My new dome studio

[TexRoadkill]

I recently acquired an underground dome house to use as a studio. My band and I have been in there for the last month working on our album. It's two story, about 2100 sq/ft and has amazing acoustics.

Normally domes are pretty weird when it comes to acoustics but this place has two special characteristics. It's oval, around 30'x40' at the top level perimeter, and has an open turret in the middle so the sound can diffuse. There's around a 4 second diffused reverb and the drums sound huge.

It's still pretty ghetto but here are some pics.

[TexRoadkill]

Yours truly

[Crumbles]

that is so cool!

[TexRoadkill]

Some more shots

[TexRoadkill]

Here's a couple songs that we've finished so far
http://www.nowhereradio.com/texroadkill/singles

[pandamonk]

Wow, that place looks great! Btw 57 is the name of a song by Biffy Clyro(band from where I live, now in the charts)... Here's a link

[Gorty]

Very different!

[the cool one]

Amazing!!!

[Track Rat]

Very cool sir!

[JuliánFernández]

GREATTTTT Music, my friend!
I really like the drummer´s feel!

Congrats to all of you!

[surfmaster]

ahhh that has got to be one of the coolest places for a recording pad. you sir, are lucky. and the songs sound amazing to boot.

[Lt. Bob]

Man that's awesome. I LOVE dome houses.

What's it look like from outside? Can you put a pic of that?

[JasonBird]

That is one neat place....And the 57 song is really cool!

JasonBird

[89gtsleeper]

On 57, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that vocal effect at 3:40??? I'd greatly appreciate it... sounds Fucking great. Rep points for you.

[avieth]

I'm so jealous of you. Ultimate jam hall? Yes!

What's the rent on that dome?

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by 89gtsleeper

On 57, if you don't mind me asking, how did you get that vocal effect at 3:40??? I'd greatly appreciate it... sounds Fucking great. Rep points for you.

He's singing through a Beta 58 through a Boss Blues Driver pedal into a tube Leslie Amp that is cranked up pretty good and mic'd about 8ft away with a ribbon mic then added some delay in the mix

Thanks for the compliments. It is an awesome place to jam and record. My realtor sent the listing to me as a joke but I had to have it. I'm still trying to negotiate a purchase but it took six months just to get a rental deal on it. The rent is pretty reasonable but I had to get them down to a 1/4 of their original asking price.

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by Lt. Bob

Man that's awesome. I LOVE dome houses.

What's it look like from outside? Can you put a pic of that?

A picture is the only way to describe this place, lol.

[R.A.E]

...atleast the inside looks good lmfao.

a yo, is that your yard or some jazz? or did you buy a lot?

[Lt. Bob]

Man that's freakin'awesome. I bet heating and cooling's gonna be very reasonable with it being underground.
Does that lot all come with it?
Man, I'm envious and I don't get that way too often.
They have an above ground dome around the corner from me that I lust for every time I drive by it.

Very cool man.

[Dogman]

Cool pics man......I'm just getting ready to listen to the tune.

[TexRoadkill]

The house is on an acre lot which has helped a lot with noise issues. I love domes also but they are a bitch to finance. Banks won't touch them because they say they don't sell but they don't sell because banks won't finance them. The owners want top dollar for the place and it's been completely gutted. Doesn't even have a kitchen. The owners have really let the place go down hill but I guess they have some family health problems so I understand.

I was hoping it would be a bit better on cooling. When we turn off the AC to record it gets hot pretty fast in there but it is 115 in the afternoons right now. I think if it had better quality doors and double paned windows in the turret it would be a lot better. Once the summer is over the rest of the year should be great.

[Innovations]

From an accoustic standpoint domes can be fantastic or a complete pain.

In general any concave reflective surface is going to focus all the sound that strikes it at the centerpoint of the curve. If that centerpoint is inside the space any mic positioning in it is going to see a huge peak in sound. If that point is below the floor of course you can't put a mic there but either way all the sound from each curved segment of the dome will strike the middle of the floor ane then bounce up toward the opposite curve where it will be reflected back toward the center of the floor. That, and not just the coupola, is why the reverb time in this room is so cathedral like. If you want to dampen it then the key place to place absorbtion is the center of the floor.

[gummblefish]

That place kicks ass. Is it nuclear bomb proof?

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by Innovations

From an accoustic standpoint domes can be fantastic or a complete pain.

There are some weird spots. I always assumed a dome would be too problematic. I would think a geodesic dome would be horrible but this one seems to be oval enough that the only weird area is dead center getting reflections from all directions.

If it looks like I can make this work as a commercial studio I'll probably try to add some diffusion panels over the curved walls to disperse any direct reflections. I'd also like to build a small 3' bass trap wall around the perimeter. I placed a bunch of 705 around the edges and it tightened things up alot.

The two pie shaped bedrooms have a great sound also. I've put up some 705 in the corners there also. I'd love to add some large slat absorbers to the deep corner of each room.

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by gummblefish

That place kicks ass. Is it nuclear bomb proof?

Apparently I'm a bit of a dictator in the studio so the control room is now referred to as the Command Bunker.