Whats The Best Studio Basement Setup

[chestwick91]

I have a basement with normal dry wall its about 20 ft by like 15 feet. with short ceilings I have about 50 sq feet of egg crate padding and i have the drums in the corner and the amps in two different corners, i need to now where to put everything (amps, drums, And Studio foam) I need to know what the best foam is for vocals, drums and guitars...i just need to know a cheap way to set up my basemnt so i can easily record and master a very high quality studio....I really need the most help with vocals....keep it cheap guys
thanks people

 

[DogFood]

there is tons of info on sound proofing if you do your homework. Materials that work cost money unfortunately. www.johnlsayers.com is an amazing place to get design ideas. word of warning, they are pros and do not put up with the likes of me posting average questions.

 

[chessrock]

I have a basement with normal dry wall its about 20 ft by like 15 feet. with short ceilings I have about 50 sq feet of egg crate padding and i have the drums in the corner and the amps in two different corners, i need to now where to put everything (amps, drums, And Studio foam)

Someplace else.

Definitely someplace else.

i just need to know a cheap way to set up my basemnt so i can easily record and master a very high quality studio....

Here's what you can do: Try recording at a very high quality studio ... and then bring your tracks down to your basement, and play them on your CD player .

Then, pretend that you recorded them in your basement. Visualize and imagine that everything was tracked there. If the power of suggestion is strong enough, you might successfully convince yourself.

That's about all I can tell ya, unfortunately.

.

 

[Creamyapples1]

Someplace else.

Definitely someplace else.



Here's what you can do: Try recording at a very high quality studio ... and then bring your tracks down to your basement, and play them on your CD player .

Then, pretend that you recorded them in your basement. Visualize and imagine that everything was tracked there. If the power of suggestion is strong enough, you might successfully convince yourself.

That's about all I can tell ya, unfortunately.

.

Did you actually take the time to type that out, or do you have it saved in a word file and copy and paste it?

 

[Massive Master]

I'm not even gonna go there...

He's going to skip right over "mixing" it seems also...

 

[travelin travis]

well damn. somebody inform the man!

........some place else......... , ha, ha.........straight from recording to mastering........ha, ha

funny stuff

 

[Dani Pace]

Start by getting the drums out of the corner. For the sake of space a corner might seem like a good place for drums, but for recording it leaves a lot to be desired. Corners make mic placement difficult (placement is critical for recording drums) plus you have reflections to deal with. Next get the amps out of the corners too unless you are faceing them into the corners in an attempt to get some isolation. You mentioned having some eggcrate foam, if this is the matress cover stuff, put it back on the bed, it serves no purpose in a studio. In a basement you will probably need to deaden the room, carpet, throw rugs, pillows, heavy drapes or whatever you have will help. Low celings can often be a problem, especially if you play loud. If your drummer is at all "cymbal heavy," at least hang a blanket on the celing over him to cut down on some reflected sound, it wont absorb all but it will help. Move around the room while listening to the band playing (don't forget up and down as well as various locations) your ears will guide you to the right places to put mics. No two rooms are exactly the same, there is a lot of experimentation involved in finding the "perfect" spot to get the best recorded sound.

 

[pandamonk]

I have a basement with normal dry wall its about 20 ft by like 15 feet. with short ceilings I have about 50 sq feet of egg crate padding and i have the drums in the corner and the amps in two different corners, i need to now where to put everything (amps, drums, And Studio foam) I need to know what the best foam is for vocals, drums and guitars...i just need to know a cheap way to set up my basemnt so i can easily record and master a very high quality studio....I really need the most help with vocals....keep it cheap guys
thanks people

You are expecting a little too much. You say you want "a very high quality studio", hmmm. Ok, firstly we need to know how much we have to work with? Now what are you expecting/wanting from it? I take it that you are planning on using the same room for tracking and mixing? Well i suggest making bass traps, broadband absorbers and clouds. do a search in this forum for them. The foam you have will be pretty shit and will only really work for the vocals(if you're lucky). Here and here are my suggestions for someone else(I'd also suggest putting a cloud above the kit). It is best to isolate the sound you are recording. Will you only need 8 preamps? If so, you could get the presonus firepod. The SPB1 is a good all round mic. get a few SM57s. I'd suggest reading as much as you can, especially in this site, then deciding on what you want, instead of coming in and asking what the best thing would be, because the only person who can judge that is YOU.

 

[LemonTree]

He's not even on the right page. This should be in Studio building and display.

Great idea though. I'm gonna turn my basement into a recording and mastering studio where the only soundproofing I can afford is mythical egg crates. That nearly made me piss my pants laughing

 

[pandamonk]

Great idea though. I'm gonna turn my basement into a recording and mastering studio where the only soundproofing I can afford is mythical egg crates. That nearly made me piss my pants laughing

My impression from what he said that it was the egg crate style foam, like this. They should really be done for false advertising!!! I even bought it a few years ago when i knew nothing about acoustics.

 

[pandamonk]

And to answer the question of the thread, this is the best studio basement setup(that i know of)and the guy talks a lot in these forums.

 

[pandamonk]

I've very quickly drawn out a layout possible for your studio. It is based on one of john slayers.

 

[chestwick91]

It's been done

Ok , i know that people have recorded in basements...even see a band record in a brick room and got sound that i am not even close to getting
keep the help coming

 

[giraffe]

Start by getting the drums out of the corner. For the sake of space a corner might seem like a good place for drums, but for recording it leaves a lot to be desired. Corners make mic placement difficult (placement is critical for recording drums) plus you have reflections to deal with. Next get the amps out of the corners too unless you are faceing them into the corners in an attempt to get some isolation. You mentioned having some eggcrate foam, if this is the matress cover stuff, put it back on the bed, it serves no purpose in a studio. In a basement you will probably need to deaden the room, carpet, throw rugs, pillows, heavy drapes or whatever you have will help. Low celings can often be a problem, especially if you play loud. If your drummer is at all "cymbal heavy," at least hang a blanket on the celing over him to cut down on some reflected sound, it wont absorb all but it will help. Move around the room while listening to the band playing (don't forget up and down as well as various locations) your ears will guide you to the right places to put mics. No two rooms are exactly the same, there is a lot of experimentation involved in finding the "perfect" spot to get the best recorded sound.

ah, a realistic answer.
thanks danny, as i gather noone else wantet to bother.

 

[pandamonk]

ah, a realistic answer.
thanks danny, as i gather noone else wantet to bother.

noone else?

 

[gullfo]

i think you'll get a better response in the studio building thread but you should look up Ethan Winer's acoustics FAQ and pay a visit to the John L Sayers web site to review the material there and the discussions on designing and building studios. some important details people need to know:

- how complex do you want to get?
- budget? is it $1K or $100K
- permanent? temporary?
- type of music/productions? quiet violin solo? loud heavy metal?
- commerical or hobby?
- need soundproofing?
-- location of neighbors
-- typical noise levels inside and out
- local ordinances for noise violations/home businesses
- need acoustic treatment?
- experience? do you have carpentry? electrical? HVAC?

HTH

 

[RezN8]

Chestwick- the "room" is crucial to your "sound" so you need to be as detailed as possible, especially when seeking advice. You can't just say your room is "like maybe this long with short ceilings" -- grab a tape measure and "KNOW" the dimensions. Describe the type of ceiling and floor material as well. Are there any other things in the room beside gear? Be specific.

Many of us here will steer you clear of egg cartons (or even foam!). If you can't afford to go with compressed fiberglass (see http://www.ethanwiner.com), there are other options (such as adding an old couch or two, some heavy blankets, etc.

Do some searching on the "Studio Building & Dispaly" section and post back when you have a clearer picture of what you are asking.

 

[notCardio]

Time for a reality check

You can treat a basement with low ceilings to sound the best a basement with low ceilings can sound. It won't be cheap, however, and it still won't be a 'very high quality studio'.

One thing that's set everybody off here is the fact that you think you should be able to get a 'high quality studio' cheaply. You can't. Now that's not to say that you can't get a studio that's high-enough quality for your purposes, because everyone's needs and expectations are different. But if you are under the impression that you can get a studio that competes with multi-million dollar facilities in LA, Nashville, NY, Miami, Altlanta, etc. by spending $150 on foam, sorry, you can't. If what you want is a place to record your band so that some of your friends might hear it and say, hey that's cool, then that's a different story.

Another thing is that this is the wrong forum for your question, as has already been pointed out. The studio construcion forum would be the correct place for this.

The other thing that set them off is that they see this kind of question daily and it get's old after awhile, which is not your fault.

Good luck.

 

[chessrock]

If what you want is a place to record your band so that some of your friends might hear it and say, hey that's cool, then that's a different story.

Well put.

Actually, I don't think it's at all out of the question to think that one might be able to get a very high quality sound out of a small room with low ceilings. It's just going to be tricky ... will take a lot of work, and it won't be cheap.

You'd probably want to start out by lining your ceilings with rigid fiberglass insulation panels. If you don't want to be the next Great White and have a major potential fire hazzard on your hands, then you'll want to cover them with some sort of flame resistant material. From there, you might also want to line every other wall with the same stuff. If the ceiling and walls are done well enough, then you might not even need to bother with the floor, although it might not be a bad idea to think about having some very thick rugs on hand just in case.

From my experience, in a small room with low ceilings, your best bet is to make it dead, and find other means (digital reverbs, re-amping, etc.) to add artificial space after the fact. This is a very general statement obviously, but you did say you wanted to get there as cheaply as possible. This is where your vast knowlege and skills as an audio engineer will come in to play. ( And judging from your initial post, I'm guessing this is where you're probably going to need the most work; no offense intended -- we were all green at one time, and asked the same questions ).

The real trick is going to be the drums. If your goal is to get a totally dead drum sound ala the Band or (Neil Young) Harvest Moon, then the dead space can actually work to your advantage. But if you want it to sound like Bonham, it's going to be tricky, and will require a lot of work "in post" to get there. In other words, get ready to spend the next few years learning the craft, because it will take some time and experimentation if you want it to sound good. And even then, it will never sound the same as if you had tracked in a large space to begin with -- nor will you have the same mic'ing techniques avaiable to you (you'll only have various degrees ranging from close to "very close").

One avenue you might consider would be to find someplace reasonable (doesn't have to be fancy -- just a decent studio with a nice, open room) where you can track your drums, and convert your basement practice space in to an "overdub" studio where you can track guitars, bass, vocals, etc.

Good luck.

.

 

[chestwick91]

More help

Ok, Thanks for the advice...I will ask this then, I have a few very untreated rooms in the house...I e living room family room. I am the drummer, and i am cymbal heavy, so would it just be a better idea to track my drums in a different room. My problem with the differnt rooms is that, My living room has very high valted ceilings (which i don't think would be that great) but there is a angle on the ceiling and there is also a balcony next to it...also bad...my family room is square and has 9 foot ceilings but three windows and a sliding glass door. And, like i should have stated, My cd does not have to be totally pro, hell tape quailty is good enough, just want it mixed and mastered well. I use my high hat and cymbals about the same amount... I want a good rock sound...for the drums and the amps...should i record the amps off the ground and in the middle of the room or should i face them in a corner?