I read an interesting article in Reverb.com – apparently it is possible to play guitars quietly!
This article explained all sorts of devices and options to reduce the volume of your guitar playing so that you don’t annoy your neighbour. I suppose I don’t have that problem too much these days as I’ve downsized most of my amps to practice amps – although some of them such as the Yamaha THR10 can still kick out a decent amount of volume at full power.
I’ve still got my old Laney Pro-Session 150 amp but its connected to a Blackstar 75W cabinet so I couldn’t run it at full power but even if I pushed it to the limits of the speaker cabinet I’m sure some neighbours would complain.
The article does give good advice but perhaps ignores the best options such as have neighbours who are into the same music as you or, even better, move next door to someone who is deaf!
Being serious though, the important thing is if you’re making so much noise to annoy your neighbours then what are you doing to your own eardrums?
I’ve played gigs when, to be honest, the whole band was too loud for the venue as have practice sessions in studios and even the odd occasion at home.
Initially it does feel good, like you’re controlling the powerful sound coming from your speakers but then you start to notice the ringing in your ears – that’s when its time to turn the volume down. Also it is much easier to practice quietly, making sure you’ve learnt your part before letting everyone else hear you – that way they might think you’ve just learnt a new piece of music rather than deafening them for three weeks simply to learn the riff from Smoke on the Water. Sometimes less is more.
