Chicago burbs studio design

Hello all. Been a member for a few years now and am finally starting an actual 'build'. Any help or suggestions are welcome. OVERVIEW: I have a control room in my den set up for years. I run snakes to the basement where I record bands. I communicate with talkback/headphones combo. Have been using gobo's, spacing, and mic placement for separation so far. Lately, I've been getting 'real' musicians in with nice instruments (vibes, double bass, horns, etc...) and the concrete walls and 'one big room' have been the weak link. GOALS: Control leakage to 'up stairs' as much as possible. Control room stays up stairs, so I'm thinking three rooms with unique character (unless someone highly recommends otherwise). Possible video feeds to each room and control room. SOME 'DECIDED ON' FEATURES: Already adding mass between joists (two drywall layers/green glue between) and stuffing UltraTouch insulation below that. Ceiling to be hung below joists with RSIC or similar clips and hat channels (2 layers 5/8" drywall with green glue between. Similar isolation of soffits around HVAC and beams. Floor will remain concrete to be stained. BUDGET: I'm doing the work myself. I don't mind spending money when necessary, but would like the 'bang for the buck' options. I've spent around $2000 so far on drywall/green glue/insulation/misc..., and know I'll be spending at least a $5000 more when it comes to buying more lumber/doors/lighting/and wiring. If that's off by another $5000, so be it. It's not a 'money's no object' thing, nor 'what's the cheapest way out'. Somewhere in the middle. Here's my first Sketchup drawing idea...

Here's the Sketchup file for anyone who would like to suggest changes or alternatives. A few questions already are: 1- Is it possible to do the entire ceiling first? Or would this cause problems installing doors/walls later? I'm thinking of using the sway clips on the walls and not connecting them directly to the joists above. 2- Do I have un-necessary double walls around the stairs? It seems that that could be a weak spot to upstairs. 3- Other than the HVAC area with some storage, and the crawl storage area (with access to the backup sump and septic 'out' pipes) the rest of the basement is for recording space. How would you utilize it? 4- The sliders between the 'More Live Room' and 'More Dead Room'; Should there be a second set on the other side of the beam? Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. (Also, Rod's book has been a 'GODSEND' for this project.) Mark

A few updates: Scratch question #1. (I see this is ridiculous) My wall angles are NOT at the 12 degree recommendation yet (in the two larger upper rooms). The HVAC main duct drops 9 1/2" below the joists, and just. That whole bottom 'half' of the basement also has many pipes, conduit, etc below the joists on either side of the main duct. (Doesn't look like I'll be able to move the main ducting) I planned on this being the more 'dead' room due to the 'even lower' ceiling height from all of this. I'm thinking soffit around the main duct and have the rest of that half drop about 3-4" below the joists to accomodate the pipes and such. This causes problems for any doors in that area, as there is only 79 1/2" from floor to the bottom of the duct. Looks like 'special order' doors unless I can come up with an alternate plan. Most commonly found doors seem to need an 80" rough opening. Another 2 Questions: 5- The 'more live' and 'medium' room will be the most used. How should they be utilized the best (as far as treatment and wall angles)? 6- Which walls will the 'inside out' technique benefit the most from? (I've been looking very closely at the 'Blue Bear Sound' pics & plans. Similar problem with low ceilings.)

any of the angled walls would be good candidates for inside out walls. the utilities - i'd leave enough space and a door to access them - not much else you can do without moving them. good idea to beef up around the stairs as that is a big hole in the ceiling... that said, with all the plumbing overhead in the dead room, you probably want some access panels in there. sounds like you'll probably need to cut down some doors if you cannot raise the duct - maybe shallow and wider ducting in that section? for the medium room, i'd minimize the porous absorption on the walls and ceilings until you know how the room is actually behaving. maybe some reversible treatments.