My studio build

Update for today. Not a lot of progress, been busy running a business. Waiting on cable orders to come in, the guy that sold me the MS-16 and M-520 thought he had more 16 channel snakes for the rig in storage but only had three TS to RCA cables, about 6 ft long. :(
Recording the Masters SM911 1” tape came in today along with the proper MRL tape so I can calibrate. Still working on the M-520 Stereo Master A issue with Sweetbeats on another thread. Soon it will be time to install all the cables, outboard gear, get all the patch bays labeled and then start in on getting my synths wired up (if I end up doing that) or just have them stored on the walls and all their power cables in a bundle that I can easily move them to the floor stand and work on them. We’ll see. many decisions still to make.
One amazing observation: it’s getting acoustically tight in there and I like what I’m hearing so far! Just a little more bass trapping and possibly a few absorptive panels to compensate for the artwork I’m putting up. I know those hardcore studio fanatics around here will balk at me adding more reflective surfaces, but they are part of my collection. Like my signed Elbow print, signed Howard Jones Human’s Lib print, memorabilia from my own musical past and a few more things that inspire me.
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flyingace said:
I know those hardcore studio fanatics around here will balk at me adding more reflective surfaces, but they are part of my collection. Like my signed Elbow print, signed Howard Jones Human’s Lib print, memorabilia from my own musical past and a few more things that inspire me.
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The hell with them! Studio is looking good. A space that you’re comfortable in and inspires you is worth it’s weight in gold.
So what if it’s not perfectly treated, in time you’ll learn the nuances of the room. Just like one needs to learn their monitors, ya gotta learn your room.

Place is looking good, and you’re getting your mixer issues figured out. Speaking of gold, sweetbeats is definitely worth his weight in gold with his knowledge, and more so, his willingness to help. 👍🏼
 
Today’s work. Testing continued with Stereo Master A issues, thanks to Sweetbeats. Mainly reorganized as I bring more, YES MORE!, stuff into the space. Hung some art work and decided where to put another bass trap after a day of listening in there. I have a few absorptive panels to place but overall, I’m super happy with the sound in the room as it is!! I got lucky with that shed roof adding an asymmetrical shape to the room. The art on the walls had almost no apparent effect on the sound in the room. The grass is slowly growing back in our backyard after all the trenching for electrical last year, we built all those walkways to keep the muddiness down while working back there. Hope to put in some pavers for a proper walkway to our outbuildings. The doggies like the studio! :)

Next up is wiring, wiring, wiring!! More cables on the way. BTW, M-520 sounds amazing on all channels so far, super happy with it’s overall condition for it’s age.
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Looking good, Ace. The only problem is that the drummer just arrived and he's got a double bass kit. Needs to know where to set up..... 😲
 
flyingace said:
So I started this project last April when I ordered a 10x12’ building to finish out into a studio in our backyard. In august the company had failed for over a month to deliver it, and refunded my money. I ordered a building from EZPortableBuildings out of Kentucky. It was delivered in November.
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This project turned out nicely. Very affordable too. This is a pretty cool idea.

They bring the structure pre-built, not a kit? Was a foundation needed? Was a building permit needed? How much is shipping?
 
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rob aylestone said:
You’re scaring me now. Dust covers. Wow.
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What can I say, it's really dusty here and WINDY, best way to protect the gear. Plus there may be times that I don't have time to play for months, I'm hoping with the dedicated space, I'll make more time now.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
This project turned out nicely. Very affordable too. This is a pretty cool idea.

They bring the structure pre-built, not a kit? Was a foundation needed? Was a building permit needed? How much is shipping?
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Thank you, I'm pretty happy with the building. It's built like a tank! Super heavy construction for such a small building. They brought it whole and we removed part of our fence to get the skid steer in the backyard. I put down a gravel pad 6 months earlier and we leveled it as much as possible. The building is sitting on blocks to fully level. No building permit needed since it's a portable building in our area. They included freight with the cost of the building.
The hardest part of this project was trenching the 18" trench for the electrical feed. I did a bit of overkill here but wanted enough to work with. There is 60 amp service to this building.
 
famous beagle said:
Looking great! I'm really enjoying following along. I have a 388, too. :)
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I'm not happy with my current solution to having my 388 in the studio but it's the best I can do for now, mounting it to a shelf above the MS-16. Since the MS-16 has wheels and can roll out to thread, maintain, etc. I felt it would be okay but to use the 388, fully plugged in is a problem since the distance it will protrude into the room there will be over 30" to accommodate cables... ugh. For now, I'll store it there, but you know how much it weighs... to use it by taking it off the wall and putting it on a stand, etc. will just be too much trouble. I love it so much though, but didn't expect to fall into such a good deal on the M-520 and the MS-16. We'll see, I'll keep updating as I can. Hopefully cables will be in soon.IMG_7319.JPG
 
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flyingace said:
I'm not happy with my current solution to having my 388 in the studio but it's the best I can do for now, mounting it to a shelf above the MS-16. Since the MS-16 has wheels and can roll out to thread, maintain, etc. I felt it would be okay but to use the 388, fully plugged in is a problem since the distance it will protrude into the room there will be over 30" to accommodate cables... ugh. For now, I'll store it there, but you know how much it weighs... to use it by taking it off the wall and putting it on a stand, etc. will just be too much trouble. I love it so much though, but didn't expect to fall into such a good deal on the M-520 and the MS-16. We'll see, I'll keep updating as I can. Hopefully cables will be in soon.View attachment 117012
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Yeah, that MS-16 is super sweet, as is the M-520. You're certainly not slummin' it! :)
 
famous beagle said:
Yeah, that MS-16 is super sweet, as is the M-520. You're certainly not slummin' it! :)
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Yeah, I’m suffering from too much cool gear right now, and I don’t want to let any of it go… but today, I realized, something’s gotta give, so the Casio CZ-3000 is up for sale soon. I still have the CZ-1000 anyway and it’s actually a better, smaller model that works just as well. AND an extra bit of $$ to spend on cables! Ha ha
Not much movement today but I got a small Leather recliner in there (yes, I did!) and the iMac is set up and ready.

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Minor work, waiting for cables and a patch bay to get the rack wired up. Plus more testing for Sweetbeats on the M-520. Maybe we can someday figure out the issues with the Stereo Master A and VUs 9/10. For not, more art, and clean up. When I’ve got it all uncovered and wired, I’ll do that 360 video that someone requested. BTW, the sound in the room is continuing to be pretty awesome, no big anomalies, no big sound issues as far as my ears can tell. Just a little more absorptive on the back wall and maybe something to cover the storage shelf with when I need it, like a dense curtain. I used some window film to cover the plexi door of the console desk. Never was very happy with how Don Hawkins did this. really janky and with no regard to aesthetics, but then… I’ve come to discover they were never professionals and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone now. I think it helps until I can come up with a better solutions. Honestly, I thing that side of the desk would be better suited to another rack, but we’ll see.
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The side car just for storage? Plexi front door cabinets are generally for home stereo gear, maybe that was his vision? I dunno.

Ya wanna know what I think?? Ok, I’ll tell you anyway. 😂

You need a sliding shelf underneath the your keyboard and mouse. I personally hate a keyboard on the fader area of the mixer.

But that’s just me.
 
RFR said:
The side car just for storage? Plexi front door cabinets are generally for home stereo gear, maybe that was his vision? I dunno.

Ya wanna know what I think?? Ok, I’ll tell you anyway. 😂

You need a sliding shelf underneath the your keyboard and mouse. I personally hate a keyboard on the fader area of the mixer.

But that’s just me.
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The cabinet was designed, as the guy who built the desk told me, as a CPU cabinet but with an iMac, I wont need it for that. I think I’ll end up building a shelf in there, maybe a slide out one to store something? Not sure yet.
Definitely looking at getting a shelf for the keyboard but with that big arm rest bolster and the way it’s constructed, it won’t work like normal sliding shelves, so I’m looking at the extendable arm style that will tuck up and out of the way. We’ll see. It’s all a work in progress!
 
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