Help me design my rooms

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:59 pm

I'm getting ready to turn two small rooms into a recording studio. Room sizes are far from optimal. Live room will need space for a drumkit, bass guitar & keyboard rigs but I still want to be able to level out frequency response the best I can. I'd like a vocal booth too but it could be in the control room-possibly on the other side of the door between rooms with a window. Windows will probably be covered with acoustic panels to minimize outside noise. Ceiling is insulated with an attic floor above so this is good. I do have the option of removing some of the wall in between rooms to open the space up, but not all of it-I could get another 18" or so. I've been reading up on Ethan Winers page, but any suggestions/feedback would be much welcome. I'm attaching the floorplan
studio-floorplan.jpg
studio-floorplan.jpg (42.35 KiB) Viewed 2712 times

User avatar
A.David.MacKinnon
ears didn't survive the freeze
Posts: 3819
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 5:57 am
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:28 pm

My first impression is that the rooms are quite small - 11.5' x 11.5 live room and 10(ish) x 11.5' control room.

What are you recording? Is this place for your own music or are you mostly recoding others? What kind of music?

Do you need two rooms or would a one room set-up be more effective? I have a one room space that's 12 x 24 (about what you've got here). I'm mostly using it for my own music and as a place to do singer/songwriter types and overdubs/mixing for records started somewhere else. It's my second space with about the same foot print. I've made a lot of records in that size room without the benefit of a control room. Not having a control room can suck but having one bigger space makes both ends of the set-up sound better and feel way less cramped. Something to consider.

Beyond that, if you do keep it as two rooms you'll want to do a bunch of work to make the wall between the rooms as soundproof as you can. No point in having a control room if you can't hear what your recording over the noise coming through the wall. Double wall construction will take some floor space away from one of the rooms.

User avatar
vvv
zen recordist
Posts: 10139
Joined: Tue May 13, 2003 8:08 am
Location: Chi
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by vvv » Fri Jan 15, 2021 11:33 pm

Not to mention a heavy door ...

I'm assuming that middle wall, because you state you can only get an add'l 18", is a supporting wall?

Can you reduce it to columns?

Or mebbe cut like another doorway (sans door) or even a kinda open window in it?

Because I agree with ADMac that 11.5x11.5 is a pretty small live room for the drums all by themselves - with simultaneous amps it's gonna be really tough. (I've jammed in enuff rental 12x12 rooms to say that, and my amp room is that size and I sometimes mic the hallway.)
bandcamp;
blog.
I mix with olive juice.

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Sat Jan 16, 2021 5:20 am

That wall in between houses the breaker box for the house and is load bearing. I will probably only be in this building for a year so I'm probably better just to make the best of what I've got.

User avatar
digitaldrummer
ghost haunting audio students
Posts: 3476
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 9:51 pm
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by digitaldrummer » Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:12 am

the square live room is probably going to be difficult without some serious treatment.

and if you don't already have it -- get this too-- https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-S ... 143545717X
Mike
www.studiodrumtracks.com -- Drum tracks starting at $50!
www.doubledogrecording.com

User avatar
roscoenyc
carpal tunnel
Posts: 1530
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:56 pm
Location: NYC
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by roscoenyc » Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:05 am

digitaldrummer wrote:
Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:12 am
the square live room is probably going to be difficult without some serious treatment.

and if you don't already have it -- get this too-- https://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-S ... 143545717X
that book is the best resource out there.

I also would urge you to think about a one room setup, or one room w a booth (as a guy who's been doing that for 20 years through 3 different locations.)

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:29 am

Thanks yall. Got the book on order and I'm gonna get my friend to come and tell me what my options are for the center wall.

Side question, do golden ratio and fibinacci numbers apply to audio as well?

Dok
pluggin' in mics
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:12 am

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by Dok » Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:01 pm

coplinger wrote:
Sat Jan 16, 2021 10:29 am
Thanks yall. Got the book on order and I'm gonna get my friend to come and tell me what my options are for the center wall.

Side question, do golden ratio and fibinacci numbers apply to audio as well?
Every room is different. While there are good rules of thumb and tried and true starting points, there is no magic formula. Read the Gervais book a whole bunch of times, get a measurement microphone, and start testing. :)

User avatar
Brett Siler
moves faders with mind
Posts: 2518
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2003 12:16 pm
Location: Evansville, IN
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by Brett Siler » Sat Jan 16, 2021 11:55 pm

Since it's two small rooms I would make it as dead as possible and bass trap as much as possible (the whole room would be ideal in this situation). The reflections in that room could build up pretty bad. Close micing and eliminating the room as much as possible would lend to the cleanest results. I think you can make it work as long as the band is comfortable in the room.

User avatar
Brett Siler
moves faders with mind
Posts: 2518
Joined: Fri Dec 05, 2003 12:16 pm
Location: Evansville, IN
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by Brett Siler » Sat Jan 16, 2021 11:59 pm

You could even have the bassist and guitarist in the control room with you doing direct or a low watt amp mic'd up, which might be more comfortable. Eye contact with band members may or may not be an issue. Depends on the band.

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Sun Jan 17, 2021 5:41 am

Yeah ill be using UAD and Luna so I will have virtual instruments, virtual amps, and Ocean Way Studios plug-in for room ambiance. I want the room dead.

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:31 am

It occurs to me maybe I can open both sides of that wall and make an island where the workstation lives in the center of the room.

User avatar
roscoenyc
carpal tunnel
Posts: 1530
Joined: Sun Jun 03, 2007 5:56 pm
Location: NYC
Contact:

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by roscoenyc » Sun Jan 17, 2021 9:57 am

Since your plan is to move I’d look into treatment that is not built in.

As you mentioned UA, you might look into the OX Box for part of your guitar recording. It’s pretty amazing.

MoreSpaceEcho
zen recordist
Posts: 6671
Joined: Wed May 07, 2003 11:15 am

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:16 am

Yeah, just to echo roscoe, make your treatments portable. That's good advice for anyone. A lot of my 703 sheets are almost 18 years old now.

coplinger
studio intern
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:11 pm

Re: Help me design my rooms

Post by coplinger » Sun Jan 17, 2021 10:34 am

Thanks guys, I was planning on making room treatments portable as much as possible. I had forgotten about the Ox-good idea!

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 67 guests