Rough Draft Studio Design Sketch

[phatmass]

Hello all. It's been a while since I posted here, but I'm finally building my own home studio, and would love some advise.

I bought a home that has an add-on room w/ 3 exterior walls. Overall it's about 14x14 feet big. In the image, I've marked the exterior walls in green, and the interior wall in red.

I haven't constructed any of the walls yet, so basically I have a 14x14ft blank canvas. Here's what I'm thinking about doing:

I'm a Christian hip-hop producer (wannabe), so I don't need the same setup as a rock band. Basically, a place to record vocals, and a place to put my turntables. I'm also hoping to construct a small sound proof closet-sized room to set up as a "prayer room", to escape the wife, kids and chaos for a few minutes every day (yes, I'm weird).

Please look at the attached image and let me know if there are any major flaws in my design. Specifically, here's some of the things I have questions about:

- I plan on putting foam on all the areas marked in ORANGE. Good? Bad?
- I plan on constructing a sound-proof wall (double wall) with 2 sets of cheaper sliding glass doors to use as an entry to the soundbooth. Would it be better to use 2 cheap sliding glass doors w/ air in between them or just buy a single, more expensive sliding glass door?
- What is the best way to run mic cables to the soundbooth. Ceiling? Walls?
- Will the planned exterior door be a problem? Should I scrap it and just keep the only access to the studio through the main house?

Thanks!

 

[mshilarious]

- I plan on putting foam on all the areas marked in ORANGE. Good? Bad?

You need symmetry around your mix position, but there's that sliding glass door on the left. You're gonna have to change something to resolve that.

- What is the best way to run mic cables to the soundbooth. Ceiling? Walls?

I think the walls would be the shortest path.

- Will the planned exterior door be a problem? Should I scrap it and just keep the only access to the studio through the main house?

No, the exterior door will be OK. Those french doors will leak sound into the house big time though.

 

[phatmass]

You need symmetry around your mix position, but there's that sliding glass door on the left. You're gonna have to change something to resolve that.

Hmmm... Do you think if I duplicate the angle of the sliding glass door on the opposite side of the monitors it'd help? Or maybe move the mix position to the opposite wall? That would make it harder to run cables to the sound booth, but is it worth it to get good sound for mixing?

No, the exterior door will be OK. Those french doors will leak sound into the house big time though

Yeah. The french door are already there though, and I've asked my wife for permission. She says they're pretty and is willing to live with the noise rather than replace them with a better solution. haha

 

[Hubbawho]

I would take your entire mixing area, (desk, computer, hardware, ect,) and place it so that the back of that desk is now against the outside wall of your "sound proof prayer room." This would still be close enough to easily run cables back and forth from the "isolation booth," while still improving your monitoring situation. If symettry is still a problem, you might think about constructing a very cheap vertical wall to the right of where your new mixing area is. (this way, you would have a distinct mixing room in the shape of a rectangle) In this case, you may have to re-think how to set up the vocal booth. You would also have to probably move that exterior door. Sorry if I didn't help. Good luck.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Heres my .02. At least what I would do.
fitZ

 

[notbradsohner]

good idea Mr. Fitzpatrick!

Phatmass, This way, you will have a prayer room and sound booth that are of equal size, and your room is symetrical.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

good idea Mr. Fitzpatrick!

PULEEEEEEEEEZE..call me Rick I aint no stinkin Mr.... (thanks for your respect though notbradsohner. You are a gentleman)

 

[phatmass]

Heres my .02. At least what I would do.
fitZ

That's pretty awesome. There is one problem though. The french doors are very wide, and only leave about 3 feet of space on either side of the door.

What if I took out the angle for the sound booth (isolation booth)? I could simply build it straight in line with the wall. This would create a rectangle room for my mixing station. Would this work, or would the glass still create a problem being on the left?

 

[phatmass]

Based on y'all's advice, I've made a couple of changes to the plan:

Do you think this is a better layout? Also, does anyone have any comments on my question regarding the double set of sliding glass doors? Is this a good idea or is there a better (around the same price) option for a door into the isolation booth.

I like the double sliding glass doors because it allows me to see through without the need for a window and doesn't require space for a swinging door to open.

 

[phatmass]

Hey, I think this might be my best solution yet... I put the isolation booth on the opposite side. Even though I'll have to look backwards to see inside, and run the cables a little further, I think it'll be worth it because I'll now have symmetry around the mixing position. What do y'all think?

Will it make much of a difference to have the isolation booth on the left? I'd prefer it on the right, but if it will make a big difference in my sound quality, then I'm willing to put it on the left.

Thanks so much for all the help!

Oh, I've also added plans to put a wicked sweet carpet on the floor. I think it works. hahaha

 

[Mach311]

Hey Phatmass, what program are you using to make those drawings?

Also, you might as well go ahead and plan some space in there for bass traps in the corners at least.

 

[phatmass]

Hey Phatmass, what program are you using to make those drawings? Also, you might as well go ahead and plan some space in there for bass traps in the corners at least.

I'm using Photoshop.

Base traps. Good idea. I might not be able to afford them, but if so, one in each corner is good? I've added them to the design:

 

[mshilarious]

This drawing has big scale issues which make to hard to make recommendations. An exterior door has to be 36", which would make the french doors something like 6' each. Can you straighten out the dimensions?

 

[Mach311]

Base traps. Good idea. I might not be able to afford them, but if so, one in each corner is good?

Well, it's a start anyway. You can make your own if you're on a tight budget. There's a TON of info on this subject. Do a search for "bass traps" and make a pot of coffee.

Good info:
Link
Link 2
Absorption Numbers
Make your own

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

An exterior door has to be 36",

Hey mshilarious, I have two exterior doors out back that are 32" and a set of french doors upstairs-both 32". Not that his are, but regardless of codes, existing stuff in peoples homes that are built over the years are NOT always up to code. Especially MY house But you are surely right. I was guessing when I drew my .02. Thats the trouble with this "forum" stuff. Nothing is usually dimensioned accurately. And thats when people get in trouble. Especially with human scale.
fitZ

 

[phatmass]

Thanks guys. I'll break out some graph paper and draw up a near perfect scale diagram as soon as I can. I look forward to hearing some more feedback. This forum is great.

In the meantime, doesn't anyone have an opinion on the sliding glass door questions I posed earlier?

 

[deepwater]

You can have everyone pray before they come to the studio and you can say a prayer before the session. By doing that you have more room for the recording studio.

 

[phatmass]

You can have everyone pray before they come to the studio and you can say a prayer before the session. By doing that you have more room for the recording studio.

Ummm.... no.

 

[phatmass]

I finally finished the EXACT plans, down to the inch. This should be perfectly scaled, from the walls down to the chair size. hahaha

Any suggestions?

 

[frederic]

Make your recording room and the prayer room one in the same, and the recording room larger for more effective recording.