Please Evaluate my Plans

[Todzilla]

I am enclosing three gifs of the proposed acoustic treatment of my li'l studio, HUGE sound generation and capture facility. I seek a reality check and any other feedback from everyone with an opinion and/or expertise.

Some notes:
1) The space is complete (although an empty shell). Thus, walls, windows, doors, loft space, etc... is as it is.

2) Construction is sand-filled cinderblocks. Windows are sealed. Walls are stucco. Floors are plywood on joists over a crawlspace. Sound-proofing is not a big issue.

3) I am going for a single medium sized room for tracking and control, rather than two puny separate rooms. I don't want a really dead space, but I want it to sound "Smooth & Lively." Compromises abound, but that's okay.

4) I have a buget of about $1000 for acoustic treatment. I am pretty handy with my table saw and other power tools, so I am ready to go there.

5) I found a supplier of OC 703 for $10 a 2' X 4' sheet of 2"

6) I will tweak as I go, but I thought it would help to have a good starting point.

Please give me some feedback before I jump into the deep end...

Here's the East/West views...

 

[Todzilla]

Here are the North South views...

I should point out that the ceilings are cathedral with a high trussing (if that's what it's called) so that the top of the "triangle" is truncated a wee bit, yielding a three foot wide surface parallel to the floor. That's why I went with the polys on the ceiling.

 

[Todzilla]

...and here is the overhead view.

I hope the drawings of furniture, drapes and monitoring position are self-explanatory. If not, I can update.

Anyway, I've read the SAE site repeatedly, have digested the Everest books to the extent of my attention span, and I am ready to ham-fistedly put it all together. I know I'll need to adjust as I go and as my ears direct me, but I need to order a bunch of 703 insulation, burlap and lumber, so I need a rough idea of where to start.

Thanks. Now I'll duck and cover...

 

[frederic]

Here are the North South views...

I should point out that the ceilings are cathedral with a high trussing (if that's what it's called) so that the top of the "triangle" is truncated a wee bit, yielding a three foot wide surface parallel to the floor. That's why I went with the polys on the ceiling.

looking good my friend... you wouldn't happen to have a floorplan with where you plan to have your monitors, console, and possibly racks?

 

[frederic]

looking good my friend... you wouldn't happen to have a floorplan with where you plan to have your monitors, console, and possibly racks?

Nevermind, I posted between two of your pictures

At a quick glance, it looks very good, if I may say so. I am not sure what you are thinking about the doors, but you might find a better seal with a single door, rather than double doors that hinge away from each other - air leaks are easy to get and hard to remove.

But I like the design, maximum use of minimal space, looks good.

 

[Todzilla]

fred, you are quick on the mouse!

The monitors are on the hugeoh.gif file as black squares (mounted on sandfilled PVC tubes).

The equipment racks will be under the desk surface.

The mixing board will lie centered in on the desk surface.

As for the doors, my builder (a pretty good bass player) recommended the doors which are french double doors. They are aggregious for sound leakage yes, but they let in lots of light, which is good. Also, the double doors are a dream for load in and load out, which my drummers love! I will put heavy curtains in the entry way, in front of each set of doors, to help make it a viable ISO room, but I know it will not be ideal in terms of isolation. For true isolation, I send the wife and kids to Disneyworld and run cables to the main house, 50 feet away...

 

[John Sayers]

That's looking really good Todzilla - I agree about having double doors for loadin/out

I'm a little confused about the hanging sheets of 703??

could you describe what you intended here??

cheers
John

 

[Todzilla]

John,

Thanks for your reply!

The hanging 703 was inspired more or less by http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/Low Frequencies.htm .

The idea is that I have an average ceiling height of 11.5 feet, which is pretty sweet. I want to be able to use that height to put some form of further absorption without diminishing the usable footprint of the room, which of course will be dedicated to housing a jungle of wires intermingled with old beer bottles. ;^)

If you can see a better use of this space (e.g., more polys mounted on the ceiling a la Everest's small studio plans in Budget Designs for Recording Studios), please advise.

I'll be the first to admit that my plan is a little like a Frankenstein monster of studio plans- a hand from here, eyeball from there, stitch together and hope it doesn't sound like crap.

Cheers,

Todzilla

Wow! I'm a Senior Member now!

 

[frederic]

Well, double doors are not the end of the world of course, just that you might have to pay some attention to them from an acoustical standpoint.

You can tack (meaning glue) alternating felt/rubber strips along the edges of the doors on top and on the edge that faces the other doors, creating a reasonable air-lock. This is not expensive to do, just time consuming to cut off 1/4" rubber and felt strips. its been done before with good results. Just make sure your doors are seperated by 3/8" so you have room for the felt/rubber, which when the doors are closed will compress together in the 3/8" space.

which is good. Also, the double doors are a dream for load in and load out, which my drummers love! I will put heavy curtains in the entry way, in front of each set of doors, to help make it

Yes, absolutely agree on loading issues. This is one of the major problems I cannot easily fix in my home studio. The entrance to the rest of the house is a 24" wide door and only 5.5' high. Requires turning sideways and ducking to get in. My ampeg stack sits in the bedroom on the other side because it doesn't fit through the door, and I've been too lazy to hump it downstairs, around the side of the house, and up the stairwell that also allows access to my home studio. When I need it I will. I bought a smaller modeling amp, and that fit (once I took it out of the box) so problem solved for now.

 

[Todzilla]

Bumpety ump...

Anyone have thoughts on my ceiling approach? Should I consider a cloud? a bunch of polys mounted on the sloping ceiling? A series of day-glo zodiac love position posters? Photoshopped pictures of Bush and bin Laden as gay leather bitches?

I got it! How about a gazillion egg cartons?

Seriously, Any thoughts on how to take advantage of the relatively high cathedral ceilings?

Mister Sayers? fred?