar 29 2012, 09:31 AM

[Cybersnark]

Yeah, no phasing. The Flash probaly could,

Barry could, and Bart can. Wally never quite got the hang of it. It seems to be an Allen-only thing.

And yeah, heavy bass tends to make me sick to my stomach. Especially since (around here, anyway), "loud bass" = "rap/funk/whatever-we're-calling-it-this-week." I have no problem with loud music that actually has dynamic range, but this is just a constant ear-splitting stream of grunting that sounds like a gorilla trying to take a dump.

The really stupid part; given how low-frequency soundwaves work, the people nearest the speakers actually aren't even hearing the bass because they're inside the wavelength. All they're doing is pissing off people around them.

[The Doctor Who]

Here in south TX not a day or hour go by without some car bass shakeing the windows......(in fact just as I was writeing this a car went by with huge bass)
It gets to a point here where unless I like the song most of the time its some rap stuff I hate I just dont pay attion anymore

I get the distinct impression that it is hard for the good Doctor to ignore it, considering it's making him feel like Dr Manhatten is playing merry hock with his insides.

Yeah 'ignore' isn't an option. 'Tolerate' given that it isn't too heavy is possible, but not 'ignore'.

Damn this isn't about my stupid fish either. Although my bass is loud too when she picks up small rocks in her mouth and tosses them at the acrylic sides of the tank.

More to the point: I love music with heavy bass. Generally anything around 100 Hz in pitched is considered quite bassy, but you also have some folks that really enjoy a 30 Hz line. If your neighbors are experimenting with infrasonics (adding a bassline with a pitch of less than 20 Hz), you are not insane or unusually sensitive:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrasound
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/...01201152406.htm

If you decide to research further, be on high alert for quackery. And I am happy to hear that they don't go super late at night. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif) That's much to be grateful for, right there.

Ahh, thank you! This is what I was looking for, only I had no idea the specifics for which to search. I don't know what frequency they're using or experimenting with... it's just the way it hits me.

Actually, they keep it pretty quiet, all things told. We had someone before who made it so heavy that our dishes rattled a little. I can tolerate what they play, although it does make it hard for me to sleep.

Yeah, no phasing. The Flash probaly could,

Barry could, and Bart can. Wally never quite got the hang of it. It seems to be an Allen-only thing.

And yeah, heavy bass tends to make me sick to my stomach. Especially since (around here, anyway), "loud bass" = "rap/funk/whatever-we're-calling-it-this-week." I have no problem with loud music that actually has dynamic range, but this is just a constant ear-splitting stream of grunting that sounds like a gorilla trying to take a dump.

I could have sworn that Superman did that at one point too, but whatever.

Yeah, that's the thing, I like loud music. There's nothing I love more than to crank up something operatic and bass-y with lots of strings and drums... but it seems like there's a certain segment of the populace and kind of music that really plays heavily on the bass, boosting it way above the other frequencies.

The really stupid part; given how low-frequency soundwaves work, the people nearest the speakers actually aren't even hearing the bass because they're inside the wavelength. All they're doing is pissing off people around them.

I am convinced that it has nothing to do with the audio itself. I've known a few people who liked this sort of thing and from my observations, it seems to be more about just liking the feeling of the bass, rather than the actual audible sound it produces. I can't fault them for liking it... I just wish more of them were willing to realize the effect it has on some people. There have been times in my car when I was stuck in traffic with a person behind me blasting base notes so heavy it made MY rear-view mirror vibrate at standstill that I was sorely tempted to just back straight into their car.

Alternatively, a sonic-guided missile would work admirably as well.

This post has been edited by The Doctor Who: Mar 29 2012, 12:40 PM

[Pennpenn]

Yeah, no phasing. The Flash probaly could,

Barry could, and Bart can. Wally never quite got the hang of it. It seems to be an Allen-only thing.

I will confess that I'm basing it mostly on the the DCAU stuff which implies that Wally West is capable of a great many things that he would never do because it's too dangerous to himself or to others

[Dake]

The house next door to ours is up for sale and this is probably one of my biggest concerns (loud music in general really). I fully admit the hypocrisy that when it's MY loud music I'm fine, but I get irritated by other's. Thing is, I do everything I can to make sure my loud music is not bothering other people and if anyone says anything I'm quick to turn it down.

We have a couple of cars in our neighborhood that always cruise through with bass booming. One guy must get off work at 9 or 9:30 because you can plan on hearing him nearly every night entering the neighborhood at about 9:50 to 10. Another kid rolls through in his hooptie with every single body panel rattling like crazy. Those are the ones that make me chuckle because they're literally shaking their car apart and it sounds like crap from the outside.

The most annoying one is a kid that goes out and just sits in his car at night listening to bass. Sometimes he'll sit out there for five minutes, sometimes half an hour - and the type of bass seems to be that really grating kind.

In the end, I'm just looking forward to surreptitious, noise-canceling earpieces in the future where you can set it to tune out whatever you want and then everyone can play whatever they like as loud as possible and I'll just watch things rattle for no apparent reason. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif) Yeah - I'm getting old.

[DrSpengler]

I'll be moving into an apartment next year and noisy neighbors that play loud, bass-heavy music are my fiercest dread. At least I can try to avoid bad neighborhoods when apartment shopping because you can tell off the bat, but a bad neighbor that plays loud music at 1am? You won't know THAT until after you sign the lease and move in.

Currently renting a house with roommates and none of our neighbors play loud music at night unless it's a rare party, in which case no one gives them trouble because it's a special ocassion.

However, there IS one thing worse than loud, bass-heavy music in the middle of the night.

A drunken douchebag singing off-key at the top of his lungs in the middle of the night.

In the culdesac behind ours, there's a guy who basically goes out into his backyard every night at 1am and just starts SCREAMING at the top of his lungs, attempting to sing, and he keeps it up for hours.

Bass is easier to tune out than THAT racket.

[Cybersnark]

In the end, I'm just looking forward to surreptitious, noise-canceling earpieces in the future

Me, I'm looking for a directed-energy EMP cannon. Kill any electronics it hits. Go ahead, try to drive past my balcony.

[Solarstorm]

Me, I'm looking for a directed-energy EMP cannon. Kill any electronics it hits.

Red, Blue, or Green, everyone winds up with that ending

[BB Shockwave]

About the "body resonating" effect of bass, that I never get either. It physically nauseates me. I generally avoid bars and discos anyway, but when I had to go there, I could not stand it. Once I had to sit through a party just next to the man-sized loudspeakers, it was not a pleasant experience, I felt like losing my lunch.

Not to mention you have to shout at the top of your lungs just to get to the person sitting next to you... which makes for a sore throat pretty soon. Can't see why people would enjoy that... but they do, some humans are just weird that way.

We have new neighbors. They are about my age, perhaps a bit younger (so in their mid-to-late twenties). There were concerns about it when they arrived. My roommate was all like "Oh great, we're going to have more twenty-somethings living next door." and I was all like "Don't judge them by their age. You never know, they might play obnoxious music and stuff."

Of course they do. And they play that genre of music that seems precisely designed to inspire irritability, frustration and general tension in yours truly: Heavy Base Music.

Maybe I'm just odd like this, maybe there's some strange quirk in my physiology that makes me unusually sensitive to bass frequencies, but I cannot stand prolonged low-frequency sound. After a while it makes me feel physically ill and tense to the point of violence. In essence: I don't just hate it, it hates me.

Same here. My "lovely" 40-year old (and from how she looks, probably single for life) neighbour lady loves playing her heavy bass music. Usually around 1AM in, or if it is a weekend, 6AM in the morning to wake me up. She lives in a tiny 20 m2 flat, sure, but sweet Primus woman, if you want to listen to this at an ear-splitting volume (I can hear it even in the farthest corner of my flat), ever heard of headphones?!?

And it's not just me - the previous two tenants we had in the flat I now live in have complained too. To no avail. Once, when she played them so loud I actually could not sleep, and despite my better judgment banged on her door and asked her to turn it down, she complied because she saw I was not in an arguing mood... but other times, she shuts the door to my face, or says I have overly sensitive hearing. And sadly, I cannot even raise complaints against her at the committee, as she doesn't own the flat, is only a tenant, and the owner is impossible to reach.

The only method that seemed to work against her was a taste of her own medicine - I put my tapedeck to the adjacent wall, speakers towards it, turned up the volume and started playing my eighties collection. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif) That made her stop pretty soon. My previous tenant just used to bang the wall with a shoe until she stopped (so much that there was a shoe imprint on the wall there when he moved out, for which he apologized).

This post has been edited by BB Shockwave: Apr 4 2012, 08:08 AM