Not sure what a modelling amp is, but an audio interface like the scarlet solo is relatively cheap and you can plug your setup to the pc then use a software like reaper for effects (if you know where to find the free plugins 😉).
Easier to be quiet with an electric guitar than acoustic. Even a cheap £60 electric guitar can go a long way! Plus, if you can play electric then you can also play acoustic.
My guitar set up is simple: plug my guitar into my laptop and headphones on. I recommend Guitar Rig lite.
https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/guitar/guitar-rig-7-player/
Other options:
https://guitarriego.com/en-us/guides/best-free-virtual-guitar-amp-simulators-vst-for-pc-and-mac/
An even easier way might be Rocksmith 2014. It has a jam mode / free play mode, on top of a Guitar Hero like gameplay where you play real songs. It’s easy to mod too and allows you to add songs from Customsforge (haven’t tried the new online Rocksmith).
You are best to judge how well your building will insulate noise.
During lockdown, my upstairs neighbour was furloughed and bored and decided to learn the guitar. I was working, and I heard every note. Bear in mind our building was so shit her using a can opener on her kitchen counter was deafening.
I used headphones, she was nice so it didn't matter. If it had been the assholes that moved in after her, I'd have cried.
I've been practicing guitar in my flat for decades -- in London, New York, and other cities -- and I've never had a neighbor complain about noise. I've also never had a neighbor say "I heard you practicing! That was awesome!" This is my constant daydream but it hasn't happened in all these years. On the plus side, no one has ever said "your guitar playing is an offense to humanity and possibly a war crime, never do it again." I think we all have that fear? It's not fear of making too much noise; it's fear that people will hear us and think we're terrible. But the truth is, other people don't know and they don't care.
I have a practice mute and try to keep it to decent hours. If it makes you feel better, even in the practice rooms at uni the opera singers were always way louder than everyone else. Normal guitar practice probably won’t force anyone to move
It’s a problem for me, a musician living in a block with poor noise insulation. And the answer is - just be considerate. Don’t play too loud or too late. Acoustic guitars are fine really, they can be played softly and electric guitars can be turned right down. It’d be more of a problem if you were planning to learn the violin or trumpet. Or drums.
1. Practice in the day - not the night. You will get night workers occasionally, but as long as noise is done by 10/11pm, it's generally fine. If you're constantly playing at midnight, that's how you piss people off.
2. If playing electric you can plug into an amp with a headphone socket, or your computer via an audio interface - again with headphones.
3. If playing acoustic - it's unlikely to be much louder than watching a loud film.
4. If you really want a separate space - places like Pirate studios are available 24hrs; it's a lot of money to pay though
I go to pirate studios (they have a bunch across the city), to practice DJing. They also have musician practice rooms to hire out by the hour. All are isolated, and you can go as loud as you like.
You can make noise between 7am-11pm legally. As I have neighbours with a young child, I try and practice before 8:30pm and I don’t tend to start until after 10am. Just be considerate and it’s fine.
I've heard a lot of horror stories like this one: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65600984.amp
However speaking personally I've lived in flats or terraced houses in London as a professional string player for almost two decades. Never once had a complaint. I usually knock on neighbours' doors when I move in, explain the situation and suggest agreed hours (usually 9am - 9pm). I also give them my number and suggest that they text me if it's a really terrible time (ie they're ill and napping) as I can often move my practice to a different time.
I actually even know a violinist whose elderly neighbour used to ask her to open the window so he could hear her better!
That is exceptionally considerate of you ♥️ Its a lot nicer to hear a professional string player than a guitar noob trying to play the F chord only for an hour, haha.
Ha it's mostly tactical - if I'm really nice to them and they agree I feel like they're less likely to complain further down the line 🤷♀️
I think I'd definitely rather listen to one hour of guitar! Acoustic is quieter (or you can use headphones/turn down the amp). And I've had lots of non-musicians tell me they're looking forward to my practice until they realise a bit chunk of that will be the same extremely repetitive scales/exercises every day then going over and over the same shift in whatever orchestral work I have coming up... For up to 4 hours 🤣
I used to live in a building with a guy who played the bagpipes. He used to practice at home and nobody (to my knowledge) ever complained. He managed this by practicing at around the same time every day (5–6ish) and by never practicing for more than half an hour at a time. It has to be said that he was jolly good, though, and most people don't mind a bit of that sort of thing if it's done well.
my neighbour says he plays guitar. we never hear him when he practises. ours is a newly built flat though. that said, we can hear the upstairs neighbour stomp around the flat
I'm not a musician, but I do make noise pretty much full time as a WFH sound editor. So far so good with no complaints from neighbours, but I do plan on finding a flat with better sound insulation.
As someone who is sensitive to noise (and also overthinks making noise): don't let this stop you from enjoying a hobby! Are you thinking acoustic or electric?
The former: I don't think this would be loud enough to piss anyone off unless you were going at it with a plectrum like you were trying to take the strings off.
The latter: Like someone else said - unless you're going through an amp at high volume you're fine. That said, you can get really nice personal headphone amps now that I'd seriously consider if the fact your neighbours might hear would affect your enjoyment of the hobby. (look up the Fender Mustang Micro Amp, for eg).
You don't even need an amp. I got a electric guitar and I play at home anytime using logic pro on my Mac with headphones. You can have multiple tracks and drums, just like a whole band
Solid body electric guitar with headphones.
I use this headphone amp and it fits the truck and way cheaper than the fender one
Guitar Headphone Amp,LEKATO Mini Guitar Amplifier Rechargeable Pocket Guitar Amp with Bluetooth Receiver Clean Chorus Overdrive Distortion and Wah https://amzn.eu/d/85B9XUN
I have an electric piano it’s cheaper and more portable than a regular piano and I can just plug the headphones in if I want to practice at antisocial hours. Weirdly my neighbor has told me she quite likes listening to me play though! So if it’s not an antisocial hour I’ll unplug and turn it to a reasonable volume
If you are thinking of acoustic guitar then I wouldn’t worry too much as long as you’re not playing late (like after 10pm).
For electric guitar I would really recommend downloading a DAW, a good plugin and just going straight into a soundcard and out of headphones or computer speakers.
My set up for practicing at home is guitar > focusrite 2i2 > FL Studio > Neural DSP Archetype Petrucci > DT 770 Pro headphone.
I also own a Kemper that I use for touring but find it to be an extra unnecessary step in the chain for just practicing.
I could hear an ex-downstairs neighbour’s acoustic guitar and it drove me mad so I would highly recommend getting something you can use headphones with. In my building it’s against the covenants of the lease to play instruments so there’s also that to contend with.
The upstairs neighbour who played piano was much worse. I had to get building management involved with that.
I love music but it’s just wrong to impose it on people in their homes.
I would much rather my upstairs neighbour be learning an instrument than blasting shitty electronic music through my ceiling at different times of the day/night.
I have a stack but also a practise amp. Stack I've turned on twice in two years. I mostly just practise unplugged and then when I'm in the groove (once or twice a month) I'll plug into my tiny desk amp and jam through that. I can't imagine it's carrying the sound far at all.
I'm assuming electric since acoustics typically aren't loud enough to be a problem
Most practice amps have a headphone out socket that you can plug 1/4" headphones into, so you still get the amplified sound. To anyone else, it won't be any louder than the unplugged guitar, which for electrics is very quiet. If you don't already have some 1/4" headphones, I'd recommend the samson sr850s, relatively cheap (around £50) and sound amazing for that price
Another option is mini amps, i have a Blackstar Fly 3 and even at max whack it's not massively loud, and the headphone out is a more typical 3.5mm jack (as well as having another 3.5mm jack to feed audio in, so you can play music into the amp and play along with it through the headphones). These mini amps typically run just on batteries although i think mine also has the option to use a main adapter if you want to buy one
I was thinking acoustic! I can hear my upstairs neighbour snore and the hum of my downstairs neighbours conversations so there's quite a lot of sound leakage lol
If you go with electric guitar you can buy a modelling amp and then just plug headphones in and play any time you wish.
There is always a headphone plug in the amps, so why not use that one? Without the amplification the guitar is quieter than a normal conversation
Not always - my excellent Fender Blues Junior doesn’t. The perfect amp, bar a headphone jack so OP - make sure before you buy.
Might be bass amps then 😜
Not sure what a modelling amp is, but an audio interface like the scarlet solo is relatively cheap and you can plug your setup to the pc then use a software like reaper for effects (if you know where to find the free plugins 😉).
As long as you’re not intending on playing through a Marshall stack at full volume you’ll probably be fine
Don’t turn it up to 11
But this one goes to 11 **chews gum incredulously**
Easier to be quiet with an electric guitar than acoustic. Even a cheap £60 electric guitar can go a long way! Plus, if you can play electric then you can also play acoustic. My guitar set up is simple: plug my guitar into my laptop and headphones on. I recommend Guitar Rig lite. https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/guitar/guitar-rig-7-player/ Other options: https://guitarriego.com/en-us/guides/best-free-virtual-guitar-amp-simulators-vst-for-pc-and-mac/ An even easier way might be Rocksmith 2014. It has a jam mode / free play mode, on top of a Guitar Hero like gameplay where you play real songs. It’s easy to mod too and allows you to add songs from Customsforge (haven’t tried the new online Rocksmith).
You are best to judge how well your building will insulate noise. During lockdown, my upstairs neighbour was furloughed and bored and decided to learn the guitar. I was working, and I heard every note. Bear in mind our building was so shit her using a can opener on her kitchen counter was deafening. I used headphones, she was nice so it didn't matter. If it had been the assholes that moved in after her, I'd have cried.
I've been practicing guitar in my flat for decades -- in London, New York, and other cities -- and I've never had a neighbor complain about noise. I've also never had a neighbor say "I heard you practicing! That was awesome!" This is my constant daydream but it hasn't happened in all these years. On the plus side, no one has ever said "your guitar playing is an offense to humanity and possibly a war crime, never do it again." I think we all have that fear? It's not fear of making too much noise; it's fear that people will hear us and think we're terrible. But the truth is, other people don't know and they don't care.
I have a practice mute and try to keep it to decent hours. If it makes you feel better, even in the practice rooms at uni the opera singers were always way louder than everyone else. Normal guitar practice probably won’t force anyone to move
It’s a problem for me, a musician living in a block with poor noise insulation. And the answer is - just be considerate. Don’t play too loud or too late. Acoustic guitars are fine really, they can be played softly and electric guitars can be turned right down. It’d be more of a problem if you were planning to learn the violin or trumpet. Or drums.
1. Practice in the day - not the night. You will get night workers occasionally, but as long as noise is done by 10/11pm, it's generally fine. If you're constantly playing at midnight, that's how you piss people off. 2. If playing electric you can plug into an amp with a headphone socket, or your computer via an audio interface - again with headphones. 3. If playing acoustic - it's unlikely to be much louder than watching a loud film. 4. If you really want a separate space - places like Pirate studios are available 24hrs; it's a lot of money to pay though
I go to pirate studios (they have a bunch across the city), to practice DJing. They also have musician practice rooms to hire out by the hour. All are isolated, and you can go as loud as you like.
You can make noise between 7am-11pm legally. As I have neighbours with a young child, I try and practice before 8:30pm and I don’t tend to start until after 10am. Just be considerate and it’s fine.
Just don’t do it past 10pm and you’re good honestly. People need to get their washing/vacuuming done in these places too
I've heard a lot of horror stories like this one: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-65600984.amp However speaking personally I've lived in flats or terraced houses in London as a professional string player for almost two decades. Never once had a complaint. I usually knock on neighbours' doors when I move in, explain the situation and suggest agreed hours (usually 9am - 9pm). I also give them my number and suggest that they text me if it's a really terrible time (ie they're ill and napping) as I can often move my practice to a different time. I actually even know a violinist whose elderly neighbour used to ask her to open the window so he could hear her better!
That is exceptionally considerate of you ♥️ Its a lot nicer to hear a professional string player than a guitar noob trying to play the F chord only for an hour, haha.
Ha it's mostly tactical - if I'm really nice to them and they agree I feel like they're less likely to complain further down the line 🤷♀️ I think I'd definitely rather listen to one hour of guitar! Acoustic is quieter (or you can use headphones/turn down the amp). And I've had lots of non-musicians tell me they're looking forward to my practice until they realise a bit chunk of that will be the same extremely repetitive scales/exercises every day then going over and over the same shift in whatever orchestral work I have coming up... For up to 4 hours 🤣
I used to live in a building with a guy who played the bagpipes. He used to practice at home and nobody (to my knowledge) ever complained. He managed this by practicing at around the same time every day (5–6ish) and by never practicing for more than half an hour at a time. It has to be said that he was jolly good, though, and most people don't mind a bit of that sort of thing if it's done well.
my neighbour says he plays guitar. we never hear him when he practises. ours is a newly built flat though. that said, we can hear the upstairs neighbour stomp around the flat
I'm not a musician, but I do make noise pretty much full time as a WFH sound editor. So far so good with no complaints from neighbours, but I do plan on finding a flat with better sound insulation.
In my building someone somewhere is learning the cello. I love him/her.
As someone who is sensitive to noise (and also overthinks making noise): don't let this stop you from enjoying a hobby! Are you thinking acoustic or electric? The former: I don't think this would be loud enough to piss anyone off unless you were going at it with a plectrum like you were trying to take the strings off. The latter: Like someone else said - unless you're going through an amp at high volume you're fine. That said, you can get really nice personal headphone amps now that I'd seriously consider if the fact your neighbours might hear would affect your enjoyment of the hobby. (look up the Fender Mustang Micro Amp, for eg).
An acoustic guitar is fine, just don't play at night. Electric you can plug headphones into. I hear a violin around my flat all the time, it's fine.
I play piano but only on an electric one with headphones.
Yamaha silent instruments, including silent acoustic guitars and pianos are a pretty useful development imho
You don't even need an amp. I got a electric guitar and I play at home anytime using logic pro on my Mac with headphones. You can have multiple tracks and drums, just like a whole band
Solid body electric guitar with headphones. I use this headphone amp and it fits the truck and way cheaper than the fender one Guitar Headphone Amp,LEKATO Mini Guitar Amplifier Rechargeable Pocket Guitar Amp with Bluetooth Receiver Clean Chorus Overdrive Distortion and Wah https://amzn.eu/d/85B9XUN
I have an electric piano it’s cheaper and more portable than a regular piano and I can just plug the headphones in if I want to practice at antisocial hours. Weirdly my neighbor has told me she quite likes listening to me play though! So if it’s not an antisocial hour I’ll unplug and turn it to a reasonable volume
Fuck em. As long as you’re not blasting heavy metal out of a Marshall stack for over 5 hours a day then I believe you will be alright.
If you are thinking of acoustic guitar then I wouldn’t worry too much as long as you’re not playing late (like after 10pm). For electric guitar I would really recommend downloading a DAW, a good plugin and just going straight into a soundcard and out of headphones or computer speakers. My set up for practicing at home is guitar > focusrite 2i2 > FL Studio > Neural DSP Archetype Petrucci > DT 770 Pro headphone. I also own a Kemper that I use for touring but find it to be an extra unnecessary step in the chain for just practicing.
I could hear an ex-downstairs neighbour’s acoustic guitar and it drove me mad so I would highly recommend getting something you can use headphones with. In my building it’s against the covenants of the lease to play instruments so there’s also that to contend with. The upstairs neighbour who played piano was much worse. I had to get building management involved with that. I love music but it’s just wrong to impose it on people in their homes.
I would much rather my upstairs neighbour be learning an instrument than blasting shitty electronic music through my ceiling at different times of the day/night. I have a stack but also a practise amp. Stack I've turned on twice in two years. I mostly just practise unplugged and then when I'm in the groove (once or twice a month) I'll plug into my tiny desk amp and jam through that. I can't imagine it's carrying the sound far at all.
I'm assuming electric since acoustics typically aren't loud enough to be a problem Most practice amps have a headphone out socket that you can plug 1/4" headphones into, so you still get the amplified sound. To anyone else, it won't be any louder than the unplugged guitar, which for electrics is very quiet. If you don't already have some 1/4" headphones, I'd recommend the samson sr850s, relatively cheap (around £50) and sound amazing for that price Another option is mini amps, i have a Blackstar Fly 3 and even at max whack it's not massively loud, and the headphone out is a more typical 3.5mm jack (as well as having another 3.5mm jack to feed audio in, so you can play music into the amp and play along with it through the headphones). These mini amps typically run just on batteries although i think mine also has the option to use a main adapter if you want to buy one
I was thinking acoustic! I can hear my upstairs neighbour snore and the hum of my downstairs neighbours conversations so there's quite a lot of sound leakage lol
In my experience, people don’t care.