studio remodeling....your thoughts???

[thajeremy]

I have attatched a couple of drawings here....the first is my current setup. I track drums and guitars in the 13' X 13' and mix in the larger 22' x 13' room and dont really use the 4' X 6' closets for anything. I have thought about remodeling the mixing room to get a couple of more usable booths in there. I know an 8' X 8' room isnt big enough for most drums kits...but it would work well for punk rock probably...when Im tracking a larger kit, I can still use the larger 13 X 13.

Also, these rooms are treated with a total of 12 panels of 2" 703 and 6 panels of 4" mineral wool.

think this plan for the new setup would be worth the time and trouble??

thanks for any advice...

EDIT: I just looked at the pics and for some reason, the wall between the desk and the stairs just disappeared....there is a wall there though....also going into the 13 X 13.

[Gorty]

Originally Posted by thajeremy

I have attatched a couple of drawings here....the first is my current setup. I track drums and guitars in the 13' X 13' and mix in the larger 22' x 13' room and dont really use the 4' X 6' closets for anything. I have thought about remodeling the mixing room to get a couple of more usable booths in there. I know an 8' X 8' room isnt big enough for most drums kits...but it would work well for punk rock probably...when Im tracking a larger kit, I can still use the larger 13 X 13.

Also, these rooms are treated with a total of 12 panels of 2" 703 and 6 panels of 4" mineral wool.

think this plan for the new setup would be worth the time and trouble??

thanks for any advice...

I would make the 5x5 room into a 5x8 room so that you have symmetry at your mix position in regards to the back wall. Go for it!

[thajeremy]

Originally Posted by Gorty

I would make the 5x5 room into a 5x8 room so that you have symmetry at your mix position in regards to the back wall. Go for it!

well..I thought about that...but I liked positioning the door on the side so I could put up the window between the 2 rooms....

Im hoping that with all that treatment, I could minimize the problems of not being symetrical.

[Gorty]

Originally Posted by thajeremy

well..I thought about that...but I liked positioning the door on the side so I could put up the window between the 2 rooms....

Im hoping that with all that treatment, I could minimize the problems of not being symetrical.

Fair enough!

[pdlstl]

Originally Posted by thajeremy

well..I thought about that...but I liked positioning the door on the side so I could put up the window between the 2 rooms....

Im hoping that with all that treatment, I could minimize the problems of not being symetrical.

Use big room for drums,smaller one for vocals.

It won't be perfect, but I would build the wall between them on a bit of an angle, to at least not have all four walls perpendicular and/or parallel.

2¢...

[bpape]

Symmetry in in front of you is very important and should be maintainted. If you can't do it down low, do it up high across the front above the window and door and in the center under the window down low (bass control)

Bryan

[TexRoadkill]

You should avoid square rooms. They basically double all of your standing wave issues. Design the rooms to be rectangular with unparallel walls and you won't need as much treatment and they will sound better.

[thajeremy]

Originally Posted by pdlstl

Use big room for drums,smaller one for vocals.

It won't be perfect, but I would build the wall between them on a bit of an angle, to at least not have all four walls perpendicular and/or parallel.

2¢...

The problem with making the smaller booth 5 X 8 is that I have a window looking outside that would be in the way.....I forgot to put the windows in the drawing....but it is right about where the wall would be if I made a 5 X 8 rather than 5 X 5.

[Gorty]

Originally Posted by thajeremy

The problem with making the smaller booth 5 X 8 is that I have a window looking outside that would be in the way.....I forgot to put the windows in the drawing....but it is right about where the wall would be if I made a 5 X 8 rather than 5 X 5.

Now you tell us!

As a suggestion: How about making the booths 8x9 and 5x9 or 8x10 and 5x10,whatever it takes to clear the window in your smaller booth. This will still give you a 17x13 or 16x13 mixing room!

Just throwing around some suggestions. I hate it when I have a plan, then I build and suddenly I have an idea that I never thought of that makes me want to change everything.

[hoops]

What if you were to make both rooms the same and have the middle wall between them come out 5 ft and angle the wall to attach the outside wall at 8 ft out from the back wall? You would end up with some unparallel walls like what was suggested. Use sliding glass doors instead of a door and windows.

[thajeremy]

Originally Posted by hoops

What if you were to make both rooms the same and have the middle wall between them come out 5 ft and angle the wall to attach the outside wall at 8 ft out from the back wall? You would end up with some unparallel walls like what was suggested. Use sliding glass doors instead of a door and windows.

that actually looks really good....Im a little concerned about fitting drums into that small room though....Id like to have at least one of them large enough for a simple drum kit.

[hoops]

If it was my studio I would put the drums in the 13' by 13' room. Use the smaller rooms for guitar and vocals. It is always nice to have room to move around the kit. Plus the hall would be better for isolation from the control room.

[thajeremy]

Originally Posted by hoops

If it was my studio I would put the drums in the 13' by 13' room. Use the smaller rooms for guitar and vocals. It is always nice to have room to move around the kit. Plus the hall would be better for isolation from the control room.

This is how I have been doing it for several months now. I have a 12 channel snake that runs from my mixing position to the 13 X 13 and track drums there. Then I remove the drums and set up guitar amps in there and track them, then remove them and track vocals. I was just thinking of some alternatives that might "LOOK COOL" to possible clients.

[hoops]

Keep us posted on what you decide. It would also be cool to see some pics when you are done.

[bpape]

Nothing says you can't make the booth's a little bigger. Even if you went 6' on the short wall, that would help a lot. Also, that back corner (angles meeting) needs to be planned to be killed pretty dead or it will do a lot of nasty focusing back at your mix position.

Bryan