Building a studio with some money to burn

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Goldcan

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A new car for my wife, a home studio for me

I've been reading the forums on here, sayers, and gearslutz for a few months, there's so much info floating out there. I've played bass for a few years now and have found myself getting caught up in the aspects of recording for my band more than I like playing with them (which they're fine with cause my musical tastes (alt rock) are different than theirs (country rockish)), so I've changed my focus and am trying to better recording for them and other bands, we've been using some very DIY stuff to record with and I'm kinda sick of it.

I have 20k to convert the shop/garage of the house into a studio and purchase all the gear I can to get it up and running. Spending spree yahhh!

No.

Before I spend a damn dime, I need some books, some advice, and maybe some hands on training. Like I've said I've been reading the forums, but they're geared a lot towards people who know what the hell is going on or on the track to it.

I'd like to know what books are good, from mics to mixers, studio design, things like that, but they have to be dumbed down, if I'm reading them with no hands on, specs don't do shit for me. Once I can get my hands on some gear and mess with it, then books with specs and math will be benificial to me, but until then I'm of the school that "read all you want, memorize the figures and math... but until you get your hands on it, see it in real life, memorization is shit."

I have a bit of money to spend but if I can learn and barter and research before I buy I will, I'd rather spend 3k on the studio because it took me 3 months of research than spending 5k and getting it done right now.

To sum it up, I'll see about getting my "hands on" stuff done myself (I have a few leads), unless you guys now some places in or around Raleigh/Cary/Chapel Hill/Durham, NC that are open for teaching, but until then I'd like a book, online lessons, something that says here it is, start here and we'll build from this. Not some links to another thread to another thread where it's assumed you know the ranges of high frequencies and low frequencies or that your walls of the studio need to be floated and at 6 degree angles and mics need pre-amps.

I was using adapters to plug 1/4" jacks into my g'd computer mic input for gods sake.

A lot of bitching and text here, but any help can be good, thanks guys.
 
I have picked up that if your room sounds like crap then 100k in gear means nothin'. And trust me before any gear is bought the room will be the best I can make it.

I'll start at the links you provided Apl, thanks.
 
Flat means that no frequencies or pitches are enhanced or diminished by the device in question, in your case, the room. The sound you hear is not colored by the room.

For example, I played in a very small room that would light up when I played an open A string, making it sound unnaturally loud compared to other notes.
 
Spend an hour a night reading the forums here.... you'll get it....
The rest of the internet is pretty damned useful too for this kind of stuff!!! :D :D
 
Goldcan said:
I have 20k to convert the shop/garage of the house into a studio and purchase all the gear I can to get it up and running. Spending spree yahhh!
Click to expand...

i wish i had that money to blow on recording studios and such, lol
 
Yeah I've been reading the forums for the last 4 days, no shit 10 hours a day (vacation), and I've learned a hell of a lot, problem is finding direction in it all.

I only have the money to spend because I had to point out several times the fact that my wife got a brand new car that she didn't need since her other car was only 4 years old. Plus it's the first time in my life I've been able to do something like this.

Thanks for your help guys
 
I would hang out at the Studio Display/Construction part of this BBS and begin thinking about the specifics of your room design. The first basic question is the size of your room. How much space do you have and what are the dimensions? Think about what and who you will be recording. The answer varies from a full band with drum kit to "just myself." And this determines how big your space will be and how it's configured. For example, if you are just recording yourself, there is no need to build a complex studio with separate control and recording rooms. On the other hand, if you will be playing engineer and recording other bands, a separate control room is really ideal. Once you have your approximate room dimensions, do some research on sound waves, how they behave in a room and how this affects recording. Based on this, decide if you can live with a rectangular room or if you want to go the extra mile to create a room with no perpendicular surfaces. Then do a google search for something like "ideal room recording dimensions" and see if you can come up with a basic room size plan that will minimize sound problems. Somewhere out there there is a "golden rule formula" (I forget the exact name) that will yield more or less ideal room dimensions. The formula gives you a specific sense of standing waves at several frequency levels based on the room decisions you input.

Aftter you tackle some of these basic layout questions, you will need to look at HVAC--heating, ventilation, air conditioning--and sound isolation. Obviously the room has to be comfortable and you have to circulate air. But all this has to be done quietly. So you'll need to get some input on the best way to accomplish this. You will also need to keep sound out of your room, especially if you record vocals or accoustic instruments. This is perhaps the most difficult aspect of room construction, since it takes space and mass to prevent sound transmission. Do an assessment of your current space. Do you have windows? A Garage door? Wood frame versus concrete block construction? Do you live near a road with heavy traffic? Any airports nearby? How by landscapers with leafblowers?

This is just a starting point. As you see it gets complex and potentially expensive. So put together a budget.
 
Dwillis45

Here's one of the first posts I did:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=162516

It's got my floor plan in it, as it sits now, haven't put where the vocal booth will go because I'm not sure where I want it.

I think the big thing is seeing how small it is and what I want to be able to do with it, do I spend $5000 soundproofing and making it sound as good as possible with the size I have now or see about making the area larger (19x18 instead of 13x18) and cut a few things out of the other portions of my budget in order to still sound proof it properly.

What's the opinion on that? Spend more soundproofing a small area or make it bigger and spend less on gear... I think I have inkling already on what the best option is, but some advice would be appreciated.

And if I did make the room bigger would it be big enough at 19x18 (342 sqft) to divide into a control room and live room w/ vocal booth and still be able to get good sound quality?
 
Goldcan said:
And if I did make the room bigger would it be big enough at 19x18 (342 sqft) to divide into a control room and live room w/ vocal booth and still be able to get good sound quality?
Click to expand...

Somewhere in Ethan's stuff he explains the advantages of having one big room.
 
On it, thanks. :)

-edit- Dude, if I hadn't had about 9 beers in me by the time you gave me those links and I glassy eyed looked over them I'd have noticed what you just RE-told me, thanks for putting up with it :)
 
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Hmm, interesting, according to the modecalc the room I have now is actually almost perfect in ratio. I guess I'll just deal with it being smaller and spend more on gear and sound proofing. It'd be nice to have a bigger room but I can't afford to extend everything to fit a ratio.
 
Goldcan said:
I think the big thing is seeing how small it is and what I want to be able to do with it, do I spend $5000 soundproofing and making it sound as good as possible with the size I have now or see about making the area larger (19x18 instead of 13x18) and cut a few things out of the other portions of my budget in order to still sound proof it properly.

What's the opinion on that? Spend more soundproofing a small area or make it bigger and spend less on gear... I think I have inkling already on what the best option is, but some advice would be appreciated.

And if I did make the room bigger would it be big enough at 19x18 (342 sqft) to divide into a control room and live room w/ vocal booth and still be able to get good sound quality?
Click to expand...

You might want to check some of the possible costs involved with total soundproofing. It tends to be extremely expensive if you are shooting for total sound isolation for the entire studio. So your budget on that alone could vanish into thin air unless you make some compromises.

If you divide the smaller space in two, your rooms will be small (9x13) and you will likely create some soundwave issues during mixing. It's possible to overcome some of these, but as a general rule the smaller your room (and the more it resembles a square) the more issues you face. The small recording area will also cause issues if you are recording a drum kit or a full band.
 
Soundproofing is trying to keep sound from getting in or out, so that you don't disturb neighbors, and so that their dog's barking doesn't show up on your CD.

That's different that applying acoustic treatments to make the room sound good, and it is generally expensive.

And in general, when it comes to rooms, bigger is better.
 
Well 2 1/2 to 3 ft of the room is under ground, so soundproofing will be for only 5 to 8 ft on the walls and the ceiling. With the floor being concrete what sound issues does that cause? Do I need to float the floor in order to completely sound proof it? I was also wondering if I were to sandwich a piece of say 16 gauge sheet metal between two peices of drywall, what will that do for sound proofing, seems more talk about building double walls with air space and adding some type of other mass. Metal is pretty dense, and I work at a place where I can get it fairly cheap if it sounds viable.
 
Goldcan said:
Well 2 1/2 to 3 ft of the room is under ground, so soundproofing will be for only 5 to 8 ft on the walls and the ceiling. With the floor being concrete what sound issues does that cause? Do I need to float the floor in order to completely sound proof it? I was also wondering if I were to sandwich a piece of say 16 gauge sheet metal between two peices of drywall, what will that do for sound proofing, seems more talk about building double walls with air space and adding some type of other mass. Metal is pretty dense, and I work at a place where I can get it fairly cheap if it sounds viable.
Click to expand...

First, make sure you need it soundproofed. Can you hear the neighbors? Can they hear you? Do you or they care?

Then, find out how the sound is getting in and out. What you'll probably find is that it's not the walls as much as openings like roof ventilation sytems, windows and doors.

Think of the places where the sound comes out of your garage as a group of five year olds. The wall-kids are probably making a constant rumbling. The main paths of the noise are like the two or three screamers in the group. It won't help to get the rumblers quieter until you get the screamers under control. And getting the screamers quieted may be adequate.

Isolation is accomplished with mass, limpness, and mechanical decoupling. Usually sheet metal lacks limpness.
 
Low frequency soundwaves may still be a problem even if 2-3 feet of the room is underground. This is because many low frequency waves are actually transmitted by ground. But, as APL suggests, the best way to find out is to spend some time in your space and evaluate potential problems--airplanes, landscapers, garbage trucks, trains, car horns, etc. etc. Sound isolation is an ideal goal but may not be essential depending on your location.

And I agree on the metal sheeting. In the old days, I think they used some type of lead sheeting to increase isolation. But now it's a heavy limp-mass vinyl material like this:

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_sheetblok/sound_isolation_sheetblok.asp

Floating definately helps with the low frequency stuff. And compared to other sound isolation approaches, it's fairly straightfoward. Basically, you are building a wood frame on some type of rubber isolation like Auralex's U-boats:

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_uboat/sound_isolation_uboat.asp
 
well 22 ga is pretty limp, but I understand what you're saying.

The neighbors don't care, they're an older couple (mid 60's) and both play in a band, so that's not the issue, it's noise getting in.

The room I'm using is a room that was added on after the house was built, the walls are nothing more than studs (visible on the inside) with pressboard/plywood and siding thrown over them. I've got a few options on soundproofing the room since the studs are 2x4's and their sitting on top of about 8-9" of brick, so I can make the walls about 7 or so inches thick before I start cutting into my usable space of 13' 5" x 18' 3"

With that Apl, my whole room is pitching a tempertantrum and most of them have airhorns....

As I was re-reading the above, I realized since the siding isn't attached to anything but pressboard and plywood, taking it off won't be any huge task, and I can use the existing studs and build a staggered stud wall design, I'll have to do more research to figure out the best overall design but...

Thanks for all your help Apl, since you guys gave me a focus, I've got a little more reading before I start asking questions again.

Thanks.
 
dwillis45,

I know I hadn't posted it when you posted a reply, but I did step out there for a few seconds to listen, and I think my only choice is to just rebuild the walls, get that done and then see about what noise I can hear.

I know I said no more questions, but if I do a staggered stud wall design, it only is rated for freqz 125 hz to 4000 hz which is "the normal range of speach" what other considerations do I need to take to make it geared toward playing music. What threads/sites/books can you guys point me to? Or is the wall STC the "foundation" and accoustical treatment the added material to compensate for music and lower or higher hz?

I'm building all of this on the idea that if I keep sound out, it'll keep sound from getting out (for the neighbors), is that true?

I'd planned my budget for the room at $5000, but I figure it's easier to purchase gear later than have a room that can't handle the gear, so I'll probably spend another $2500-$5000 if need be to make sure I don't regret taking time with the room.
 
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