Unfinished Basement to Studio Conversion

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chantelar
  • Start date Start date
C

Chantelar

New member
I am buying a house (we close next month) and plan on converting the unfinished basement into my studio.

I am going to be the main person recording in it. All of the instruments. So I will need everything in close proximity to me. Particularly the instruments and the controls have to be in the same area. I have to be able to click record on the computer or multi-track and then start playing the drums in 4 clicks. or sing in my ISO booth or play the piano, etc.

This is my main issue. If I surround myself with all of the equipment...I feel like I can't breathe. and creativity is stifled. (Plus I still need a way to get in and out!) I did get a extension cord for my multi-track's panel so that I can take it with my in the ISO booth. So vocals won't be much of an issue...but for the Midi stuff....I can't drag my computer around with me! I could buy several computers (one for mixing, one for keyboards, one for drums) and network them all together....but that is getting pricey! Let me know if you have any ideas.
Here is a list of some of my equipment:
*Electronic/Digital Drum kit
*Guitars and Amps
*2 Synth keyboard set up
*"Whisper Room" mobile ISO booth
*Bass Guitar (direct box)
*Cakewalk Pro Audio on a PC compatible computer
*Fostex R8 Multi-track (8 tracks)
*Fostex X-26 4 track
*Peavey 24 Channel Board (for mixing midi instruments and Mackie to mastering on the PC)
*Mackie CR1601 16 Channel Board (4 the R8)
*Effects rack
*Sync Box for multi-track and Midi
*Monitors, Mics, etc.
*Open "C" Shaped desk
*Numerous tables

Another problem is the room is not near square...it's rectangular and I haven't seen any plans for that on the net:
The room is 14 ft on side A, 40 ft on side B, 10.5 ft on side C (opposite side A) and side D is 11 foot long for and then goes back to the 14ft width and is 29 feet for the duration with doors on that side.

Side B also is 2 feet wider 16 feet from side A, continues for 12 feet and then narrows in width again to the 10.5 feet of side C.

A
________14"____
| |
| |
16' | |
| |
| |
B | | D
2'| |
| |
| | 29'
12' | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
12' | |3.5'
| | 11'
| |
____________

C 10.5'

Any ideas?

Thanks!
B. Zachary Bennett
 
Well the picture didn't post well....let me try again with out using the tab key..if this doesn't work the text will have to suffice. Thanks


A
________14"____
| |
| |
16' | |
| |
| |
B | | D
2'| |
| |
| | 29'
12' | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
12' | |3.5'
| | 11'
| |
___________

C 10.5'
 
Chantelar - I got your email and will get back to you

cheers
John
 
I'm doing the same thing... kinda

Well, I'm doing the same thing. About a year ago now I was in the exact same position you are in now. I was a month away from closing on a house and I was drawing up plans for the studio I planned on building in the basement. It's funny, I spent two months making plans off the drawings of the house I had, and when we moved in the plans I had come up with just wouldn't have worked and we ended up changing EVERYTHING. I had an odd shaped basement, but it has actually worked to our advantage now. Check out http://www.greysfiles.com/Studio/Index.htm for a look at the studio I'm building. Click on "Greys Studio." We've been building for about 9 months, maybe 10, I've lost track.
Anyway, to get to your ideas.... You said you want to be able to hit record and be behind a drum set before 4 clicks ended. I have to say that I've recorded all by my lonesome before and I've had no problems with doing drums. I had my desk with my computer on the opposite side of the room from my drums and I managed. All I did was, I put about 15 seconds of nothing before the lead in clicks. I would actually record the metronome as a track on my computer, that way you can just move it around, it's non-linear. So with 15 seconds of nothing, that gives me plenty of time to get behind my set and get my head phones on and grab my sticks. AND, I would suggest giving yourself 8 clicks to start recording your drums. Hell, sometimes I even do 12 clicks, wanna know why? Because you can listen to four clicks, tap your hi-hat for four clicks, and then pause for four clicks, and then start. Why? You might ask... Because the first four clicks get you ready while you're recording drums. The four taps to the hi-hat get you ready when you're going back and recording guitar and bass, or vocals. And the pause makes it easier later, you don't have to edit your drum track to make it silent before the drums start. When you record your drums you're going along to a metronome, but once your drums are done you forget about the metronome and JUST pay attention to the drums while recording guitar because you want everything synchronized to itself.

Haha :) Ok, so maybe I didn't answer your fundamental question, but maybe I helped you with your design by making you realize you don't have to be able to hit record from behind a drum set. Hell, you can even set a punch in time before hand, so you hit record and it won't start recording until it gets to the designated punch-in time. So you can even do that from "behind the set."

Later,
-Brian
 
Thanks

John, I look forward to your email. Thanks!

Thanks for your help Brian!
Common sense would help huh! I just don't want to have to get up alot! Lazy I suppose! When I am in a creative mood, I get VERY frustrated when things don't go my way.....you know, you get a wonderful idea and then the multitrack won't play or the computer freezes! thent eh mood is gone if not the idea itself! Kinda the same thing about getting up. You record your part but then keep messing up on a particularly difficult passage...so you have to keep going back and forth! Thanks again!
 
Amirel has purchased a remote keyboard and mouse transmit and receive, is that the kind of thing you are looking for..will get back didn't get home til 5am..xmas party time. :D

cheers
john
 
I guess I am really looking for direction on the whole thing. My basement is unfinished. I need to "soundproof" and "unparrallel" the walls, laydown carpet, install jacks for the audio cable and electricity, and arrange the room where I can use it best and most comfortably...and here's the kicker: permanentely.

I looked at the designs on the web and found that most have separate rooms for the control room and instrument rooms. Though this looks very professional, I am scared it will not be practical for my situtation...being as I will be wearing all the hats. Engineer, producer, musician, vocalist..most of the time...all by myself.

I am using midi for everything that I can: electronic drum set, synths, samplers...but I have the 8 track reel to reel for vocals and guitars ( in a "Whisper Room" brand ISO booth)...mixing them all down to the computer for CD-Rs. I need everything set up in a semi-permanent place so that I can go from instrument to instrument without have to get them out or set them up....but I want it to look professional and still sound good at the same time from an acoustic point of view.

On top of that, my room is rectangular ( not that you could see from the diagram I tried to post <maybe it came through on the email>).

This remote keyboard and mouse will work from how far away? If it is infa-red then it has to line up with the receiver, right? That makes the second room difficult again.

I just want to get off on the right foot before I even start! I also don't know what to do about the studio decor! What color carpet and what color walls and then of course we have the absorbtive foam color to contend with! the foam I want to be purple (because of it's creative attributes) so what about the rest? My furniture is a dark wood!!!
 
I would strongly advise against making your "studio" one room. I think having a control room is VERY important, and for one big reason. If you want to mic something and you're in the same room as what you're micing, I can bet you $100 you're not going to get the sound on the recording you thought you were. It's SOOOOO important to hear what you're actually micing, and not the source. That's the biggest reason for having a control room, it's not so the producer doesn't hurt his ears from the loud drums. Get yourself some nice studio monitors with a sub woofer and a proffesional mic and you'll be on your way to fun and safe micing. And I'm sure you can find someone to yell into a mic for a few minutes while you adjust it through the monitors. And even if you start out just by yourself, do you want to limit yourself? It's MUCH easier to add a wall while you're still constructing then doing it when everything is all done. Down the road you may have someone around to help with certain things.

That's my opinion on your situation. Happy planning and God bless... ok, that was a Bob Ross rip off, but it fit :)

-Brian
 
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