Hey there. Long time lurker, first time poster... Great forum and I'm really glad there's a place on the internet where all this acoustic knowledge can be pooled and available to people like me to learn... Anyway, here's my issue:
The long term plan is, of course, to be able to dedicate a room to my studio, but from September I'm moving back in with my parents for a year or so as rent is getting a little ridiculous in the UK housing market at the moment, and there's no way me and my partner can afford to get our foot on the property ladder at the moment. That means I've got a bedroom... and not an enormous one at that. The room has sloping corners at the ceilings, and is a very shallow L shape (as you can see from the sketchup models). The double bed in there is fairly essential, as the midi controller doesn't make too comfortable a pillow.
So what would people advise to try my best to treat the room? I'm thinking a cloud, the side absorbers from John's 'DIY wall units' (both included in the models). On the back wall I think I'll have to make do with shelving filled with books (and I need that storage anyway), but bass traps are the problem... I can do the corners behind the monitors but the only available corner at the back of the room is the top corner on the near (window) wall... otherwise there's a door and a bed in the way... Help!
As for dimensions, the room is essentially 450x240x270cm (L x W x H) with the extra corner where the door is as a 175x35x270cm box added on. As far as I can work out, the figure in the model is at the 35% mark and the monitors are positioned as well as I could manage.
Many thanks for help in advance,
Guis.
A real bedroom studio - help appreciated
Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 10498.
Maybe you can make your pictures even wider...I always enjoy scrolling sideways...it gives me justification for vertigo medication.
I apologise, just posted the default size it saves as. The forum I post on regularly gives them scroll bars if they're wider than the page...
Will resize them.
A bit more info about proposed use... I produce mainly beats, hip-hop music and some recorded guitar. To do vocal stuff I generally use a friends studio with a dedicated vocal booth, so recording isn't really a major issue here. It's a detached house, and I can't pump it ridiculously loud, so isolation is much less of an issue that creating as good a response as I can get out of limited circumstances.
not much space to move around there so it's gonna be tricky.
If you leave the space as a bedroom, than your design pretty much will do. You sure will need more absorption but you prolly figured that already.
Perhaps you could flip the room. put the bed at the end (90 degr turned) and your desk close to the door side. Get rid of the closet next to the door and put your desk in the middle. That way the room will be more symmetrical. But again, itsa tight space...
Yeh it's a fairly tight situation all round... Your suggestion is actually how the room is currently aligned, but I thought it would make more sense to treat it as a rectangle without the door alcove when I move my gear in... Either way I'm in a fix regarding bass traps. One possibility could be something portable that can be place into the door corner with the door closed when I'm mixing...not much space to move around there so it's gonna be tricky. If you leave the space as a bedroom, than your design pretty much will do. You sure will need more absorption but you prolly figured that already. Perhaps you could flip the room. put the bed at the end (90 degr turned) and your desk close to the door side. Get rid of the closet next to the door and put your desk in the middle. That way the room will be more symmetrical. But again, itsa tight space...
Okay, then your current design will work. Not much alternatives I reckon. You've gotta work with acoustics to get things "right". Focus on absorption. There more than 4 corners in your room so make use of that.
Here's a handy link to handy ppl making handy absorpers: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=5930
Replace the shelfs above your bed for some thick absorption panels (10cm / 4") and create a (near) RFZ and you'll be on your way to be a mix-god 8)
I already am a mix god... It's my cloud that's the problem. :) (I wish)
An absorber above the bed sounds like a good idea. What do you mean by using the corners to my advantage?
Cheers for all the advice, by the way.
I think he means that you can use any corner for bass trapping - top of the wall by the ceiling or bottom corners by the floor.
correct. But if you take a look around the acoustics sections of this forum you'll figure that out within minutes. Ethan has a nice FAQ about placing panels too. The link is promoted by himself and others many times and you'll no doubt found it while reading the acoustics section.I think he means that you can use any corner for bass trapping - top of the wall by the ceiling or bottom corners by the floor.
I'd read that plenty of times yeh... So I guess the ceiling corners on the long walls are gonna get some treatment. I'll plough through the Acoustic forum before I ask my next few questions. Thanks again for the help.correct. But if you take a look around the acoustics sections of this forum you'll figure that out within minutes. Ethan has a nice FAQ about placing panels too. The link is promoted by himself and others many times and you'll no doubt found it while reading the acoustics section.I think he means that you can use any corner for bass trapping - top of the wall by the ceiling or bottom corners by the floor.