Ok, Acoustics gurus - help me lay out an awful space :D

DrewPeterson7

DrewPeterson7

Sage of the Order
This one's going to be fun - ahh, the joys of living and recording in a room in Boston. :D

The gist - I'm moving to a new room in my apartment, which is a little bigger than the one I have now. I'm in the middle of repainting it now (it REALLY needs it), and when finished I'll be moving in and, eventually, building and installing a few broadband absorbers.

It's almost a 12x12' box, but it has a corner lopped off, a partially angled wall, and then a little extension (and really, it's more 12x12'2"). It also has to hold a queen sized bed and a dresser, plus my amp and a few odds and ends. The bed basically has to go along one or the other of the unbroken walls.

I just ordered a new desk - the logical place to put it would be centered on whatever wall my bed isn't, but dimensions are 59" and change at the longest edge, but it's a little tapered so it MAY fit snugly against the little lopped off section, which actually wouldn't give THAT asymetrical a mixing space, though the slanted ceiling would compound things slightly.

Thoughts? What would you guys do with this space, both in terms of layout and of treatment? I'll post pictures of it in progress later, but for how here's links to the Sketchup file, and then a layout shot.


http://www.drewpeterson.org/bedroom.skp
 

Attachments

  • bedroom.png
    bedroom.png
    53.6 KB · Views: 188
A quick thought is to elevate the bed and put your mixing desk under it. Possible??

Another thought, put your desk in the alcove, but mount your monitors elsewhere. You won't be looking at the computer when mixing, but you might be able to come up with a new workflow.
 
Not really - ceiling comes in at about 7'2". Since I'm 6', that doesn't leave me much room to work.

Also, I'm 29 - I'd like to have a room that, while a functional enough studio, I can still have sex in, which means no lofted bed. :laughings:
 
Damn those Boston apartments anyways.... :mad:

I also meant to say, I'm not a guru at this stuff, so I probably shouldn't have responded. :D
 
Hey Drew....
After viewing your drawing and if the guy in the picture is a representation of you and you plan on getting laid in your studio .....
I suggest an all new line of wardrobe! :laughings:






:cool:
 
Very helpful. :rolleyes:



:laughings: No, that's just the default sketchup dude that's already there when you open a template. I didn't bother to delete him - I'm not sure if you can. :laughings:
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
:laughings: No, that's just the default sketchup dude that's already there when you open a template. I didn't bother to delete him - I'm not sure if you can. :laughings:
Click to expand...

There's an option to remove him, but that's probably the only thing I know about Sketchup. he does help give a perspective to your room size.
 
Trap all the corners you can get to and make sure your hears are 4'6" from the front wall. There's not much else you can really do man. As far as reflection points/ceiling go, I wouldn't put a panel under 4" thick in that space. You're going to need all the low end treatment you can get.
 
Thanks. :yesway:

So, I moved in (sorta) last night. I'm thinking of laying it out something like the attachment, red dot being approximate monitoring position. Acoustically, with the slant ceiling and the corner behind me would that be a disaster? At the very least, I'm thinking I'd get very few direct reflections off the surface behind me, but a lot of indirect ones.

Also, this is an acoustic space I'll be tracking in - mostly electric guitars, but also acoustics, the occasional vocal, and hopefully drums.

EDIT - that's assuming the desk I just bought fits there - if not, I'll be moving it to where the dresser is, most likely.
 

Attachments

  • room2.JPG
    room2.JPG
    18.3 KB · Views: 137
You don't want the slanted ceiling behind you. You want the room to open up behind you, so you need to be facing that alcove. I know it's not what you want to do, but that's the right thing to do acoustically. That said, you also have to live AND track in there, so...
 
You don't want the slanted ceiling behind you. You want the room to open up behind you, so you need to be facing that alcove.
Click to expand...
Ditto Frank.(no time for the rear wall)
is.php

is.php

is.php





fitZ:)
 
I'd stick the bed in the alcove, and put the mixing position between the two parallel walls, so that you will have symmetry in your listening position.
 
I'd stick the bed in the alcove, and put the mixing position between the two parallel walls, so that you will have symmetry in your listening position
Click to expand...



Symmetry? Really?


ummm, Casey...phullllleeeeeeze, go back to bed.













is.php
 
I'm resuggesting to break the law that says monitors need to be near the mixing desk. Put the desk where it fits and put your monitors where they sound best. You may not be facing the computer when listening, but this room calls for compromises. Get creative.
 
RICK FITZPATRICK said:
ps...this was a quickie. Theres more to come.:)
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting up, Rick, you've always seemed pretty damned knowledgable about this stuff and I appreciate your impact.

Here's the problem, though - I also have to get a queen-sized bed into the room (60"x80" or so), as well as my dresser, which I'd guess is about 3' wide, 18" deep, and probably 4 1/2-5' tall (I can give you exact measurements tonight). I also have a, um, call it a quarter stack - a Mesa Roadster head and a Recto 2x12 cab - that has to fit in here somewhere, and the closet's small enough that I'll need a laundry hamper in the room instead of in the closet. Again, the challenge here isn't the space - you've set it up pretty close to what I'd have done if I was just using it to record - but rather the fact that it also needs to be a room I can sleep and study in.

Another detail I left off but probably shouldn't have - there's a heater in the alcove against the wall closest to the straight side.

I've got a new desk arriving tomorrow. I'll know by then if I can fit it inside the alcove, but even then it's a small enough space that I'd have to put it mostly inside the alcove, and that could be problematic even then since the room's only window (and, in turn, only space for a fan or AC unit) is in the alcove.

I wasn't kidding when I said it was an awful space. :D
 
Chili said:
I'm resuggesting to break the law that says monitors need to be near the mixing desk. Put the desk where it fits and put your monitors where they sound best. You may not be facing the computer when listening, but this room calls for compromises. Get creative.
Click to expand...

This actually might not be a horrible solution - I could conceivably try to wall-mount my monitors where Rick has them positioned, then just turn around when I wanted to do more critical listening...
 
I do too, and if it didn't have to double as a bedroom and if the desk wasn't blocking access to the only window, I'd totally do it. :/

...though, come to think of it, my AC has a remote...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top