My new dome studio

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