let me see your studio!

[studiomaster]

MEEEEEEE. It's still under construction though. The exterior is done, and is being painted...right now infact. It's all insulated and now we gotta start work on the interior. Firstly gotta install the ventilation fans and vents, then plasterboard everything, then put up a partition wall and build some doors then who knows.

Never knew it takes that much work.

 

[pandamonk]

Never knew it takes that much work.

Hell yeah!! So much more than that. That's a brief summary of what we still gotta do lol

 

[Notfonts]

Hell yeah!! So much more than that. That's a brief summary of what we still gotta do lol

I can relate, lol

 

[pandamonk]

I think probably everyone here can

 

[pandamonk]

Looky at it!!!!!!

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Never knew it takes that much work.

Ignorance is bliss

 

[Guitar-MJ]

here's my studio 4 years ago

 

[Seeker of Rock]

This is a hand-drawn sketch, roughly to scale except for the wall at the bottom of the page will extend further than drawn by about a foot and a half. Closet will be for general storage including guitars. I thought about and still may need to partition or build a full wall to isolate vocals, I just hate to lose the acoustic reflections in the little space that I have. So for now it is not shown. Any advice on partitions or walls or interior layout?

 

[studiomaster]

Looks good!

 

[pandamonk]

This is a hand-drawn sketch, roughly to scale except for the wall at the bottom of the page will extend further than drawn by about a foot and a half. Closet will be for general storage including guitars. I thought about and still may need to partition or build a full wall to isolate vocals, I just hate to lose the acoustic reflections in the little space that I have. So for now it is not shown. Any advice on partitions or walls or interior layout?

Why not record vocals in the closet? Also you mixing position should be in the center of 1 wall. This is how i think your room should be setup(attached pic).

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Appreciate the input, I do. But if I want my control room to face a wall, why not just put up a wall in front of the board in the layout I have? Why move things around? The only reason I did not was to keep an "open" sounding room and not shorten the reflections (given I'm new to this thread but it would seem in a space this tight that taking advantage of every inch would be important). Anyway, let me give a little more detail...that may help. I have an Alesis DM Pro kit. Would I like to expand to acoutic drums some day? Maybe, but not anytime soon, and I have structure I am building onto if I decide to expand. For now, DM Pro is what I'll be using.

Bass, I go direct into a joemeek VC1Qcs into a Mackie 24.8. Vocals go through joemeek also, VC3 original, MQ3, or VC1Qcs (yeah, I am joemeek biased, but I mainly have these because I assign all 6 outputs of the DM Pro unit to individual channels on the board and eventually to the recorder, and joemeek does wonders (in my opinion) with the DM Pro, and exceptionally well on vocals and amp'ed guitars.

And speaking of which, I always mic my guitar tracks. I don't think I would ever want to compromise that, but that is just a personal preference. So I want as much reflective property as I can out of a little 13'X14' interior space.

Now this is CBS (concrete block structure) structure, like the garage it is sharing one wall with. Concrete slab floor with an elevated hardwood floor as the finish. Double drywall for the interior walls as I have seen recommended here. Ceiling from what I have read may be good as a second reflection from the floors, so I'm thinking tongue-and-groove wood right now, unless that is a poor choice...theory being, and what I've read, reflective on the floor and ceiling is good, reflections from the sides should be controlled, and 90 degree corners are generally not good.

I cut the form boards for the foundation tonight. Still have to level and nail them to the stakes (already squared and leveled) and then prepare for the foundation pour, hopefully this weekend. Of course I need to concentrate on the structure first, and anything interior is still up for grabs.

Anyway, so should I isolate the control room, given it will take up precious volume? The board has a separate power supply with a fan but it is pretty quiet. Alesis HD24 is quiet. Outboard gear is not making much noise. To me, it doesn't seem like a priority, but maybe I'm wrong. And if I am, I wonder if I could build something convertible, retractable so when I need isolation during mixing I could put the wall into place, but leave things open when micing electric guitars, acoustic guitars and vocals. What do you think?

 

[Shout It Out]

This is my new setup I am using, next step rigid fiberglass...

 

[pandamonk]

But if I want my control room to face a wall, why not just put up a wall in front of the board in the layout I have? Why move things around?

Because you are situated in the corner, and bass frequencies build up in the corners, so you wont hear what it actually sounds like, and you will make your mixes sound good in that position, but then take them elsewhere and it'll sound awful.

reflective on the floor and ceiling is good, reflections from the sides should be controlled, and 90 degree corners are generally not good.

Well, its better to have reflective floor and absorbtion on the ceiling and side walls at the first reflection points, in a room this size. Also, most rooms have problems in the bass frequencies so bass traps should be added, and most if not all of the sound from the speakers end up at the back wall at some point, so it is good to add absorbsion(or diffusion if in a larger room)to the back wall. In a room of this size, the reflections aren't really gonna do you any good, so you're best to add absorbsion to get a flat response, and add the reverb later.

Anyway, so should I isolate the control room, given it will take up precious volume? The board has a separate power supply with a fan but it is pretty quiet. Alesis HD24 is quiet. Outboard gear is not making much noise. To me, it doesn't seem like a priority, but maybe I'm wrong. And if I am, I wonder if I could build something convertible, retractable so when I need isolation during mixing I could put the wall into place, but leave things open when micing electric guitars, acoustic guitars and vocals. What do you think?

It's not so much about the noise from your equipment getting into the mic, although that can sometimes be a problem, but about being able to hear what's coming through your speakers so you can tweak the sound in the recording process, instead of in the mix. It is better to make it sound good in the recording process, because, like the phrase, "you can't polish a turd". You are building the closet into this room, why not build an isolated booth instead? I'll draw and post a pic on how i'd do this, later.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

You are building the closet into this room, why not build an isolated booth instead? I'll draw and post a pic on how i'd do this, later.

Do I really need an isolated booth? A room this size is almost an isolated booth in itself, don't you think?

 

[pandamonk]

Do I really need an isolated booth? A room this size is almost an isolated booth in itself, don't you think?

Isolated from the mixing environment, so that you can record without equipment noise in the background, but more importatnly so you can hear what's coming the through your speakers.

 

[Seeker of Rock]

Isolated from the mixing environment, so that you can record without equipment noise in the background, but more importatnly so you can hear what's coming the through your speakers.

Well let's see...I'm a one-man band, so I guess I track the instruments I actually mic (guitar and vocals) in the control room and use the monitors instead of headphones? Sounds more like I need an isolated control room, not a tracking booth.

Oh yeah, let's get into some materials. I plan on wood floors that will be suspended on wood joists elevated above a poured in place concrete slab. As I mentioned before, the structural walls will be concrete block with pine 2x4 flat fastened with tapcons, then (as I understand is good for sound) double layer of drywall for the finish. BTW, what thickness of drywall do you recommend if doubling?

Ceiling I had planned on tongue-and-groove wood, but if the consensus here is to drywall and treat with some absorbant, then who am I to argue good advice.

 

[JeffLancaster]

Well let's see...I'm a one-man band, so I guess I track the instruments I actually mic (guitar and vocals) in the control room and use the monitors instead of headphones? Sounds more like I need an isolated control room, not a tracking booth.

Oh yeah, let's get into some materials. I plan on wood floors that will be suspended on wood joists elevated above a poured in place concrete slab. As I mentioned before, the structural walls will be concrete block with pine 2x4 flat fastened with tapcons, then (as I understand is good for sound) double layer of drywall for the finish. BTW, what thickness of drywall do you recommend if doubling?

Ceiling I had planned on tongue-and-groove wood, but if the consensus here is to drywall and treat with some absorbant, then who am I to argue good advice.

If you're only recording yourself it's probably best to just have one single room and maximize the space you have. Use headphones when tracking your vocals or mic'ed instruments. That's what I do - it seems silly to have to run from one room to the other if you're just recording yourself. You can build some freestanding absortion panels to temporarily put up around you if you find it necessary when tracking vocals.

Panda's giving good advice about your layout - I'd listen to it.

By the way, how about moving this discussion to it's own thread, and let this one get back to what it was intended for.

 

[JeffLancaster]

This is my new setup I am using, next step rigid fiberglass...

Lookin good - keep at it!

 

[pandamonk]

Well let's see...I'm a one-man band, so I guess I track the instruments I actually mic (guitar and vocals) in the control room and use the monitors instead of headphones? Sounds more like I need an isolated control room, not a tracking booth.

Oh yeah, let's get into some materials. I plan on wood floors that will be suspended on wood joists elevated above a poured in place concrete slab. As I mentioned before, the structural walls will be concrete block with pine 2x4 flat fastened with tapcons, then (as I understand is good for sound) double layer of drywall for the finish. BTW, what thickness of drywall do you recommend if doubling?

Ceiling I had planned on tongue-and-groove wood, but if the consensus here is to drywall and treat with some absorbant, then who am I to argue good advice.

So you're just recording yourself. Ahh, if only i'd known. Yeh keep it just 1 room, and record with headphones. How will you be building your roof? Cause concrete blocks will give reasonable isolation for walls, but this could all be lost if the roof isn't constructed well. Also, its probably better if you decouple the drywall studs from the concrete block. Check the attached pic.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Cause concrete blocks will give reasonable isolation for walls, but this could all be lost if the roof isn't constructed well.

I agree with what pandamonk said. But lets get REALLY real.

I plan on wood floors that will be suspended on wood joists elevated above a poured in place concrete slab.

Why? All you are doing is building a DRUM HEAD between the walls. What do you gain in LOW FREQUENCY TRANSMISSION LOSS?. That IS the bottom line. PERIOD. You should read this whole thread to undrstand why.
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2921&sid=a6f742835bc777a98de7a3abd5ef6075
Really

The bottom line is defining how much TRANSMISSION LOSS you ACTUALLY need, defining it to the point you can substantially put it into concrete terms, and then understanding the principles of RATED ASSEMBLIES, and then DESIGN your assemblys to meet your goal. ONLY THEN CAN YOU APPLY FOR A BUILDING PERMIT Don't even try to fool yourself OR US.
Building ANY structure of this nature will absolutely require a permit. And that will require submitting a plan for approval. Why would anyone arbitrarily GUESS that their design will meet their TL goal, AND meet local building code without THOROUGH investigation of the realities of this type of construction.
fitZ