Garage Studio - A Few Questions

MetroCenter

MetroCenter

Pint o' Guinness, please.
Hi All,

I have a few questions for those of you with more knowledge than me. I am not new to recording, but I am new to recording as a "serious hobby". :)

I am carving out a modest amount of space from my already modest garage, for studio stuff. I will not be doing professional work (only recording my own creations), but would still like to make the best recordings I can.

I will be recording drums, vocals, bass guitar, electric guitar, and acoustic guitar. I will also do all my mixing here. Music will range from classic rock to folk rock to "indie rock".

Total garage: 18x18. Studio space: 12x12.

My "recording desk" is a Metro commercial shelving rack (6' tall x 3' wide x 18" deep). Kinda like this but taller. This rack is big enough to hold
  • my mixing/recording console and preamps
  • my MicroKorg keyboard
  • my drum machine
  • all my other outboard gear (on top in a 19" rack)
  • all my microphones, cables and headphones.
This rack is on locking rubber casters, so I can easily move it to other locations as needed (near drum kit, or into the house for vocals). It doesn't appear to make any noise while I perform, but I wonder if there are any other possible side-effects of the wire in the rack.

Monitors will stand on DIY stands, made of PVC filled with sand.

So here are my questions:

  1. I was thinking of covering the concrete-slab floor with "anti-fatigue mats" available at the local OSH. They appear to be rubber or some similar material. This should be an improvement over concrete, right? Does anybody have any better ideas for the floor?
  2. In terms of bass traps, I understand the corners are the top priorities. Is this correct?
  3. The walls are uninsulated drywall over standard framing. Is there any benefit to adding Auralex foam squares to the walls? Or am I better off with more bass traps?
  4. Any thoughts on the Metro racks?

Thanks in advance for your tips! ;)
 
I doubt the rack will have any affect on your recordings.

Not sure about the anti-fatigue mats. What are those? Guess I could google it... With a one room studio, you're making compromises between a good recording room and a good mixing room. How the mat plays into it is based on whether you decide to lean more towards a live room or not. I believe a bare concrete floor is better for a livelier room. However, I always say it's better to have a one-room studio treated as a mxing room. You'll lose some liveliness, but can add that in later through effects and you'll hear your mixes more accurately which will probably have a greater impact on the quality of you tunes.

Also, you mentioned doing some recording inside the house. This is a great idea. Record your vocals in the biggest room you've got. That's more of a reason to treat your studio for a better mixing environment.

Definitely do the bass traps. You should look for a Room mode calculator (Ethan Winer - Home Page) to tell you where your nulls and peaks will be for the dimensions of your room. Whether you need more trappings or absorbers and such is really based on empirical results; listening to your room. With a 12'x12', I'd say your going to need a fair amount of wall treatment. Auralex will help with the upper freqs, but not the low end stuff. So with both the bass traps and auralex, you might be doing okay. There's a lot of trial and error involved. The room calc will tell you what freqs you should be looking at for trouble spots.

Also, you know that adding bass traps and foam and stuff won't soundproof your room?? Right?? If you're playing drums loud in your studio, they'll be loud outside your studio too. :D

HTH,

Edit: Just looked on Ethan's websote and didn't see the calculator anymore. Try googling for one. There are some free ones available.
 
Thanks for all the info Chili!

The "anti-fatigue mats" are mats they sell at the hardware store, they look like rubber, and are supposed to "save your feet" if you stand a lot. They have something similar in many gyms. It's maybe an inch or two thick, and comes in interlocking 48x48 squares.

I am leaning toward the mats, because they will cover the cracks in the concrete. The cracks are something a possible tripping hazard ... and besides they look bad. Maybe I will A/B test, to see what difference they make to recorded sound.

I will definitely look for a room mode calculator. Sounds like it would be very helpful.

As for soundproofing my room: loud sounds do pass pretty freely through the walls. I know that my drums are already very loud when heard outside (fortunately, my neighbors are pretty cool, since I confine my drumming to midday on weekends). Soundproofing (in both directions) would be a major plus.
 
I am in a similar situation to you however I do have a room just for mixing and I track drums and guitar in the garage. In my situation I have kept the garage pretty live. It also helps that I have a nice big and open foyer next to the garage which I use to track acoustic guitars and I also place a mic in there to get a nice big ambient sound out of the drums.

-Wolfram
 
The mats have been fantastic so far. They have made very little difference to the sound (maybe the room's a bit less live). But now, I don't have cracks in the concrete to trip on or drop things into. Plus, now it feels like a real room, rather than a garage.

Now I just gotta get me that lava lamp!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top