Hi, I'm Adam. And I'm finally building a studio.

  • Thread starter Thread starter arabuck
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arabuck

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Hello,
Its been a long time since I've been on this board. I used to post here a lot back when I didn't understand compression, eq and how to work Cubase, and I always found the people here really helpful.
OK, so I've been home recording for some years now in different rehearsal spaces and have gotten pretty good results (good enough for indie records, anyway). Now I live in a house and have got a concrete slab outside adjacent to our living room and my wife and I are want to build a music room/studio on it.

We live in a residential neighborhood, so I want to make it as soundproofed as possible. I also want to make it as large as possible, but I've got a couple limitations (property lines, available space). Its not going to be huge, I'm not going to build a control room (I've never worked with one before), and I'm not trying to create Electric Lady Land. I just want to be able to record rock and roll songs without disturbing everyone in the house and pissing off my neighbors.

I'm reading "Home Recording Studio: Build it like the pros" and its helpful, but some of it is a little heady for me. My main question: Is STC 63 a lot?

Also, has anyone used Soundproof Windows inc?
In particular, the sliding glass doors.

OK, that's all for now. I think this is going to be a really fun project. And hopefully it will get documented here as it goes.

-Adam
 
Can't answer your questions yet, but, I have plans in my head to do the same in my covered porch after I sell another property that I have on the market. The space is about 28' x 18' or so. It has what was 3 areas of screens that will be sliding glass doors. Those will have a series of portable covers built. Should be an interesting project if I ever get to it (hopefully). I wish you luck on your project. By the way, mine is in Vero Beach and I notice you're somewhere in Fl also. Feel free to say where it is if you want to.
 
Double walls. With dead space between each wall. Same with windows and doors. Nobody on the outside will hear a thing. Now if you are willing to pay...
 
Double walls. With dead space between each wall. Same with windows and doors. Nobody on the outside will hear a thing
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I think its sliiiiightly more complicated than that. I don't think just simply slapping up 2 pieces of drywall with nothing in between will do much. But who am I :)

Drew
 
I'm going to do a 2 leaf system with insulation and double drywall on either side for the walls. My contractor mentioned using mass loaded vinyl on the walls. Has anyone used this? I'm hesitant to spend loads extra for soundproofing materials when using regular materials the right way will soundproof just as well.
 
OK, so here is the basic layout I'd like to work with. I'd like to have the studio attached to the home but if it ends up being a separate building, so be it. I'm including glass sliders because they are consistent with the design of the house. One salesman has bad mouthed sliders in regards to isolation to me, and another has praised them. I don't like salesmen.

I'm going to go with one STC 56 swinging door. My wife does not like the idea of a door opening into the hall and being visible from the living room. "Looks trashy" she said. Is a single door system a bad idea?

I've also got some space constraints (property lines). That is why I've got the sharp angled wall. I'm hoping the odd shape will help with the mode of the room.
This is about a 177 sq. ft. room with 10 foot ceilings. I was hoping for 2000 cubic feet, but space does not permit.

I'm going to go with a furring channel and whisper clips and green glue on the walls (instead of true double walls) to save some floor space.

Please let me know what you think.
studio2.webp
one square = one square foot
 
That's an odd-angled room.

The mix position is going to be awkward no matter where you put it with that room shape.
 
Definitely need a mirror to find reflection points there. I really don't know where to start treating that room. Fill the whole closet with rockwool to start I suppose. And maybe bass traps in the wall/ceiling corners. Good luck in there. :D
 
What you want is balance between the walls especially on either side of your desk. Your stereo image will be difficult to hear correctly in this setup. Not saying it won't work, but less than ideal for sure. I would consult someone like JH Brandt. He was very helpful to me without charging. I believe he is a member on this forum but hear from him more over at Gearslutz.JH Brandt - Recording Studio Design & Acoustics Home
 
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How large is the slab you have to work with? I would build to the extents of the slab, and worry about the interior configuration after your outside envelope is finished.
How close/open minded/friendly are your neighbors? If they are very close (<20') it will be really tough for you to play with any kind of hard hitting drummer without a serious investment in your space.
Please do spend some significant time planning this. It's heartbreaking to see a lot of work put into something nearly all for nought.
Can you build this space out of masonry? That will be a huge head start imho.
A shed roof (flat, with a pitch) could also do some good things for you space wise.

1) adequate space - large enough to be useful? far enough away from neighbors to be practical? Have you given thought to HVAC concerns?
I'm using a sharp "library quiet" portable AC, works very good for my purposes. Since soundproofing almost means airtight/superinsulated, it will get warm in your studio, quick.



2) safety - fireproofing? no ungainly exits or locking doors? adequate emergency lighting?
Doors need to open out, so that they cannot be blocked from the inside the studio. I don't remember who posited the scenario on this forum - you are jamming away in your space, and some bit of electrical wiring goes south, starting a smoky fire and cutting off the lights when the circuit breaker flips. Now you are in a very cramped, (Drums, desks, mics, monitors, all sorts of stuff) very dark room, that is rapidly filling with lethal fumes.

3) acoustic properties - bass traps, reverb control. High quality double hung or casement windows will do fine. Old, clapped out single pane sliders will obviously be much less effective.

4) that is going to be a really awkward, crowded space. Why do you have a futon in there? It's a music room, not a bedroom. Lose the futon, you will really need that space for guitar amps etc. Speaking of that, small will be better in a space that size - I would venture to say you do not need PA monitors, (Use headphones), and bass/guitar amps either modeled or, at the most, single 12" speakers. The less crap you have in there, the more spacious it will seem. Relocate anything that does not need to be in the room with you (CPU, UPS, power amps etc) -
it will give you more space, cut down on noise and HVAC load.
feel free to contact me offline if you have any questions.
Cheers and good luck.
C>

My two cents, ymmv.
 
OK, so truthfully, this will be a bit of an all purpose room/recording studio/rehearsal space/man cave/crash pad, so yeah, there is going to be some extra stuff in there. That's why I'm going for a big closet.

I am curious about hvac. If the room will be hooked up to the central a/c will I be ef'd or are there things I can do? Is there a way I can just block off the vents when things get loud?
 
miroslav said:
Sounds like the opening line at a studio-less-holics group therapy meeting! :D

;)
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Hi I m Henry.

everyone together - Hi Henry.

I have a studio.

Here and there erratic feed back - I m there for you dude / been there / try the HR 12 step program / took me ten years but I kicked that habit. :D



The goings on behind closed doors!
 
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