Making my own recording studio seems impossible.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:53 pm

I'm living with my parents, looking for a place to move out to, but I'm worried that if I rent somewhere I won't be able to make any changes like soundproofing etc. and I can't really afford to buy a house or anything like that yet.

How do people do this?? (I ideally would like to live in the same space I record in)

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:20 pm

>>>>(I ideally would like to live in the same space I record in)<<<<

That might be the hang-up there. Inexpensive apartments or rental houses that are good recording spaces are hard to come by. Many people just have a little quicky demo set-up in their apartment, but if you want to do live drums, that sort of thing...

I'm not sure how things are Down Under, but what worked for us was taking advantage of the economic downturn to find a few rooms of commercial space available for dirt cheap. If you wind-up deciding you can work outside of your living space, start looking for some older commercial spaces that are going unused, and find the property owner. Look into renting with either a month-to-month or a short-term (one year or less) lease. You can make modifications that aren't permanent as far as acoustic treatment, so that if you ever need to move, you can take it with you. Make sure it's water-tight and not in a flood-plain.

GJ

jnTracks · Post by **jnTracks** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:33 am

i was in your place for years. i recently made the transition and bought a house and installed my studio.

best advice i can give is be patient. do what you can with what you have and don't give up.

do you have a mix setup right now?

maybe for now build a mobile setup.

just be patient, save up and don't jump before you find the right place

Tim A · Post by **Tim A** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 3:59 am

Where abouts in Aus are you? There are loads of placed in sydney (any probably other places) where you could freelance out of to tracks drums. then just set your bedroom up etc for over dubs.
lot less noise/space needed. plus you might meet sweet contacts

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:53 am

No one ever said it would be easy or cheap.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:27 am

timadamson wrote:There are loads of placed in sydney (any probably other places) where you could freelance out of to tracks drums.

What do you mean by this? I'm in Sydney btw.

the finger genius · Post by **the finger genius** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:01 am

Every place I've lived I've made a space to record in. In each case, there have been challenges and limitations, and in each place I've learned something new as a result. Find a way to record wherever you are, and it'll make you a better engineer in the long run.

CurtZHP · Post by **CurtZHP** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 10:13 am

In my experience, unless the place was built from the ground up to be soundproof, it will never be completely soundproof.

As far as acoustic treatments to deal with echoes, standing waves, etc., some inexpensive, easy to use panels can be built. These can be hung on the walls much the way you'd hang a picture or a mirror, so the walls won't get chewed up, and the landlady won't have a stroke.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:24 am

vivalastblues wrote:
timadamson wrote:There are loads of placed in sydney (any probably other places) where you could freelance out of to tracks drums.
What do you mean by this? I'm in Sydney btw.

He means that there are already commercial studios that someone invested the money in and built where you can rent time and freelance in. Our studio in Portland, OR, is like that.

Post by **TapeOpLarry** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 12:04 pm

CurtZHP wrote:In my experience, unless the place was built from the ground up to be soundproof, it will never be completely soundproof.

and even that is difficult.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 4:35 pm

So what's the best solution? (assuming I don't use someone else's studio) Find a place where people won't care how loud I am?

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:42 pm

>>>>Find a place where people won't care how loud I am?<<<<

THAT is an extremely important part of the equation!

GJ

EasyGo · Post by **EasyGo** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 9:14 am

Gregg Juke wrote:but what worked for us was taking advantage of the economic downturn to find a few rooms of commercial space available for dirt cheap.

+1 Talk to business owners and landlords about occupying their unused space. I know an artist who bought a building to use as his studio. Since it's a storefront, he rents out to front portion to a hair salon and has the back to himself. I don't know if the salon pays his mortgage, but it appears to be a sweet deal.

Perhaps you could rent space from a business that's open during the day and make noise at night? I know as a business owner that times are tough; everyone's looking to cut costs, and sharing resources is a way to do that.

MoreSpaceEcho · Post by **MoreSpaceEcho** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 3:09 pm

you can also look for a first floor apartment with a basement. set up the live room in the basement, set up a room upstairs as the control room. not ideal, as you'll have roommates/neighbors to deal with, but it's certainly been done many times in the past...

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:27 am

Thanks for all the tips!

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Making my own recording studio seems impossible.

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