Newb here. Building Studio

S

SoundQuarters

New member
Hello all,

Been lurking around the site for a few weeks. Looks like a great group!

Well, after 25 years of making-due with whatever recording space I could manage to come up with, I am building a new house on 10 acres in the woods with a purpose-built studio as part of the deal. Actually, I've got it out of order. I'm building a Studio and a three-car garage, which happen to have a house attached (there, that's better)! :)

There is a great deal of knowledge on this site and I hope to be able to pick your brains as I go throught the planning and construction processes.

First, what books have any of you read that have helped you the most with your designs? I want to study up before I get the architect involved.

Thanks!

BTW Michael, that studio you are building looks AWESOME! Would love to read more about what has gone into that.
 
Thanks SQ.
Here's a link to the construction progress photos:
http://www.johnlsayers.com/Studio/Mainpage/MP-Carriage.htm
The photos have captions explaining the progress.
Make sure you checkout Update 1 on that page too.


As far as books go: F. Alton Everst and his book on studio construction seems to be a favorite. (Sorry, I forget the title... "Studio Construction on a Budget"... or something like that.)

John Sayers SAE site has a WEALTH of information on it:
http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html

And his BBS has many knowledgable people on it as well that are very helpful.

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

I'd start with the SAE site.
 
Thanks for the links Michael.

Your studio is quite impressive. Wondering what your plans are for it. Do you intend to hire it out, do some producing and engineering for others, or is it exlusively for your personal use?
 
I'll use it for myself, and engineer some demos and CD's for others. I'm not real comfortable with hiring it out, but that might be a possibility.
 
HVAC

I've been thinking about the HVAC system for my design. I guess there are special considerations for a noiseless system. I've heard the terms "high volume, low velocity" used to describe a good system for a studio, but how do you achieve it? Big ducts with lots of baffles? What are you doing in your new building? Gets pretty hot where you are.
 
My system will be a "split" system. Compressor outside, Air handler inside in its own room.

Some of the main considerations in an HVAC system, are of course noise.
Oversizing the ducts will increase the volume, and lower the velocity of air, which will be inherent in reducing noise. I also have the return air ducts over sized, made of rigid fiberglass, and positioned as far away from the air handler as possible. Numerous 90 degree bends will take place in the system as well.

Other considerations include implementing baffles in the ducts, using multiple trunk lines so that no 2 rooms feed off the same duct, and mounting the air handler in its own room made to be as sound "proof" as possible. Mounting it off the floor and on rubber pads will help as well. Using a "squirrel cage" rather than a rotating fan will also aid in noise reduction. Having the thermostat mounted in the control room is another intended idea. It will be close by and if need be, I'll just cut the air for a critical take. Hopefully, employment of all these other techniques will make that unnecessary.

As with most studio construction techniques, there's no SINGLE item that will help in noise reduction; rather a combination of several items, each seemingly insignificant by its own, but once implemented as a cohesive unit, work together to aid in noise reduction.
 
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Re: HVAC

SoundQuarters said:
I've been thinking about the HVAC system for my design. I guess there are special considerations for a noiseless system. I've heard the terms "high volume, low velocity" used to describe a good system for a studio, but how do you achieve it? Big ducts with lots of baffles? What are you doing in your new building? Gets pretty hot where you are.
Click to expand...

Michael has the right idea - don't share ducts, oversize them, and lots of bends. Sound likes to travel in a straight line.

Since I will be using a window air conditioner, at least initially, when I install the electrical the window A/C will be plugged into a switched outlet with the switch near the console. When the mic is on, the A/C is turned off from across the room, and when the track is done, I'll flip the switch back on.

Its a quick and dirty solution, but its doable. I don't mind mixing with the A/C running, for whatever reason. Recording, absolutely.

I've mixed in worse places LOL.

Eventually I'll have a mini-split system, which uses convection on the inside, and the noisy crap is outside. THAT would be really sweet. Just need to figure out the right system so the rest of the house can share the expensive condenser bits. later, when I have time and cash LOL
 
Frederic/Thanks for the idea about the on and off switch.
I have to admit I have the air conditioner in the window also.
everytime its time to hit record I have to go out of my controll room first door small hallway to a 2nd door to the end of the room
then turn the air on then a fan that is attached to the wall to push the air around faster.
your idea is cool for me because the outlet that this stuff is
pluged into shares an outlet in my control room which is used for
simple stuff such as a fan for me.
So I will do some wireing and put a switch in there that turns off the outlet.
Thank you very much
 
Frederic/Thanks for the idea about the on and off switch.
Click to expand...

I will freely admit its a lame solution, but it does work. The only thing I would note is that if you turn off a window A/C, you can't turn it back on for about 2-3 minutes. Makes the compressor unhappy, though I'm not particularly sure why. I've been told this from several A/C repair people. Might be specific to commercial systems though, I forgot to ask.

I have to admit I have the air conditioner in the window also. everytime its time to hit record I have to go out of my controll room first door small hallway to a 2nd door to the end of the room then turn the air on then a fan that is attached to the wall to push the air around faster.
Click to expand...

Why get up :)

Here is my switch panel:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/attachment.php?postid=842459

https://homerecording.com/bbs/attachment.php?postid=842526

The switch functions are as follows:

Top Row, L to R:

1. Webcam, off feed A
2. Recording Lights (booth and hallway), off feed A
3. Dimmer, studio track lighting off feed A
4. Dimmer, vocal booth track lighting off feed A

Bottom Row, L to R:

1. Overhead Flourescents, Feed A
2. Window A/C, Feed B (15A)
3. Studio Computer Gear, Feed C (20A)
4. Studio Recording Gear, Feed D (20A)

The mandatory coffee pot is also off feed B but isn't switched.

There will be four pairs of duplex outlets in the room that are on feed C, which will be for powerstrips for keyboards, guitar amps, stuff like that. Feed C and Feed D are going to be off the isolation transformer I have in the crawl space, which takes in 220V and provides two 120V 20A circuits. The transformer is mounted on 4"x4"x1" solid rubber pads so it cannot transmit hum through the joists its attached to.

here is the window its going in:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/attachment.php?postid=843097

The window on the left will be blocked by the vocal booth, as the wall between the control room and the vocal booth goes right between the windows. THe booth is down right now because i'm remodeling, but thats where it goes. The A/C goes into the window in the right, and the outlet will be 6" to the right, and about a foot below the sill.

So I will do some wireing and put a switch in there that turns off the outlet. Thank you very much [/B]
Click to expand...

You're welcome, make sure you ground it properly!!
 
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