Blast From the Past
Wow. It's been so long since I've been on this BBS. Didn't realize its been YEARS! My son (the reason I built the studio) is still performing gigs several times a month, got married several years ago to a really sweet girl, and made me a grand dad 4 months ago. Life is good.
As far as the studio, the building ended up being 30'x40'. I opted for a control room (about 26'x15'), a 5 sided vocal booth, and a room I call the "live" room (about 24'x29'). When recording I put the drummer and bass player in the live room with drum kit on an isolated riser and bass on DI. The lead or rhythm guitar player is in the control room with me. The vocalist lays down a scratch vocal track with everyone playing. Of course everyone is on headphones. I HIGHLY recommend Sony MDR-V150 and
V300 headphones. I forget the exact specs but they typically handle 750mW and higher. Best of all you can get them at Walmart, Target, etc for $20 or so. Forget about the cheap Behringers. I blew out a couple pair the first time I used them. But I digress.
All interior walls are staggered stud construction with all sheetrock mounted on resilient channel. A side benefit of being in a metal "butler" building along with all the resilient channel is the channel appears to act like a "Faraday" cage in blocking ALL radio interference from outside the building. This is a big deal since there is a commercial FM radio tower across the street from me.
If anyone is interested in drawings I'll see if I can dig them up.
One last note. I recently purchased
a Presonus Studiolive digital mixer for our band to replace our Mackie 32-4-2 board. My first attempt at live recording with this mixer was last weekend. One word - unbelievable! 16 channels via firewire into my IBM Lenova laptop. I am in love with this mixer! It is fantastic using for live gigs and just as good in the studio. If anyone would like details let me know. I'll be glad to share details.
I'll make an honest effort to get back involved with this BBS. I'm no expert but I'll share what I've learned.
Don
Digital Don
Deaf Monkey Studio