express gets me a 250 dollar ticket

[xtian]

I work at home on 2/3 acre. Neighbors all have day jobs or are students, so there's some good "crank time" in the late morning and afternoon. One of the plusses of self-employment. And, believe me, I'll take what I can get!

[Roe]

got stopped once by local copper after trying a halfstack outdoors.

[guitarsnguns04]

I must be lucky...where I live it's mostly retired people and then there's me and my young family. I'm conscience on what time of the day I play but when I build a new amp and noones home at my house I crank it up and peel the walls for hours. Only one time has any of my neighbors said anything about and I quote.." I was sitting in my living room yesterday and my pictures started shaking the walls and floors were shaking..I thought we were having an earthquake....I ran outside and heard the loudest guitar I've ever heard in my life and realized it was you " we both laughed a bit and I apologized since then I guess when his house starts shaking he knows its me.lol.

[Mark]

I've had bad neighbors many years ago, there is no appeasing them. This guy was a control freak, a 747 pilot, it took him a long time to learn a little noise is acceptable. I even used a dB meter to show him our speech was louder than the offending noise.

He got a few fines for his dog crapping on our lawn and he changed his mind.

[cbass]

I can't belive the law didn't give you a warnin first.What dicks.

[lewilson]

My playing was no louder than the train going by in the distance or speech, that is corrrect, but, the law is so open in these matters.
If I played 2 or three hours a day I could understand. I only do little test here and there. I never played much after noon.
But like I mentioned earlier, I got busted for playing a tweed princeton at noon. The cops came by about two hours later when I was washing my car. When he asked me if I was playing guitar, I had to think back and remeber.

[bcmatt]

That actually makes me really sad. I always assumed that as long as you do it between 8am and 11pm, you are perfectly legal to do whatever you want... at least that's what I think Canadian city bylaws usually state... I'm going to need to look it up.
I just got home from a tour of a bunch of western american states and we did attract cops at several of our outdoor concerts... no fines, but just a couple warnings to keep it down. It didn't happen on the Canadian leg at all... perhaps America forgot how to rock... (or the law did).
After being there for the last month, I love America but I would easily trade the "right to bear arms without a license" for "the right to rock out before 11pm"... on my own property for goodness sakes!

We haven't gotten any visits from the police at the place in town where we practice, but we have gotten notes on the door from the neighbours. We try to accommodate each other. The idea of involving the law seems rather rude... (and for Canadians, rudeness is the greatest sin of all)

[Teleguy61]

People call the police these days because they are fearful of confrontation.
There have been so many well publicized incidents of violent over reaction to minor matters, the feeling has become it's best left to the pros.
Makes policing more dangerous, increases people's alienation from the real world-like having to deal with your neighbors.
It's the 21st century way.

[aflynt]

I must've really lucked out. Our local ordinance here is just don't play loud between 10PM and 8AM. I crank my amps pretty regularly when testing things out and have never had a single complaint.

For a bit of contrast, here's a positive story. When I was a teenager our next door neighbor knocked on our door one day. Apparently I was playing earlier that day and she slammed her door shut and I abruptly stopped. She was worried that I had stopped because of her. She was an elderly German immigrant and in her accent said, "Aaron, you play so beautifully, I just don't want you to stop on account of me. Sometimes the door just needs a good slamming."

Sometimes when the world gets you down you have to remember that there are some really awesome people on this planet too...

-Aaron

[Gibsonman63]

I have definitely had my fair share of visits from the boys in blue in the past, but I learned quickly that they are only nice the first time they pay you a visit.

My neighbors now are very tolerant. On one side my neighbor wears two hearing aids thanks to serving in the air force during the cold war. On the other side, they don't want the cops to ever come out again. The last time I awoke to flashing lights next door, one of them disappeared, never to be seen again.

[Reeltarded]

hahahaha

[NickC]

I played a private party for the Bi-Centennial 4th of July. The location was gorgeous, way out in the mountains and woods, off a lonely country road and up a steep hillside with a panoramic overlook. A stage had been constructed of pallets and plywood for the band. We started late afternoon. Once it turned dark there were fireworks. Shortly after that the Police arrived and we had to stop playing while they spoke with the hosts; who thought initially the problem was the fireworks (illegal there). But the Police said they didn't know anything about any fireworks and were there on a noise complaint. The folks giving the party replied that all their neighbors were there .... so who complained? The cops laughed and said it was people down in the valley more than five miles away.

I recall I blew up a speaker that day.

[Zippy]

Neighbors finally got sick of my wreck. I never play it long in the house, just changing some tone stack caps at about 11 am. Got it sounding real nice. Two hours later the police at at my door with a ticket.

I'm betting that the cops were knocking on your door for a while before you heard them.

I had a similar issue a few decades ago while tweaking a Traynor Twin.

[vibratoking]

Noise ordinances can be very restrictive. My city states noise must be below 55dbA between 7AM - 7PM and below 50dBA from 7PM to 7AM measured from the nearest publicly accessible location or at a minimum distance of 25 feet. I am guessing that most guitar amps would fail that test.

That ain't much and leaves the result very open to interpretation. Glad my neighbors haven't complained...yet.

Here is a chart for informational purposes:

Ticking wrist watch 20 dB
Quiet whisper 30 dB
Humming refrigerator 40 dB
Moderate rainfall 50 dB
Washing machine 60 dB
Normal conversation at 3 feet 60-70 dB
Normal piano practice 60-70 dB
Noise in living area of space station 65 dB
Vacuum cleaner 70 dB
Telephone dial tone 80 dB
Alarm clock at 2 feet 80 dB
City traffic, inside the car 85 dB
Violin 88-110 dB

I guess it is implied that if you make noise, you must have quite a bit of distance between you and the public. I don't think you can have enough distance with an Express.

[briane]

There dog does do a lot of barking though.......

2 can play at that game! f me! F you!

Call the cops on their 'agressive loud dog that wont stop barking and whining at all hours of the night and has violently threatened you on repeated occasion'.

If that doesnt work I'd even stick a fork in my leg, then call the cops and tell em the dog bit me - then doggy goes away and owner pay me lots o money - 2 can play that game.

some people dont recognize civility is a 2-way street. I dont call the cops on my neighbors son - and they dont call the cops on me.