How should I lay this out?

J

JFoshee

New member
Here is the studio room that I share with my wife who enjoys sewing. I realize this is the worst possible environment for recording, but the room serves us well for both of our hobbies and I'm going to have to make it work. When I get ready to record something I'm sure we can work out a "no sewing arrangement" for a while. Anyway, the usable area I have to work with is 15' x 20' ceilings are about 8' on one side and 7' on the other. The kitchen area has to be left usable so my son can use it, he has a room in the back. First, I need to use the room to practice in one night a week. Right now only two people. Second, my wife has to still be able to move around in it and do her sewing thang. However, most of this goes on in the corner which is not part of the area given above. The drums can be stored, but will take up room in the area listed. Also, the cases and other PA equipment will take up space.
So, my question is how is the best way to lay this out for the best results in recording and to make the best use of the space? I have a desk I would like to set up for my recording area. Currently, I only have a computer and a Focusrite 8i6 interface. Hopefully some monitors soon. I also have an older Casio keyboard I might could use as a MIDI trigger. Midi is an area I would like to explore after I get the room set up right.
Just looking for an opinion. What I got now is a mess. I should probably add that I soon plan to put some DIY bass traps in the corners and some sound panels on the walls.

Music Room (1).JPGMusic Room (2).JPGStudio measurments.png
 
Last edited:
Since the kitchen area must be accessible, I would set up the desk/monitors centered just back from the kitchen area. Leaving enough room to use the kitchen and fire the monitors down the room to the longest length.

It is hard to tell from the 2 pix what the access to the room is. You will be best placing your desk in a way that is somewhat permanent. Nothing worse than tearing it down and setting it up again...

As far as treatment, you may need to get creative and trap the ceiling/wall corners in this space to make best use of the room for multiple uses.

Just my thoughts here.
 
I thought as Jimmy did for desk, but then realized that it actually makes the 'long way' a short way, because the 20' includes the 30" of the kitchen, then add 3 ft walking space, and then your desk. And the 'front' corners, then, could not be trapped because of the kitchen cabinets and the door to one side.

I'm not sure the best way to do this room. But take the yellow eggcrate foam off the wall. It looks silly and does absolutely nothing for the sound. I wouldn't leave my guitars hanging on that wall next to the heater, either.
 
First, you'll want to reconsider foam on the walls and replace with 4 or 6" rockwool/OC. I would recommend making a set of gobos to sit in front of the kitchen. Leave a 3-5' gap between the cabinets and the gobos so you have access. Then just trap the corners and the back wall/ceiling. Hit primary reflections on the side walls (all the extra room pieces might make this difficult) and set up against the gobos...YMMV. Oh, and drop something reflective on the floor. IO carpet is not great for a sound room...I see your wife's sewing corner is already hardwood/laminate of some sort, may just extend that through most of the room.

It's a really nice looking rehearsal space as is. It will take some work to make it a recording space. Ah, the beginning of the road. All it takes is one step. Then one more. You get the picture.
 
Okay, as far as layout. I would just make it natural. Set the drums in the center of the long wall, maybe under the TV. Then set amps on either side. Leave the opposite wall empty for passage. Set up the gobos like I recommended and the desk against the center of that wall of gobos. Trap the corners (against the gobos) and leave it to where one of the gobos slides out of the way to get to the kitchen area.
Then trap the back corners (in front of the closet and behind your wife's sewing area.) Can you close the opening on the wall with the closet/sewing area? Doesn't look like it from the pic. Might be a problem.
 
Thanks for the reply's. The foam comes off today. The floor is actually painted concrete not carpet. The door to the right of the kitchen is access to his room and the door beside the sewing table is access to my shop. The big bar top on the ironing board will be going away. My wife was using it to iron a quilt . Also, the heater is rarely used but even when it is, it's only on one burner. I've checked the guitar multiple times and it is never even warm to the touch, but thanks for the advice. I am going today to purchase some material to build some GOBO's and maybe bass traps in the corners. I will try to post some more pics with my progress. Thanks again.
 
I got the bass trap finished over the sewing area. However, the only Roxul I could come across was only 15 1/2" wide. So this made the trap only about 12" deep. Is this deep enough to justify the work for building it? I plan to make some more. Should I make them deeper? I put the drums away also to give a little more room.

Studio (2).JPGStudio (1).JPGStudio (3).JPG
 
15" Roxul is probably 'Safe n Sound', this is not the best stuff to use - it's not dense enough. If you can't find it locally, (many building supply places will custom order it for you) try ATS.
 
So did I waste my money? Should I take this back out and trash it? I hate to throw away $45 (the bundle was $45) but if it is the same as the foam hanging on the wall I might as well, right?
 
Have you got REW and an SPL meter? If so, take some measurements and see how the foam and traps you're using affect the sound of the room (may take you some time to get the hang of what and how to do in REW). Foam can eliminate most flutter echo, but won't block the sounds well. OC/Roxul will help. I've got an 8 pack of Acoustimac 2x2-2" kits w/Z-clips that are unused. PM me if you're interested...they're $25.50 each from Acoustimac, but if you pay shipping, I'll send you the box for $150.
They look like this when they're built:
2014-09-15 09.35.50.jpg
I overdid the side walls, these only need to be placed at primary reflections, but I liked the pattern...:)

edit: They're OC703 BTW.
 
What if I could get some acoustical ceiling panels. Like for a suspended ceiling. Maybe stack them 2 or 3 deep and cover them. Would these work better than the Roxul safe n sound?
 
Was it Safe N Sound that you bought? What thickness? You might be able to use it for wall panels or ceiling cloud. Suspended ceiling tiles won't do you any good.
Here's the ATS page with the various types of insulation available - you can look at frequency absorbtion specs there, too.
 
The safe N sound is 3 1/2" thick. I need to use one bundle for something even if I have to double it up. What about a stand alone bass trap to go in a corner? I looked at the ATS page. A little pricey it seamed but I may have to go that route. I checked with a local building supply that I usually buy from and he can get the OC 703 but only in a bundle of 22-2x4x2" sheets and the price is about $200. I don't think I need that much.
 
Yes, you likely need that much.

Sorry man, my name is Jimmy. :)


You will be best using rockwool as far as cost/performance is concerned. Roxul 80 or similar is about half of the price of OC705.

Now, keep in mind that pink fluffy stuff works in cavities such as your ceiling. You could open that up and cover it with cloth. You have a sewing pro in the same room right? :)


Also, you could build corner traps 4" thick and then fill the gap between the walls and trap with the same pink fluffy stuff for better results than just the traps alone.



There is much for you to investigate here. Every room is different.


REW is just a program that allows you to see 'visually' what your room acoustics are doing to your ears. Many have just used a SM58 to see the changes that room treatment makes. Not the best choice tho. Behringer actually makes a mic for less than $100 that has been recommended before.

Just realize that you can likely never overdo bass traps. If you have a budget for 15, you are probably 10 short of what your room actually needs. That is just the way it typically works.

Start by adding a few and decide for yourself what your room needs. Then run the REW and look at the actual results. Then decide for yourself what sounds good. Your ears will tell you. :)
 
What ^^^Jimmy^^^ said! 22 pieces of OC703 woudl give you eleven 4" thick 2'x4' traps - If you've got 8ft ceilings, 2 per corner, this gives you 4 corners worth plus 3 extras as first reflection point traps or movable gobos. At $200 the price is good - that would get you 18 pieces from ATS (but there would be shipping fees too).
 
I am going to revive my old thread since it is dealing with the same thing. We are currently in the process of making our studio "shine" again. A little paint sometimes goes a long way. I am going to attach a better drawing of the size and layout of the room.
When I start putting this back in here the sewing table will go back in the rear corner by the closet. This space will not be usable for me but will still be in the same room so I have to include it in the area to be treated with acoustic panels. I am going to get some OC 703 and build some panels. I already have two panels to hang on the wall. One is about 3' x 4' and the other is about the same. ( I don't recall the exact size at the moment) I also have two panels the are free standing. They are about 2' x 6'. My plans are to place the desk in the center as shown a few feet away from the cabinets because we still need access to the sink and cabinets but not often. I was thinking of treating the cabinet door panels with some foam and a bass trap in the corner to the left of the desk and the two free standing panels to the right(Acoustic foam, not the crappy stuff from the first pics). Any thoughts on this set up??
Also, can someone suggest a site where I can find a tool to help me with the sq/footage of panels I need to add?
The roof is a sloped roof. 8' 6" on one side and about 7' 4" on the other. Should I plan on the cloud panels?
Studio design.jpgFullSizeRender.jpg
 
One of the big problems you've got with this room is the lack of symmetry. Forget the acoustic foam - if you've got enough rockwool trapping in place, you won't need it.
In the corner by the sewing desk and the other 'back' corner you want to have traps that are 24" wide (standard rockwool width) from floor to ceiling. The 3'x4' traps you have already could be used as point-of-first-reflection traps on side walls or as ceiling cloud (suspended above mixing area).
Sounds like you don't want to make a movable gobo wall in front of your mixing area (blocking off kitchen), although that's the best idea for that end as it would give symmetery to it, as it is you've got the hallway on one side, cabinets on other - sound can bounce around and back in that hall and under the top cabinets, etc.
 
I don't have a problem with the gobos behind the desk. I have the two stand alone panels that are 32" wide. If I put one of them in the center of the room and a gobo on each side would this be enough? I was planning to make the gobos 2'x4'x7'x2" thick. My ceiling height is about 8'. mjbphotos suggested that the panels be 4" thick. This would use double the OC703 than I was planning on. Is this a common build practice? Also, Jimmy's69 suggested Bass traps.
Would I be better off to use the bundle of 22 pieces for bass traps? I could put one in the sewing corner at the ceiling and come down about 40". I could put another in the corner by the closet floor to ceiling, but may not have enough for ANY gobos right now. I want to do both but can only do one or the other right now. Referring to the 4" thick question, should any panels built to go on the walls be 4" thick? Do they usually go from floor to ceiling or is a 2' x4' enough? I was planning to put 5 or 6 total on the walls of the 2x4 panels. Sorry for so many question in one post, but we have the room almost painted now and it will not be long till I an ready to start building. Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top