New Basement Studio

[VSpaceBoy]

I am in the beginning stages of planning my studio. A little info for you: I am having a home built starting in a few months and will build myself a studio/rehearsal space in the basement. I don’t plan on making any money from this studio <most likely>, it’s mainly for band practices <if I can start up a band> and home recording for fun. I don’t have a budget per say, but I just need good reasons to spend money on something I’m not going to get anything out of. So if there are things I am not seeing that would make great sense, please let me know.

I have posted two pictures of different directions I am going with the design. What you see is the basement of a home I am about to have built. It will have 9’ ceilings and I can use any or all of the space for the project. I am looking to have the largest rehearsal space I can muster, and fill in the gaps with other rooms. I.e. control rm, vocal or whatever. The designs you see are ones that I have came up with based on searches throughout Johns site and from what I have learned so far. If anyone has seen any obscure shaped designs or has any ideas from what I have to work with, that would be great. I've also posted this up at John's site.
Thanks so much,
SpaceBoy

[VSpaceBoy]

Option #2.

And please, and major do's and don't are greatly appreciated.

[Michael Jones]

Seems like your layout and dimensions would be very well suited for something like this:

[VSpaceBoy]

That is what I started from in the one Rough draft. Problem with that one that I see is I want a bigger space to rehearse in. I tweaked that design into the one I posted but it seems that by the time I get finished walls etc., the live room will be long and narrow. Doesn't seem like that would give it the best feel, but I dont know.

Thanks for the feedback

[Giganova]

can I ask y'all what software you use to create the floorplans? I neede one myself to design a studio, which doesn't cost a fortune.

[frederic]

Of your three drawings, the first one I think is your best choice, simply because the control room can directly face the live room.

In your picture your console table is 90 degrees off, so turn it so your monitors are facing the length of the room, they sound better, also this gives you a view into your live room.

[MemoGtr]

i wouldnt do the second drawing....




mainly because i'd prefer to have visual contact between the control room and the vocal booth.


it is wat tooooooo fun to watch your friends sing and laugh hahahahahahaha

[knightfly]

Giga, John Sayers and several of the people that post on our site

http://johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php

Use smartdraw. You can get a free demo here, the full version costs less than $100, depending on which version you want -

http://www.smartdraw.com

Another option is Autodesk's QuickCad, available at Staples stores for about $60, or TurboCad (same place) for about $40. Only problem with TurboCad is you can't save as any kind of file that's compatible with brousers, where QuickCad will save as a .JPG file.

Hope that helped... Steve

[Giganova]

thanks Steve! I just downloaded the SmartDraw demo. That's exactly what I need! If John Sayers & others are happy with it, it sure is good enough for me

[VSpaceBoy]

Thanks for the input guys.

The consensus seems to favor seeing the vocal room and layout of the control room. I think I'll try an come up with something in between.

Thanks for the help!!

SpaceBoy

[VSpaceBoy]

How about this?
Again my goal is to have a larger live room. I want to use it mostly for rehearsal and want it to be roomy. If anyone thinks I'm heading in the wrong direction or has any tips I would greatly appreciate it!!
Thanks!!
SpaceBoy

[chris-from-ky]

I'm not experienced at this sort of thing... I dream of my own studio eventually becoming a reality.

What I want to say is that the third drawing (from Spaceboy) is the least of the three I think would work and I too would agree that the first option is the best "so far." It's awesome that you've got that area to build from scratch and I hope that your studio is all you hope it to be.

Chris

[chris-from-ky]

Here's a thought I had. It may be beneficial, may not but thought I'd share it. You may end up with more space in each area this way (maybe).

[Michael Jones]

Chris - The idea in a studio is to avoid parallel walls.

VSpaceBoy - I like the layout. My only reservation would be the proximity of the HVAC air handler to the vocal booth. I suppose you could build a small room around the air handler to minimize any noise.

The area beyond the practice room; turn that into a small lounge!

[VSpaceBoy]

Micheal - That makes sense about the HVAC. I could always move it over under the control room area by the bathroom. Or like you said build a room around it. This home hasn't started construction yet so I still have some flexibility.

chris-from-ky - Thanks for the input as well. Why in your opinion would that last one be your least fav?

Thanks
Space

[VSpaceBoy]

How does this one look. I changed the door location of the vocal room away from the HVAC. I still will try and sound proof the it to some degree.

Thanks,

Space

[chris-from-ky]

I was thinking that about the HVAC and such. Revision #3 didn't appear to keep the noisy stuff away from the iso booth.

Also, my little revision of the drawing wasn't meant to be a picasso of floor plans... I was only giving a generic layout of where I would probably put each area. Sure the exact dimensions are up to the designer/builder in the end.

I still like the first one.

Chris

[VSpaceBoy]

This looks like the way I'm going to be going after some great feedback from John's site. Just wanted to run it by you guys and get your final thoughts.

Thanks
Space

[Giganova]

now the vocalist and band can't see each other! That's not a good situation, I think. I still like the first drawing most.

[David Lo Pan]

I kept the walls standard squares just to save time, I'm sure you'll all get the idea

First: Your biggest problem with the large rehearsal space is the stairwell - there's just no way around it, literally.

2nd: This is just what I'd do with the space as I see it...so take it for what it's worth. I have my own biases as to what I'd want to get out of it, so I have to go with them.

The thought process:

I'm assuming the door at top left is from the outside, so I put the control room there with the live room to the right. This lets whatever band / musician bring in their gear from the outside and go behind the control desk directly to the live room, or do a turn and take equipment to one of the other rooms. Simple direct access without having to walk through someone else's room to get where they want to go. That's why I added the 2nd door to the live room at the bottom of the stairs. If they have to use the bathroom or pilfer some refreshments from your basement fridge, they don't have to walk through the studio to get back in.

I put the vox room straight in front of the control desk so you can have direct visual contact with the singer. Also, if it were me I'd mainly have a drummer in the live room area, so I'd like a window there, and you can just look to your right and see them.

I also put in a auxillary room -- If I had the space I'd like to be able to mic up an amp and let it crank. Personally, that would mean more to me than having one large live room. Have the guitarist sit in the control room playing a real amp, run the bass direct, have the drummer bashing away by himself and the singer crooning away. Conceivably that's everything you need for a regular rock band going on at once with minimal bleed.

I'd probably add the optional 2nd door part, too...to give you less bleed into the control room from the amp room...after I did this I thought of putting in a closet between the vox and amp rooms for more separation.

Finally, Hvac is boxed off out of the way in the corner in its own room...you don't want the soothing sounds of the water heater finding its way into the mix. And the bathroom is well back, too...Someone may have to use it while someone else is doing something important, so you should have it a good distance away as well. Throw in a couch for lounging around and I'd probably never leave...oh wait - you'll need internet access down there, too...and a microwave to go with the fridge.

If you're working with an architect on the house, I'd press him to see if he can come up with a way to move the stairs over a couple of feet - that would really help your live / rehersal space dilema.

[Michael Jones]

If moving the HVAC is NOT an option, (and I'm assuming its not) then I think you'd at least want to keep the high noise areas close to the each other.
For instance, the Live room, and NOT the control room, would be better suited adjacent to the HVAC.
Then you have better separation and a chance for better success at isolation.

BUT:

Given all that, I tend to like Vspace's LAST option, (provided something can be done to isolate the air handler) as its layout provides for a comfortable atomsphere, and allows for visibility/communication between all rooms.

[VSpaceBoy]

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

From what I've been reading, I think I'm supposed to stay away from parallel walls. I've tried some attempts to isolate the HVAC some more. I can move it some, just not too much.

Let me know your thoughts on this one.

Thanks!!

SpaceBoy

[MemoGtr]

i like that one.

hey im curious, are there any 2 floor studios???

[Michael Jones]

Yeah. That one looks good.
You may want to work on the geometry of your control room.
It looks... disproportional.
The side walls should be splayed at 6 or 12 degrees.
12's better.

Oh... what the heck is the
"SP" in your floor plan??

[VSpaceBoy]

Originally posted by Michael Jones
Yeah. That one looks good.
You may want to work on the geometry of your control room.
It looks... disproportional.
The side walls should be splayed at 6 or 12 degrees.
12's better.

Oh... what the heck is the
"SP" in your floor plan??

Ok, I'll go back and fix that. Any other rules of thumb for walls or angles that you see??

SP = Sump Pump : remember, this is a plan for a basement studio. Last thing I want is water crashing the party!!

Thanks

SpaceBoy