How to start building my home studio?

Trevormifur9

New member
I'm 18 and just started college and I'm funding my hobby by working grill at mcdonalds so please don't suggest incredibly expensive material/etc.

I don't want to spend more the $2500 - $3000 overall unless I necessarily have too lol.

Anyways,
The room I'm gonna build this in is my bedroom.
-Its in the basement of my parents home[lol].
-Its 'roughly' 18' x 12' with 9' ceilings[I believe].
-Carpeted/Concrete underneath.

What can I do to make the acoustics for this room better, and also soundproof it from outside of the room noises?

Also,
Is a 'vocal' booth a necessary thing to build? I plan on just doing my acoustic recordings for now.

I won't have the money for probably 3-4 months if I save correctly so I have plenty of time to think and plan but I'm trying to get ideas.

Thanks
 
First of all I wish my bedroom was that big. Second of all, its all good still living with your folks...moving out costs way too much...I'm 22 and my bro is 20 and we still live at home, jam and record here. It's all good. :D

I suggest looking into building a room within a room. Basically you build a timber frame upto 6 or 8 inches off of the existing walls and then pad out the gaps between the frame with rock wool, or at least that's what it is called here in England. Then what we did was carpet over it all. Carpet is great for absorbing sound particularly if it has rock wool or an equivilent behind it. This worked really well for us and we have a full drum kit in there and Marshall amps. We rock out regularly. It doesn't stop all of the sound escaping but it easily stops enough. This was a pretty low cost solution.

We also recorded in there and got a great sound from it. So if it works for us with full kit, it should work well for you if you are just recording acoustic guitar.

Others might disagree with what I have said, but it works really well for us.

Thanks.
 
How do I start building my recording studio

With research. My suggestion is do not lift a hammer untill you understand the nature and implications of all the variables of studio building.



I suggest looking into building a room within a room.
:laughings:

I suggest looking is all you can afford.:rolleyes:

Basically you build a timber frame upto 6 or 8 inches off of the existing walls and then pad out the gaps between the frame with rock wool, or at least that's what it is called here in England.

This is correct, to a point. However...

Then what we did was carpet over it all. Carpet is great for absorbing sound
This is absurd. First off, in reality its great for fire fodder. :rolleyes: As absorber, it sucks.
Please refrain from future suggestions of this type untill such time as you have completed your research into the subject at hand. In this case, not only are you providing MIS information, but you could be held lible for telling people things that could cause possible damage or even death. At the least is suggesting a material that does not only perform the duty for which it is being used, but in some code jurisdictions, is ILLEGAL.:rolleyes:

Others might disagree with what I have said, but it works really well for us.
This is an understatement. ALL knowlegeable members here WILL wholeheardedly disagree...with prejudice.:mad:


Trevormifur9, your wisdom will improve if you take redeyedrichard's suggestions with a grain of salt. Future hindsight is expensive.

I will offer viable alternate views soon. No time at the moment. In the meantime, do some research yourself. Like here:


And then order and READ this book.
viewforum.php

http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Studio-Build-Like/dp/1598630342



fitZ
 
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WOW!! :laughings::laughings:

Naughty Redeyedrichard :spank:

Epically sorry for suggesting what WORKS for us. We built the room from some good advice and some ingenuity. And thank you for correcting me sir:

In this case, not only are you providing MIS information, but you could be held lible for telling people things that could cause possible damage or even death.

I had absolutely no idea that people were not allowed to have flammable stuff in their house. I will make sure I don't trip and fall into the carpeted walls in the studio as upon impact I could suffocate. Thanks for the heads up.

But on a serious note...the fact of the matter is this: we built it, it didn't break the bank and it works for what we want it to do. Very little sound escapes...the carpet is very dense and bumpy which is to an extent a damn sight better than a flat surface.

But hey I'm not here to argue or to be patronised.

Our room works...so I made a friendly suggestion.

As for what I feel now about it....welll....waste of time typing anything.
 
Epically sorry for suggesting what WORKS for us.

the Hindenburg also worked very well. Well, until it caught fire and killed everyone. :laughings:
I think Ricks point was, even if it works, its a big hazard. The carpet industry will be the first to tell you that their products are intended to be installed only as flooring. On top of that, at least around here, creating such a hazard may be sufficient to void an insurance policy in the event that some awful might happen... So, not only do you create a scenario where your house is more likely to catch fire, but you also give your insurance a fantastic reason not to cover any of the costs.

As far as it actually working, the carpet itself will do little to stop the sound. If you have rockwool behind all of the carpet, I would attribute most of the sound stoppage to that. Carpet will probably muffle some of sound, but I think if you were to get a db meter, you'd find that the carpet isn't doing much. I'm sure there's a perceived benefit and that's probably enough to keep the folks from getting pissed. I think if you take the carpet down, then drywall that second layer of framing, you'll be heading in a much better direction. Then you can add acoustic treatment over that to treat for the acoustics of the space.
 
the Hindenburg also worked very well. Well, until it caught fire and killed everyone. :laughings:
I think Ricks point was, even if it works, its a big hazard. The carpet industry will be the first to tell you that their products are intended to be installed only as flooring. On top of that, at least around here, creating such a hazard may be sufficient to void an insurance policy in the event that some awful might happen... So, not only do you create a scenario where your house is more likely to catch fire, but you also give your insurance a fantastic reason not to cover any of the costs.

As far as it actually working, the carpet itself will do little to stop the sound. If you have rockwool behind all of the carpet, I would attribute most of the sound stoppage to that. Carpet will probably muffle some of sound, but I think if you were to get a db meter, you'd find that the carpet isn't doing much. I'm sure there's a perceived benefit and that's probably enough to keep the folks from getting pissed. I think if you take the carpet down, then drywall that second layer of framing, you'll be heading in a much better direction. Then you can add acoustic treatment over that to treat for the acoustics of the space.

Now I understand why it is a bad idea. Thank you for the explanation.
 
With research. My suggestion is do not lift a hammer untill you understand the nature and implications of all the variables of studio building.

fitZ

This it about the best advice you could get. There is a lot more to building a room with good acoustical properties then you think.

Here are a couple plases you should start.

http://www.johnlsayers.com/

http://www.realtraps.com/


There is a huge amount of info to digest so I take Rick's advise and do your homework.

Good luck
 
Epically sorry for suggesting what WORKS for us.
Ok richard, I understand where you are coming from. However, I wasn't that concerned about the carpet thing. What DID bother me is you come in here acting like you know what you are talking about, when in reality, you don't. Especially the ROOM within a ROOM suggestion. And frankly, instead of acting like I've insulted you, I would have thought you might appreciate the facts, and MAYBE thank me for possibly saving you from a potential disaster. Have you ever seen vertical carpet burn, especially if its made of manmade materials? I have. Driipping ignited streams of nylon like lava flows? Not a pretty sight. Nor is the chemical laced smoke. Have you ever almost died from smoke inhalation.:eek: I HAVE. And buddy, it ain't fun.:rolleyes::( Coughed up shit for 5 hours, and couldn't hardly breath for 24. THAT is why I get irritated when somebody suggests

Carpet is great for absorbing sound particularly if it has rock wool or an equivilent behind it.

NOT!:mad::rolleyes: In fact, let me give you another clue. Drywall, especially when used on 24" stud framing, is a FREE LOW FREQUENCY ABSORBER!! Because it is a MEMBRANE, it will resonate at it's resonant frequency, which for a 24"x96" panel, falls in the LOW to LOW MID band! I don't have time to look up the exact spec, but let me put it this way..your CARPET doesn't do shit compared to the drywall itself...except SUCK UP ALL your high frequency...which THEN..you try to EQ back in the mix!:rolleyes:
As far as transmission loss characteristics..it ain't got any! Sound goes right through it as if it weren't even there. Thats why the INSULATION behind it was the REAL absorber. And even then, because of batt insulation density, it's absorption coeffients is not very good at that.

As for the Room within a room suggestion...do you understand the implications at all? Try this on for size. A typical sized live room, built for a Transmission Loss rating of 65-70db, could EASILY weigh in a 30 TONS!!
Try to decouple a room like that, and guess what. The cost for the concrete slab installation WITH spring loaded decouplers could EASILY run you
$10,000 ...and thats just for the slab! And what about the existing floor? Will it support it as well? Throw in another $4-6k for a properly engineered sub slab assembly with footings and you might get my drift. So..still think your suggestion is viable? NOT! So the next time you oh so causually suggest this solution to someone else...THINK ABOUT IT FIRST!;)

Anyway, so much for todays lesson in acoustic/TL solution correction.:) Carry on.:)

fitZ
 
FThen what we did was carpet over it all. Carpet is great for absorbing sound particularly if it has rock wool or an equivilent behind it.

You got an A+ all the way until the carpet part. That's a bad idea, not just from a safety standpoint, but because it simply doesn't work the way you're saying it does. Not at all. Does it absorb highs? Yes, but it won't absorb anything else at all, NOR will it add a single dB to the TL rating. In other words, it won't improve the isolation at all. Now, you might reply by stating your experience, and I would reply that you are mistaken. There's lots and lots of research behind what I'm saying (aside from the personal experience, which is also significant).

I'm glad it's working well for you, but I don't want to let misinformation like that stand.
 
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