Control Room Layout. Please Help!

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famous beagle

famous beagle

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Hey guys,

We just moved into a new house, and I have my first actual "control room." I'd basically like to know the best way to set it up (where to put the desk, the listening sofa, etc.). I can't make any huge structural modifications to the room, but I can certainly do something like take the closet doors off.

The tracking room will be a converted garage that's adjacent to the bottom wall. I've talked to my father-in-law (a trim carpenter) about helping me put a window here that looks into the tracking room. Would this be a bad idea? (We would put it back the way it was before we sold the house!) I just always see windows from control rooms to tracking rooms any time I'm in a studio.

Sorry for the crappy drawing. It's my first attempt at this type of thing.

red = window (to outside)
green = dual closet door
yellow = entry door

thanks much for any advice.
 
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famous beagle said:
The tracking room will be a converted garage that's adjacent to the bottom wall. I've talked to my father-in-law (a trim carpenter) about helping me put a window here that looks into the tracking room. Would this be a bad idea? (We would put it back the way it was before we sold the house!) I just always see windows from control rooms to tracking rooms any time I'm in a studio.
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Yeah you could do that. But why not just get a cheap computer cam?
 
If you want to go the camera route, skip the USB cam and get yourself a $100 Dlink DCS900 or something like that. Plugs right into your network hub or switch, and you hit it with a browser. No software to load, no drivers to fight with your music software, nada. They work very well.

Windows are generally the norm however, but they require a lot of care in avoiding transmission of sound through them (or at least minimizing it) - this translates into custom windows.

Essentially, you want the two panes not to be parallel, you want them to be different thicknesses, and you want them to be safety glass for obvious reasons.
 
mshilarious said:
Yeah you could do that. But why not just get a cheap computer cam?
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Well, I have a really old dinosaur of a computer. But ... I don't use that for my recording; I have a Yamaha AW16G. I've never used one of those computer cameras; are they any good? Don't you have to have a pretty decent computer in order for the picture to be smooth and not jumpy?

Regarding the other kind of camera (the DCS 900), you said it plugs right into your network hub or switch. I'm pretty sure I don't have a network hub, because I don't know what you're talking about.


Any thoughts on the positioning of the mixing desk and all?

Thanks
 
Any thoughts on the positioning of the mixing desk and all?
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This is the thread, eh? I guess we missed the last question. Well, if you install the window, then the mixing desk goes there. If not, I'd put it against the existing window. Edit: nah, that would get in the way of the closet. Keep it on the bottom wall.

Either way, you'll need bass traps in the corners, and panel absorbers at least on the side wall near the mix position.
 
could you get an old vhs camera or hi-8 or something, and run the rca video out through your recording snake, back to a tv in the control room?
 
you really have 2 options. first is you put the monitors on either side of the window. and keep all of your crap in the closet.

if you wanted to use the closet for a vocal booth, which you probably dont (because you want to keep crap in it), put the monitors on the other short wall.
 
mshilarious said:
This is the thread, eh? I guess we missed the last question. Well, if you install the window, then the mixing desk goes there. If not, I'd put it against the existing window. Edit: nah, that would get in the way of the closet. Keep it on the bottom wall.

Either way, you'll need bass traps in the corners, and panel absorbers at least on the side wall near the mix position.
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Yeah I've moved the mixing desk to the bottom wall and centered in there, and it seems fine. But what about the two corners on the left with the door and the closet? Do I only need to put bass traps in the two right corners?

Falken: I'm thinking of trying that (with the video camera). I have an old camera actually, so I think I'll set it up and see what kind of picture I can get.
 
I am thinking you want to try it with an unbalanced return.
 
Ok, I've formulated a plan for the room and I've updated the picture to show my idea. I realized that I mistakenly said my tracking room was adjacent to the bottom wall. This isn't true. It's actually adjacent to the right wall. I got turned around earlier.


gray lines = absortive panels/traps
yellow box = listening sofa
light gray box = hanging ceiling absorber
green = closet
red = window to outside (w/ heavy curtain)
pink = window to adjacent tracking room (converted garage)
yellow door = entry door

(The window to the tracking room may or may not be there depending on whether I can get a decent looking video feed with my camera.)

Any comments on how this could be improved, or should it be all right like it is? I can't really put bass traps in the other two corners because of the doors. Is this a problem? If so, what are some possible solutions? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks much.
 
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I don't mean to hijack but...

Can we go back to the video camera idea? I'm thinking of doing this but I wondered if there was an easy way to get video back into the tracking room?Is there a two-way video system or something that wouldn't require an extra computer? I can see springing for an extra flat panel and some kind of camera.
 
FALKEN said:
what is the yellow and the pink?
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Sorry, my drawing is crappy. That's why I put that key in my post.

The pink is the window to the tracking room, and the yellow box is a sofa for listeners.
 
the only thing that anyone here will tell you to change is on the left wall, move the absorber closer to the door. if you are trying to kill the paralell wall sound, you only need to dampen one side of the paralell.

also you might want an absorber on the ceiling if at all possible.

not that I have built mine yet..
 
You can also put panels on your doors and the walls perpendicular to the doors to get those corners.
 
FALKEN said:
the only thing that anyone here will tell you to change is on the left wall, move the absorber closer to the door. if you are trying to kill the paralell wall sound, you only need to dampen one side of the paralell.

also you might want an absorber on the ceiling if at all possible.

not that I have built mine yet..
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Ok Falken, it's clear to me that you didn't read my key at all!!! Just kidding. That light shaded gray box in front of the mixing desk is supposed to be a ceiling absorber. :)

reshp1: I read those articles, and though they were helpful and made sense for the most part, I have a few questions.

1. They said the ideal position was 38% from the front of the room. Do people really do this? I did a quick rearranging of my room to make this happen, and my mixing desk is like 2 feet out from the wall. Is this normal? Is 38% just a magic number, or does it just basically keep getting better the closer you can get to that 38%?

2. I'm assuming that most people use this site for advice on placement mostly and don't actually order traps from these people, because they're expensive as hell! From what I've read around here, 703 works well enough and is much cheaper. I know they say on their site that theirs are the best, but they're also trying to sell some product, right?

3. Those two articles you linked showed where to place a few panels (the first wall panels and the ceiling panel), but they didn't talk about any others (like the corners, etc.) I tried to find the "other articles" you were talking about, but I couldn't find them. Could you point me in the right direction for these?

Thanks a lot for your help. I feel like I'm slowly wading through all the seemingly conflicting information I've read thus far.
 
famous beagle said:
2. I'm assuming that most people use this site for advice on placement mostly and don't actually order traps from these people, because they're expensive as hell! From what I've read around here, 703 works well enough and is much cheaper. I know they say on their site that theirs are the best, but they're also trying to sell some product, right?
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Ethan sells a nicely finished product, but he also gives us free advice :) For example, he'll tell you that a stack of pink roll insulation left in the wrapper works as a bass trap.

Fortunately, there are a lot of people who will pay him for the aestethic improvement :cool:

So yeah, score yourself some rigid fiberglass panels & build 'em yourself.
 
frederic said:
If you want to go the camera route, skip the USB cam and get yourself a $100 Dlink DCS900 or something like that. Plugs right into your network hub or switch, and you hit it with a browser. No software to load, no drivers to fight with your music software, nada. They work very well.

Windows are generally the norm however, but they require a lot of care in avoiding transmission of sound through them (or at least minimizing it) - this translates into custom windows.

Essentially, you want the two panes not to be parallel, you want them to be different thicknesses, and you want them to be safety glass for obvious reasons.
Click to expand...

Frederic, i just read about the camera, and the review talked about the internet. do you have to have internet to use it. i just wanted to have the camera in my booth so i could see what my artist is doing and vice versa
 
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