Concrete Block Room...Low Ceiling

B

bdenton

New member
I've got a tough situation...but it is what it is...

In my basement, by moving my furnace, water heater, laundry sink, washer, and dryer, and building a new wall, I can end up with roughly a 14 x 26 space in which to build my combo studio and rehearsal room.

The room would have three concrete block walls (the real deal, concrete, not cinder block). The fourth would be a stud wall with 2 layers of 5/8" gyp each side, with Green Glue between the "in room" layers.

Now, the kicker...with all sorts of good luck, I could get a maximum 7-foot high lay-in acoustic tile ceiling.

The original tough room to play, huh?

I would like to have my acoustic drum set on one of the 14-foot walls, with my mixing area along the other 14-foot walls. I might or might not try micing and recording my acoustic drums.

Recording would probably be songwriter and other demo-type stuff. Space would also be used for occasional jam sessions, band rehearsals, etc.

I live alone, and the space is very quiet. If necessary, I can deal with furnace noise by turning it off during live takes.

Since I'm unemployed, my budget is currently...oh, say 85 cents. But I hope after November (hint, hint) to be back at work, so I thought I'd start doing a little planning.

So, how 'bout it, guys? Any chance of makiing this room work? If so, how? TIA...
 
it's possible to make it work. what is your situation wrt neighbors and other external noise? you might be able to get away with minimal isolation if you have the entire house to yourself and the neighbors are far enough away.

what furnace noise? from the ducts or just the unit itself? maybe consider enclosing it and putting it on isolation pads.
 
You have an 85 cent budget but plan to start by moving the furnace and water heater? And building a new wall. It costs thousands to move those things, if it can be done at all reasonably..
 
According to my HVAC guy and plumber, moving furnace and water heater are readily do-able, at around $1,500. This gives me an extra 5' on the length of my room and preserves ready access to both units. I can do the wall for $1,000 +/-.

My "85 cents" budget was hyperbole...I'm figuring maybe $4k for the job.

My major concern is sound control with three concrete block walls and a low ceiling, while trying to have drums and the mixing station at opposite ends of the long dimension of the room.
 
I'm no pro, but I also have a rehearsal/recording studio in a basement space with low ceilings and relatively small (and in my case, weird and L-shaped) dimensions.

I don't think you'd have any trouble getting usable sounds out of it... but how usable (or how good) will depend on a lot of other things. I would think you'd want some wall treatment instead of bare concrete, that kinda thing.

But a lot also depends on what you wanna do.

If the purpose of the studio is recording demos and having some fun, I would try to do it for less than $4k, but that's me... On the other hand, if your objective is to run a pro studio, well, I'd have to leave that to others...
 
it won't work for an open space if you're trying to mix while someone is drumming. you could use gobos to block some of the sound while tracking. conversely the gobos could provide a pseudo back wall when mixing. if you have no other isolation concerns like sound leaking upstairs, then you should be able to build the wall and treat the space reasonably for $4K.
 
gullfo said:
it won't work for an open space if you're trying to mix while someone is drumming. you could use gobos to block some of the sound while tracking. conversely the gobos could provide a pseudo back wall when mixing. if you have no other isolation concerns like sound leaking upstairs, then you should be able to build the wall and treat the space reasonably for $4K.
Click to expand...
... If you do the work yourself. ;)

- John
 
Consolidated Reply...

Thanks to those of you who replied. I'm just answering all of the questions in one post, along with noting a change in plans and providing some additional information.

I decided that what I would gain from moving the furnace and water heater would not offset the cost, so I'm going to leave them in place. This changes my room configuration to (going around the room) 20' concrete wall, 14' concrete wall, new 20' stud wall, new 14' stud wall (a 14' x 20' room).

Room is far enough below grade and other houses are far enough away that there will be no problems with neighbors. I live alone, so noise transfer into other rooms in the house is also not a problem. I live on a dead-end street with only one house between me and the dead end and no houses across the street, so external traffic noise etc. is not a factor.

Acoustic drums will be in front of the 14' stud wall; mixing and tracking area will be against the 14' concrete wall, so the drums and DAW will be at opposite ends of the room.

Room will be used for both recording/mixing and jam sessions/band practice, with the major emphasis on recording/mixing.

Ideally, I would be able to record acoustic drums, but it's not a deal-breaker as I also have electronic drums and will be using Pro Tools plugins for most of my drum tracks.

Would not be trying to play drums and track/mix at the same time.

Whatever acoustic room treatment I do would be geared more toward mixing and tracking near the mixing area; improving acoustic drum recording would be way secondary.

Ceiling will be 2' x 2' lay-in acoustic tile, floor will be industrial-type carpet over pad.

Please don't flame me, but I hope to do most of my sound control with Auralex foam and bass traps; I'm really not interested in DIY as I just don't have the time (when I have the money!) But I would appreciate recommendations for any other pull-it-out-of-the-box-and-stick-it-up products that might be appropriate or more cost-effective.

Thanks to everybody who has already replied, and TIA to anyone else who replies...
 
jhbrandt said:
b,

Since you will be buying, may I recommend that you check out GIK and RealTraps. I highly recommend them.

Cheers,
John
Click to expand...

Thanks, will do...

I lived in Chicago for a number of years, and everybody there has "gotta guy"..."I gotta guy who can fix your transmission", "I gotta guy who can get you coke", whatever...

I gotta guy now who can get me some deals on Auralex which is why I first mentioned that brand...
 
Not a flame at you (maybe at auralex), but I wouldn't spend a SINGLE penny on foam from anyone. If you don't want to diy, Real Traps and GIK are the only way to go. Foam is simply an inferior product, no matter what the auralex sales guy says.

Also, I know a lot of people like a reflective floor, so give paint, stain or wood laminate some thought (assuming your basement is dry). If your floor is concrete and in good shape, you can get a really attractive floor with concrete stain and sealer for cheap.

Also, do you *need* a ceiling? I mean, you aren't really required to have one for recording purposes- just sayin, maybe a place to save some cash, if even just for the short term.

You could conceivable build one wall, paint all 4 walls, finish the floor, put up acoustic treatments and be off and running for maybe half of your $4k. DIY and save even more than that... :)
 
The Auralex will be fine for most of the reflection points but not for a 'cloud' trap above the mix position, I would not recommend auralex on the ceiling or on the back wall, or anywhere standing wave control is needed.

You will need bass trapping in the corners. I would never recommend foam trapping to any of my clients. Therefore, I recommended the products above.

I am a mentor not a sales rep or 'buddy'. I don't get paid for posting or recommending anything. I am doing this for free - for you and anyone else who reads these posts. & I hope that I can help you save some money and mistakes.

One product is not the same or 'as good' as another. Each has it's place. You should check absorption coefficients at Bob Gold's site. Buy the product that does the best for it's placement and purpose. There is no such thing as 'one size fits all' when it comes to acoustics.

Cheers,
John
 
In my band our rehersal space has a large concrete wall & it created the usual problems with sound bouncing off concrete.
We ended up buying a carpet and building a frame out of 1"x3" slats -attached the carpet to the frame with scews & we just leaned in against the concrete wall - It Was Not Perfect but it improved things dramatically -at least to our ears
 
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