DIY STUDIO DESIGN

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:08 pm

Here it goes. My first studio design!

Please, any comments and critic ill be appreciated. RED lines are double layer drywall. Surrounding walls are original masonry walls (already built) I did a lot of skethces before finding a design that was symetrical. Floor is Heart Pine made, BLUE triangles are absortion and bass traps. PINK star is mixing position.

Well here it goes.

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 6:15 pm

Try to post a drawing that is to scale - it hurts my head to look at this.

Rod

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:49 am

But... it is scaled. I made it using Illustrator 1:100. 1 cm=1m. Then exported it as JPG. Maybe some of the referenced numb ers are confusing. I will delete the door's measures and post again.

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:33 pm

I like the space age design you have there. I haven't read Rod's book, and I haven't built a studio, so take this with a grain of salt. Studio design interests me, so my goal is to gain knowledge here, not to tell you how to build your studio.

1) Is it best to have the speakers shoot the long distance in the room instead of the short one?

2) You're primary refection points are on doors and windows. Should they be on walls?

3) The north wall looks like it is going to be hard to build with the varying width. How are you going to build that?

4) My understanding of the bass traps in the corners is because walls at right angles to each other reflect sound directly out of them, and because it is a double reflection the frequency is lower, hence the bass trap instead of mid range sound absorption. Are bass traps needed in the obtuse corners near the entrance door?

5) If you mirror the control room along the vertical axis instead of at an angle the speakers actually shoot further, and the control room is smaller. Have you considered this?

Here is an ugly picture of what I mean by the mirror. I think it conveys the idea.

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:57 pm

First of all, thank you for your reply. It is what I'm looking for by posting here. In all this matter i had to deal with some things that are already built, if i could build from zero i would do it different.

1) I kne about that but this is the only way i found to have a symettrical and not too small room.

2) Yes, i'm planning putting absortion on those spots, maybe a dense curtin on the windows and some framed fiberglass on the door. I thin that would be okey.

3) Yes, my construction consultant (if those are the words) told me the same. Maybe i can build a custom wooden frame for the dywall at those difficult spots.

4) Not sure about this. I thought they were good on all the corners but, again, i'm not sure. You could be wright about that.

5) Yes that was my first idea but the door at the bottom leads to the rest of the house and it could be a posible sound leakage. There are a couple of issues with doors opening, too. Also i cannot make a deflective design for the front of the room and my primary reflections are again on two windows one of them being the one that comunicates to the tracking room and cannot be covered. I still haven't discard that design but i'm leaning towards a bigger control room and a small tracking room.

This is my first studio desgin, I work as an engineer but i don't have enough money to pay for a real studio design and i don't think this is going to be my studio for life. I'm interested in studio desgn too so this could be a good experience.

Thank you all
eFe

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:48 pm

The size of the space you are working with is smaller than I imagined. My control room is about the size of your area, but I use it for tracking as well. What about leaving it as one big open space? It would make it more comfortable to work in. Comfort is big plus for me, and many other musicians I work with. What size are the rooms you work with normally? How much dampping do they require?

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:58 pm

Well i've worked at different places. The craziest thing is that i'm closing my actual studio due to inflation problems and property prices and will have to move my studio back home.

My actual studio has a 4,20 x 8,50 x 6 meters tracking room and a 4,20 x 4,00 meters control room. And plenty of resting space including a patio, a garden and a big kitchen. But... too expensive.

Now i'll have to move home for a while. I do a lot of mixing and some tracking of acoustical instruments so I can't track in the same room I mix. I've seen little studios like this one and very nice sounding. Of course they were designed by professionals. Maybe I'm on the wrong path, I don't know. I would apreciate some advice on this matter. I was planning on starting building within a month from now.

Thank you for your replies.
eFe

Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:10 pm

With that kind of size and the reasons you're doing this.

I would just control and track in the same room.
Build some isolation boxes for your noisy hardware.

Saves money and would (to me anyways) yield a more usable space.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 2:48 pm

Wouldn't I be forced to track with headphones?I don't know if I like the idea.

Do you think the mixing space is too small? Would it sound like crap because of the size or you are talking only about the working space?

I worked on small places like this and it was fine.

eFe

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 4:57 pm

We just have opposite styles. It sounds like you have thought this all though. Good luck with your build!

Very Happy

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:51 pm

I'm giving really serious thoughts on what you're saying. I just want to kno if you are talking about space comfort or acoustic matters. Right now i'm specifically interested in acoustical issues.

Thank you both for your comments.
They are apreciated.

eFe

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:02 pm

I don't understand how a wall can be difficult to build...it's just a wall. If my guy was telling me it was going to be difficult to build a wall purely on the orientation, I'd start looking at someone else.

Not that there is anything wrong with that....

Sign me...a space age carpenter.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:11 pm

eFe wrote:

I just want to kno if you are talking about space comfort or acoustic matters.

It is talk about acoustic matters.

Andre

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:29 am

I was saying comfort.

You can check your tracking on monitors, just not in real time.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:35 am

The size of the room is really a little of both comfort and acoustics.

If I was in your shoes acoustics would be paramount for me as well. My personal experience with recording in small spaces is that the room acoustics play a large role even with lots of damping on the walls and close microphones. I would trade separation for a good sounding room. You don't seem to have my "small room complex," so small rooms should work for you.

-Steve

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