hello there. i've just registered for the forums here, and i've been perusing some of the other posts in this regard, but i wanted to get some thoughts from the folks about my particular situation.
i have a 20' X 20' garage space to convert into a studio. i measured the internal space, and it's actually more like 19.25' in each direction. the roof is another matter entirely. three of the corners are 9'5", and one is 8'2" (this is due to the non-insulated ceiling being sloped for drainage.
there's a large metal garage door (obviously) along one wall, and then a standard door against another.
i've read books on basic studio acoustics, isolation, absorption, diffusion and the like. so here's my idea...
i'm primarily a film composer, so there won't be a great deal of noise making (unlikely i'll ever track drums in there - the loudest thing might be a cranked AC30 or something along those lines.) for that reason, i'm not too concerned with isolation. i'm also not concerned with a live room vs. control room - i'm happy to make this all one big space to work in (perhaps looking at a vocal iso booth later if i feel i need it.)
the kicker is that i'd like this to double as a home theater since it'll be equipped with a fantastic (albeit flat-response) 5.1 system and HD projector, not to mention optimal acoustic treatments.
so what to do with this jacked up room shape? my thoughts are that i want to build a room-within-a-room type setup. not purely isolated (it'd be on the same concrete slab floor that exists now.
so i want to build four 5" walls (1/2" drywall on 2x4 framing with standard fiberglass insulation, and then place a ceiling of similar construction on top of those four walls - basically just free-standing within the existing structure. the beauty of this is that i can ever-so-slightly angle (lean in) the front and back walls, and impart a slight inward angle on the side walls in a sort of subtle angular hourglass shape (if that makes sense). hey presto i've minimised parallel surfaces and room modes to a certain degree.
couple that with some healthy treatment (both absorption and diffusion) and i should have a pretty good-sounding room.
i'm looking at a fujitsu halcyon as the HVAC, which, if i understand it correctly, requires only a 3" hole for the cooling pipes to get to the actual unit inside from the external unit. i'll consult further with my (very cool 6'6" rasta) HVAC guy in terms of quiet ventilation. i live in venice, CA, so the operating temperatures shouldn't get too out of hand to begin with.
so how does this sound? i'm still in the very early stages here - just going to start building the framework for the inner building this weekend if all goes to plan.
it seems almost like it's too easy though... i know an 8' ceiling isn't ideal - perhaps a bit small for typical tracking acoustics, but it's a damn sight better than the dining room (hardwood floors, 9'x9' box with zero treatment) that i've been operating in.
just wanted to get a sanity-check from like-minded folks and see if there were any outstanding thoughts or concerns.
thanks for reading, and if y'all are interested, i'll keep you posted on the progress!
cheers,
chris morgan,
venice, ca
i have a 20' X 20' garage space to convert into a studio. i measured the internal space, and it's actually more like 19.25' in each direction. the roof is another matter entirely. three of the corners are 9'5", and one is 8'2" (this is due to the non-insulated ceiling being sloped for drainage.
there's a large metal garage door (obviously) along one wall, and then a standard door against another.
i've read books on basic studio acoustics, isolation, absorption, diffusion and the like. so here's my idea...
i'm primarily a film composer, so there won't be a great deal of noise making (unlikely i'll ever track drums in there - the loudest thing might be a cranked AC30 or something along those lines.) for that reason, i'm not too concerned with isolation. i'm also not concerned with a live room vs. control room - i'm happy to make this all one big space to work in (perhaps looking at a vocal iso booth later if i feel i need it.)
the kicker is that i'd like this to double as a home theater since it'll be equipped with a fantastic (albeit flat-response) 5.1 system and HD projector, not to mention optimal acoustic treatments.
so what to do with this jacked up room shape? my thoughts are that i want to build a room-within-a-room type setup. not purely isolated (it'd be on the same concrete slab floor that exists now.
so i want to build four 5" walls (1/2" drywall on 2x4 framing with standard fiberglass insulation, and then place a ceiling of similar construction on top of those four walls - basically just free-standing within the existing structure. the beauty of this is that i can ever-so-slightly angle (lean in) the front and back walls, and impart a slight inward angle on the side walls in a sort of subtle angular hourglass shape (if that makes sense). hey presto i've minimised parallel surfaces and room modes to a certain degree.
couple that with some healthy treatment (both absorption and diffusion) and i should have a pretty good-sounding room.
i'm looking at a fujitsu halcyon as the HVAC, which, if i understand it correctly, requires only a 3" hole for the cooling pipes to get to the actual unit inside from the external unit. i'll consult further with my (very cool 6'6" rasta) HVAC guy in terms of quiet ventilation. i live in venice, CA, so the operating temperatures shouldn't get too out of hand to begin with.
so how does this sound? i'm still in the very early stages here - just going to start building the framework for the inner building this weekend if all goes to plan.
it seems almost like it's too easy though... i know an 8' ceiling isn't ideal - perhaps a bit small for typical tracking acoustics, but it's a damn sight better than the dining room (hardwood floors, 9'x9' box with zero treatment) that i've been operating in.
just wanted to get a sanity-check from like-minded folks and see if there were any outstanding thoughts or concerns.
thanks for reading, and if y'all are interested, i'll keep you posted on the progress!
cheers,
chris morgan,
venice, ca