White noise generator  

Get a gun.

not sure if there is a mac version of it, but check out "BrainWave Generator" google it. It is rather useful.

Beyond that, you could try Garage Band, and simply tweek one of the software instruments (read: synths) to generate the sound you want, set it on continuous loop, and rack out.

oh, sorry, almost forgot the smart-ass remark: Buy a house.

Not sure if you have these stores in your area, but Brookstone and Sharper Image have small nightstand type appliances that make different sounds (ocean, rainfall, wind) and generic white noise. I think some are even incorporated into an alarm clock.

I have the same problem too Java, mostly because my windows are 30 years old and don't drown out any noise whatsoever. When neighbors in the other condos have parties or late night activities, I can hear every word they're saying. I've tried almost everything from turning on a high-powered fan to screaming, "Shut the fuck up!". Nothing seems to work.

That was until last summer, however. Some kids two condos down were having a little party in the middle of finals week and were way too loud outside. I told them to take it inside if they wanted to keep the party going. They went inside and about 5 minutes later they came back out. After that, I simply walked downstairs and turned on my hose and sprayed the shit out of their little party across the patio. Needless to say they haven't had a party since...

Other than that, I'm not really sure there's anything that would drown out that kind of noise. The gigantic floor fans that should only be used in airplane hangars happen to be the closest thing to alleviate the problem. (Other than water of course. ) But the fan sucks particularly in the winter.

we use two
homemedics very easy works wonderful and cheap about 12$ internet
radioshack sells one for 20 bucks and is wall or battery powered also works great and is very compact.

both give you about 6 choices and the white noise has enough pops and variations so that typical house noises that are random are masked verywell, even my squicky shoes both my little girls are light sleepers and these are godsends.

If it's just a murmur, get a fan or air filter. In the winter, you can put it on a shelf, facing down. This is actually a good thing, which helps keep the room warm and keeps heating costs slightly lower.

Take 3 mg of melatonin before bed time. I take the tables that dissolve under the tongue. It works faster. Zzzzzzzzz. . .

A carefully dosed hit of carbon monoxide aught to do the trick also... ;D (j/k, DON'T do that!)

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i vote homemedic we've used it for our kids for 6 years, simple, press one button and bingo goes all night or you can set it for a few hours. the radio shack (we also have that) we use for travel, but some at wallmart don't have "continuous" play, so only lasts no more than 2 hours

There is an audio app Amadeus Pro that will create white noise for you. You can make tracks of it if you wish and burn to a CD or plop it on your iPod.

http://www.hairersoft.com/AmadeusPro/AmadeusPro.html

There are some relaxing CDs that are useful, too; white noise, to be honest, can be equally annoying. Personally, I have tinnitus and have tried a variety of techniques to mask it. Pumping white noise into the ears is almost as maddening after a couple of hours as the tinnitus The noise of a mountain stream works wonders, especially as it is relatively rhythmic, yet random. There are plenty of Cds out there, or make your own of a stream that suits your tastes.

Grab a half-decent audio recorder such as the Zoom H4 and have a nice afternoon by a stream while you record. Plop it on to a Cd when you get home and you're set.

You could also try some super headphones, but they won't let you sleep too well; they'd do better before you go to bed to set up a quiet space:

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/woi3ammu.html

I'm looking at these right now as I have a noise problem at home, too, but it is a machine of some sorts (haven't isolated the exact cause yet; sounds like a ferry is docked about 200 meters up the way with its engine running 24/7; nobody else seems to hear it to the point of distraction so nothing is getting done about it). Have a pair of general construction ear muffs and they do wonders, but leave me alone with the tinnitus so I can only use them for short periods.

As to your room, you could add a thick carpet with a solid backing. also add a little mass here and there that will help absorb the noise.

One option I would use now-a-days would be to plug my handy dandy little microphone into my handy dandy little guitar am, point it out the window, and use that to yell at them. 5 watts will get you noticed. Just be careful of feedback.

C

Sigh. Ya'll are responding to a a two and a half year old question that got bumped by spam.

yes, you are correct. It's fun to go back and add new perspective to an old question from time to time.

C

Play back speeches by Sarah Palin or Newt on a speaker when you go to bed.

I think we should ask JavaCowboy if he still has noisy neighbors and if he still hasn't figured out what to do (two and a half years later).

If so, my perspective would be that JavaCowboy is really, really, really slow to take action.

Try this, free and route it through your stereo or sound capture a few hours of it and make it a MP3 file for your iPod. It's rather electronic and consistent white noise generator.

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7443/noise-x


If your willing to part $3 and the cost of shipping, rip this

Amazon Search: "Dreamsurf ~ Ocean Waves for Relaxation [CD]
Reflections of Nature (Author)

This is realistic and varied surf waves, so it might keep you up.


Sleeping with the TV on works sometimes too.


Eat a couple of fattening buttery cookies (like Danish butter cookies) and a glass of warm milk about a half hour before you need to go to sleep. It diverts the blood from the brain (not all of it of course) to digest the fat and helps you sleep as it takes you mind off things. Do set your alarm cause your body clock might not work as expected.

Plan on moving and find out when they sleep. When your about a week before leaving, reply in kind.

A small constantly barking dog really annoys the neighbors to no avail, better yet, a rooster.

Oh sweet jesus! Come back a few weeks later and let a few roosters and chickens loose in the yard near a big shady tree, leave out some rice or corn and water so they stick around.

Watch the fireworks!! LOL!!!


Since you in the upstairs apartment, your likely causing a lot of noise unknowingly just by walking around and then asking your neighbors to be quiet. They think your crazy likely.

Some suggestions:

1: Take off your shoes when you enter, guests too. Walk on your toes, not your heels, makes a huge difference.

2: Use carpet with padding

3: Use one of those sweeper pad things instead of a vacuum cleaner on wood floors

4: Avoid rolling or floor banging objects like chairs and such

5: When they are home, be extra cat like quiet, use headphones for your stereo needs

6: Monitor your noise level with a meter so you can get a idea what sound levels travel through the walls and floors.

7: Make so little noise and be unseen by your neighbors that they think you went on vacation or something

Tell your neighbors you are trying to ultra quiet and ask them if they would keep the noise level down after a certain time, like 9 PM or something. It will shock them that you have been there all the time and they may respect your request in kind.

If not, then well, get the roosters... and a tiny barking dog....

If you want decent white noise, get a good analog noise generator and keep the signal path in the analog domain throughout. You could build one for $10.00 worth of parts from any decent electronic component store (forget Radio Shack). Much easier on the ears... digital noise generators don't cut it (for me anyway)... even on most top-end software synth plug ins. The Kyma sound design workstation has an incredibly smooth sounding digital noise generator, as good as any analog one out there.... but I'm sure you don't want to spend $6000 just to help you sleep. :o

Use Ambiance for iPhone/iPad

Geeez, talk about the thread that just wouldn't die! Would someone please lock this thing so it'll never be pulled up from the dredges of the archives again? Please?

C