Very Serious Question

[Boogie.Man]

This is a serious question. When play at home my bass vibrates many things. Can those vibrations cause structural damage to a home over time? i.e. Nail backing out or plaster cracking. I don't feel that I play that loud but I hear some vibrations from things on the walls. And I probably have 7 or 8 areas in our ceilings where the plaster has separated from the back of the nails. I realize that the ceiling may have been sprayed with mediocre quality texture and that the stuff has to hang upside down while attached to the smooth surface of the nail head. There might be no relation.

Once again, I really don't play that loud. My amp is a Mesa Boogie Scout at a very moderate level. Also it is only certain notes that cause the vibrations.

Any opinions?

 

[mynan]

It's going to cause the plaster to vibrate, but I don't think it could do any structural damage. Plaster cracks are usually caused by structural shifts...not likely to be caused by vibrations....IMO, of course.

 

[adouglas]

My Bongo knocked a picture off the wall at a gig once. There was glass all over my rig.

If I crank the bass EQ up I can easily cause stuff to walk across tables.

What's happening is that you're finding the resonant frequencies of the structure. So EQ to reduce the effect.

Move the amp away from corners... both the corner of the room and the baseboard.

You might also consider putting your cabinet on a foam pad.

 

[silverburst]

I have shaken alot of things off the shelves in my garage, but it is still standing.

 

[Boogie.Man]

Foam Pad

My Bongo knocked a picture off the wall at a gig once. There was glass all over my rig.

If I crank the bass EQ up I can easily cause stuff to walk across tables.

What's happening is that you're finding the resonant frequencies of the structure. So EQ to reduce the effect.

Move the amp away from corners... both the corner of the room and the baseboard.

You might also consider putting your cabinet on a foam pad.

I may have to invest in a pad. I may have to play around a little more with the EQ. Unfortunately, I like the highs rolled way down and the bass slightly clockwise from the middle detent.

 

[JayDawg]

This is a serious question. When play at home my bass vibrates many things. Can those vibrations cause structural damage to a home over time? i.e. Nail backing out or plaster cracking. I don't feel that I play that loud but I hear some vibrations from things on the walls. And I probably have 7 or 8 areas in our ceilings where the plaster has separated from the back of the nails. I realize that the ceiling may have been sprayed with mediocre quality texture and that the stuff has to hang upside down while attached to the smooth surface of the nail head. There might be no relation.

Once again, I really don't play that loud. My amp is a Mesa Boogie Scout at a very moderate level. Also it is only certain notes that cause the vibrations.

Any opinions?

Your question kind of involves several different things to take into consideration. The age of the home, the quality it is built and the volume of how loud you play. So, yes, there are certain situations where the bass volume can damage a home. For example, let's say your drywall had water damage at one time. If it was never replaced, then that drywall has no strength and can fall of the wall or ceiling because the nails or screws have nothing to support. Chances are with the scenario you are describing, I would say no, you will not damage your home. Our home was built in the 60's and the cab I play through until I get my amp of the same brand you have is a 2X15 cab and it is loud! On a few occasions I crank the heck out of that amp to maybe 70% and it definitely makes my house rumble. Since our house was built to code it will not cause any damage to it. But again, I did construction for about 10 years for my Uncle and during that time, I have seen some homes that people have bought that had work done that was not contracted out and was not built to code and in those situations, then yes, there could be situations where all of the rumbling of the amp could over a period of time cause damage.

 

[Boogie.Man]

Thanks

Thanks for the info everyone!

 

[five7]

Turn it up!

 

[adouglas]

I may have to invest in a pad.

Go to a warehouse store and look for foam flooring pads. They come with jigsaw-puzzle edges. Cheap.

Or, if you want more damping, look for the foam pads sold to gardeners to kneel on. A pair of those should suffice nicely.

 

[Psycho Ward]

GRAMMA Isolation Riser - Acoustic sound isolation products from Auralex Acoustics.

 

[danny-79]

A balloon popped in the room i was in once while i had it cranked

 

[Bloodfist]

Yes it can crack things in your house, but it really depends on how loud you get. When I was a kid learning to play, I cracked the walls in my room in 3 different places and the ceiling. The house was on a crawl space instead of a slab, so I'm sure that had something to do with it. The fact that I was playing an amp through 6 10's and an 18" probably didn't help either. I would crank it when the parents weren't home too. I have yet to cause any damage with my map to my house now. It's on a crawl space too, so I'm careful not to get to loud.