What would the Ideal home studio consist of?

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capnkid

capnkid

Optimus Prime
If one could play the three basic instruments and do a little singing, what would the Ideal home studio be like? I,m talking room size, what the floor is made of, walls, kind of drums, recording equiptment etc.
 
Hmm, this is close to what I'm moving towards. How about a 14' x 22' room (slanted side walls), wood floor, 9' drywall ceiling with floating cloud, flush mounted monitors, 4" thick bass traps in all corners, 2" absorption panels and a few diffusors on the walls. Proper soundproof wall & ceiling construction, proper quiet ventilation, 20 amp star ground circuit(s). Cool lighting design :cool:

Decent 16 to 24 channel mixer OR decent 8 channel pre with additional two channels of high quality pre & compression. 8 to 16 channels of decent A/D and 8 channels of decent D/A. 2 channels killer A/D/A if you can afford it. Computer, software--whatever you like. UAD-1 card. Ah heck, get two of 'em :)

Mics I'd go for:

3 LDCs of choice (how about KSM44, AT4060, Baby Bottle)
1 pair SDCs (I'm liking my KSM141s)
3 M201s
2 MD421s
1 B52
1 SM7
1 ribbon - maybe an M130
2 EV 635as
1 M88

can't leave out the Green Bullet :cool:

or the lava lamp :D

or the (quiet) wet bar :cool: :cool: :cool:
 
capnkid said:
what would the Ideal home studio be like? I,m talking room size, what the floor is made of, walls, kind of drums, recording equiptment etc.


The ideal home studio would look something like this ...



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And the mixing console would look something like this ...



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chessrock said:
The ideal home studio would look something like this ...



.

That's just like mine except for cleaner and bigger. With better acoustics and real equipment, not just a tiny little box built in my garage with gear and cables everywhere.
 
Check out the buddage on those weed plants in the pic with the piano...

They must have an understanding with the pigs --- or the place is in Jamaica!
 
ssscientist said:
Check out the buddage on those weed plants in the pic with the piano...


Like I said ... the ideal home studio.
 
mshilarious said:
Hmm, this is close to what I'm moving towards. How about a 14' x 22' room (slanted side walls), wood floor, 9' drywall ceiling with floating cloud, flush mounted monitors, 4" thick bass traps in all corners, 2" absorption panels and a few diffusors on the walls. Proper soundproof wall & ceiling construction, proper quiet ventilation, 20 amp star ground circuit(s). Cool lighting design :cool:

Decent 16 to 24 channel mixer OR decent 8 channel pre with additional two channels of high quality pre & compression. 8 to 16 channels of decent A/D and 8 channels of decent D/A. 2 channels killer A/D/A if you can afford it. Computer, software--whatever you like. UAD-1 card. Ah heck, get two of 'em :)

Mics I'd go for:

3 LDCs of choice (how about KSM44, AT4060, Baby Bottle)
1 pair SDCs (I'm liking my KSM141s)
3 M201s
2 MD421s
1 B52
1 SM7
1 ribbon - maybe an M130
2 EV 635as
1 M88

can't leave out the Green Bullet :cool:

or the lava lamp :D

or the (quiet) wet bar :cool: :cool: :cool:
The mic choices are subjective but the idea behind it is extremely valid. The idea here would be to have some sonic choices at your disposal. Think of it like painting, you wouldn't want JUST red. You'd want as much different colors as you can muster so you can have some contrast. Diffinately two or three LDCs, mics with some color/character to them. Even some dynamics like an RE-20 or 27 or an SM-7. Great vocal mics for certain applications that do double duty in a kick or in front of an amp.
At least a pair or two of SDCs for acoustic instruments/drum overheads/hand percussion and such. Again, something like the Octava MK-012's ( with the omni, cardiod and hypercardiod capsules and pad which is like getting six mics out of your pair) for a darker, rounder sound and something more bright and accurate for contrast (Earthworks, Nuemann KM-184 or 84, etc).
Some dynamic mics are a must, the ubiquitous SM-57 or two. They're cheap and they are a proven workhorse. A sennheiser MD-441 or 421 or two for me would be a must.
If you want to do real drums you'll want to have at least three to eight (or more :eek: ) inputs to your recorder (we'll get to that) and the mic preamps to go with that, either stand alone units or from a mixer or all of the above (which is what I do). There again, preamps with different colors to them, from ultra clean to some stuff with some character. This kind of thing is subjective and a matter of taste.
Your recording medium? One consideration is how many SIMULTAINIOUS inputs do you need? Not your total end track count but how many at a throw. Working all by your self assuming you want to track a drum kit, 8 inputs would be the minimum, three guys all tracking at once, more like 16. Now personally, I don't like track directly to computer and prefer some kind of dedicated recorder, in my case, an Alesis HD24. WAY more stable and intuitive way to operate ( the last thing you need to deal with when your muse is upon you is to fight software. It'll take the wind right out of your sails). BUT if you're only tracking yourself (not you and a band), Some multichannel input soundcard/ computer system would probably be more COST EFFECTIVE.
Now lets talk about one of the most VERY important tools you'd need, some decent monitors that you can trust. Without these, you don't really even know what you're tracking or how any of your mixes are going to translate to other systems. This is a MUST HAVE item and really not much of a way around it. A decent headphone distribution system and enough headphones to go around too.
One thing damn near everyone overlooks is you have to cable all this stuff together so a large part of your budget has to go to cable and connectors (and you BETTER learn to solder Weedhopper) and if you want some patchbays to tie everything together and make your life easier, your cable needs are going to double. It can add up fast.
We haven't even touched on the room and room treatment/soundproofing. The actual physical space itself and where it sets in the world dictates how much attention (money) goes that way but it can be the most critical part of the whole equation. LOTS to think about.
 
I dunno, Chessrock, I don't think I could move around in that little closet you've pictured.

The REAL problem is that, when people build a home studio, they try to preserve part of the space as "home." I'm working on that.
 
bennychico11 said:
wow...what studio is that?
That just my mic closet. Wait 'till you check out the CPU room!

:D

G.
 
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