Need suggestions for new mix/edit/post-production control room!

[Steve Henningsgard]

We're planning on renovating our current "coffee/break/misc. stuff" room into a new mix/edit suite slash post-production B-Room for our studio. Right now, our current thoughts include:

- bass traps in the four wall-wall corners, and potentially on the front and potentially side wall-ceiling corners
- mid/high absorbers at the first reflection points on the left & right walls and the rear wall
- some sort of cloud above the mix position

As far as I've heard, I think diffusers would be somewhat pointless or counterproductive in such a small room. Is this true?


Current Construction:
Construction-wise, at least three of the walls are non-insulated, single-layer sheetrock with metal studs, and the other is either the same, or possibly sheetrock on concrete (we'll have to investigate). The ceiling is concrete, and there is a huge concrete-wrapped-in-sheetrock beam on the left wall, and plain concrete on the ceiling. Needless to say, it isn't the perfect room, but the dimensions seem to be pretty well suited to a small control room, ratio-wise (1:1.26:1.443 if I did it right?), and we're willing to do some work to make it better.


Resources
For resources, I just bought three boxes of 703, and have a source for more. We also found five fabric-wrapped, 41.5"x64.5"x1" panels of what appears to be 705. I was throwing around the idea of making a sort of hybrid cloud/false slanted ceiling out of them, in the name of aesthetics and removing at least one set of parallel reflecting surfaces, but I'm not sure if it'd make much of a difference, or would be the best use of materials.


Goals:
I'd really like to make this room sound as good as it can, as well as LOOK as good as it can, but functionality > form, of course. My main concern is keeping the room from feeling any smaller than it absolutely has to. I realize it's a small room to begin with, but if it could comfortably fit two on a couch and one or two in front of the monitors, that would be ideal.

We'd like to be able to eventually mix in 5.1 in this room, but we'll be starting out just in stereo for now.

Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be much appreciated, as I haven't really done much of this kind of stuff.


Two views of the room I did in SketchUp:

 

[jhbrandt]

We're planning on renovating our current "coffee/break/misc. stuff" room into a new mix/edit suite slash post-production B-Room for our studio. Right now, our current thoughts include:

- bass traps in the four wall-wall corners, and potentially on the front and potentially side wall-ceiling corners
- mid/high absorbers at the first reflection points on the left & right walls and the rear wall
- some sort of cloud above the mix position

As far as I've heard, I think diffusers would be somewhat pointless or counterproductive in such a small room. Is this true?

All of the above look good. If the back is far enough away, and you are building an RFZ design, diffusion is possible. Your ideal mix position will be 62 1/4" from the front wall, so that will put you about 8 feet from the wall behind you. A PRD array would work nicely there.

Current Construction:
Construction-wise, at least three of the walls are non-insulated, single-layer sheetrock with metal studs, and the other is either the same, or possibly sheetrock on concrete (we'll have to investigate). The ceiling is concrete, and there is a huge concrete-wrapped-in-sheetrock beam on the left wall, and plain concrete on the ceiling. Needless to say, it isn't the perfect room, but the dimensions seem to be pretty well suited to a small control room, ratio-wise (1:1.26:1.443 if I did it right?), and we're willing to do some work to make it better.

The current dimensions are great and show a good Bonello distribution chart. Do you need more isolation?? If so, these good dimensions will change... You are currently right close to the minimum recommended volume at 1602 cubic feet.

Resources
For resources, I just bought three boxes of 703, and have a source for more. We also found five fabric-wrapped, 41.5"x64.5"x1" panels of what appears to be 705. I was throwing around the idea of making a sort of hybrid cloud/false slanted ceiling out of them, in the name of aesthetics and removing at least one set of parallel reflecting surfaces, but I'm not sure if it'd make much of a difference, or would be the best use of materials.

You will need as much trapping as you can get in that room. Ceiling and as many corners as possible.

Goals:
I'd really like to make this room sound as good as it can, as well as LOOK as good as it can, but functionality > form, of course. My main concern is keeping the room from feeling any smaller than it absolutely has to. I realize it's a small room to begin with, but if it could comfortably fit two on a couch and one or two in front of the monitors, that would be ideal.

Form follows function. Treating properly, you should still have room for a loveseat - & two at the desk.

We'd like to be able to eventually mix in 5.1 in this room, but we'll be starting out just in stereo for now.

5.1 might be pushing it. But it can be done... It's different design for surround mixing.

Good luck with your project. There is more information on my publications page.

Cheers,
John