Production studio in Italy

Hi All I started a therad a year ago, then dropped the build because of financial difficulties. I'm back on track now and John suggested starting a new thread :wink: I have quite a bit of gear and my studio always worked as a production room, but now I'd like to gain the possibility to rent it as a budget studio with cool vintge gear in. I am in the basement of my parents house. Planning a 2 room facility, with a bigger CR since there I do most of my work Isolation is not my main goal. I don't have too much trouble from neighbours, and my parents tolerate me :twisted: but still I'll look for a good degree of sound isolation to work safely at most hours construction details the house is made of reinforced concrete. No wood joists whatsoever. interior walls will be tored down. floor is tile and will be covered with wood flooring Ceilling height is the main issue here, only 2,4mt. the left side of the recording area has a higher ceilling and I thought of using it for bass trapping budget planning to spend 6000 euro (around 10000$) this is how the studio looks now

these are 2 designs I came up with one is a bit more difficult and requires tearing down a wall more, redo te wood flooring since it would be asimetrical to the room.. but it's bigger CR and I like it more the second is easier, I could keep the entrance wall and floor will be set right away. Still the CR is small and wider than long any comments on those designs? thoughts? ideas?

Hey guy! Who is the lucky persons that get to demo the concrete? That part alone could eat up your budget...that and hvac :)

Hi Xspace! fortunately interior walls to be tore down are not concrete :lol: but just hollow bricks Hvac is a different story.. need to research for costs and will allow budget flexibility for that :) how about the design?

Control Room is not symmetrical. Fix that.

andrebrito wrote:

Control Room is not symmetrical. Fix that.

both designs look symetrical to me, beside trapping in the rear corner (first design idea) and window on one side and slot on the other (second design idea) am I wrong?

belairstudio wrote:

andrebrito wrote:

Control Room is not symmetrical. Fix that.

both designs look symetrical to me, beside trapping in the rear corner (first design idea) and window on one side and slot on the other (second design idea) am I wrong?

The side walls aren't angled in same way in the second layout. Symmetry is very important in control room and i think you know it already. Good luck with your project!

VK wrote:

The side walls aren't angled in same way in the second layout. Symmetry is very important in control room and i think you know it already. Good luck with your project!

I believe they are actually, 6 degrees each... beside the rear corner bass trap ONLY on one side perhaps? :? thanks VK!! ..

Can you send the sketchup file? I can try to make some plans.

VK wrote:

Can you send the sketchup file? I can try to make some plans.

I really can't resize the skp file to 500k ... will try again tomorrow morning :cry:

attached skp file. It's just the plant though, since I could not resize the whole thing I have a question about Symmetry When you judge the symmetry of a CR, do you have to consider just the walls or the treatments inside? I have treatments I considered as "symmetric walls" on my designs (as the big rear bass trap on the first design) And a question about wall "A" Not demolishing that wall could be a plus... BUT 1) is made of glass-cement (attached a pic of one "brick") 2) there's a dor that should be moded to be acoustically useful 3) it makes the airlock in the first design really tight all the best!

Alberto - both of your designs work for me - the no soundlock version gives a bigger control room and as you mentioned that most of your work is in the control room I'd go for the larger control over the sound lock.

Symmetry is both valid for the walls and the acoustical treatment. If you can't change wall A don't slant the opposite wall.

John Sayers wrote:

Alberto - both of your designs work for me - the no soundlock version gives a bigger control room and as you mentioned that most of your work is in the control room I'd go for the larger control over the sound lock.

Hey thanks john I add 2 drawings, a bit more to scale with each other and both keeping the wall "a" up (btw any comment on the material this wall is built of?) The 2 rooms are similar in space but the one you mention is wider wile the other is longer. I thought longer was better.. was I wrng? :oops:

hi! I think this will be the plan I'll be growin up :roll: few questions, outlined in following drawings!!! question 1) I slanted the CR right wall for symmetry purposes. But wouldn't it be better to make it a straight wall and put a slanted resonator wall instead, so to use space for treatment? Or could I make a big bass trap behind the actual wall? (between C room shell and outside shell) question 2) I worked the CR shell around the pillar like this, but could I make a traight wall behind the pillar and somehow "isolate" the pillar by itself? like putting insulation on it? or rubber? or frame it? or better live it outside the inner shell of the CR? 3) I know symmetry importance, but is that so bad to have a glass on one side of CR and something else on the other, ie a slot res or a bass trap?

belairstudio wrote:

question 1) I slanted the CR right wall for symmetry purposes. But wouldn't it be better to make it a straight wall and put a slanted resonator wall instead, so to use space for treatment? Or could I make a big bass trap behind the actual wall? (between C room shell and outside shell)

No symmetry is very important on the early reflection surfaces.

question 2) I worked the CR shell around the pillar like this, but could I make a traight wall behind the pillar and somehow "isolate" the pillar by itself? like putting insulation on it? or rubber? or frame it? or better live it outside the inner shell of the CR?

Yes you could frame it. If you do not isolate it, it will become the weak link for sound isolation.

3) I know symmetry importance, but is that so bad to have a glass on one side of CR and something else on the other, ie a slot res or a bass trap?

Yes it is bad. Symmetry is very important in the early reflection surfaces. Andre edit: corrected html errors.

AVare wrote:

belairstudio wrote:

question 1) I slanted the CR right wall for symmetry purposes. But wouldn't it be better to make it a straight wall and put a slanted resonator wall instead, so to use space for treatment? Or could I make a big bass trap behind the actual wall? (between C room shell and outside shell)

No symmetry is very important on the early reflection surfaces.

Thanks andre! Could I then use the space between the slanted control room wall and the outside shell for hangers? I read they're effective between walls too... Or should I just waste that space?

AVare wrote:

belairstudio wrote:

question 2) I worked the CR shell around the pillar like this, but could I make a traight wall behind the pillar and somehow "isolate" the pillar by itself? like putting insulation on it? or rubber? or frame it? or better live it outside the inner shell of the CR?

Yes you could frame it. If you do not isolate it, it will become the weak link for sound isolation.

For the pillar is it better to work around it with the CR walls (as in the drawing I posted) or to frame it independently?

AVare wrote:

belairstudio wrote:

3) I know symmetry importance, but is that so bad to have a glass on one side of CR and something else on the other, ie a slot res or a bass trap?

Yes it is bad. Symmetry is very important in the early reflection surfaces. .

Big problem... Since I have a side visual in this room, how should I treat the opposite wall? Thanks andre, and anyone else who'd like to chime in!! all the best!

Only thing I could add would be this. Balance. Symmetry, as it is used in these forums, often is nothing more then balance. Another way of saying this which is more to the point would be "mirroring". Whatever it is on the left it should be on the right, specifically in a rfz. Such is not always possible in pre-existing area but is what is looked for in a control room environment. What you are trying to achieve is to get any sound that moves out of the speakers in this room, to get to the left AND right ear at the same time, with nothing added and nothing subtracted in the process of the sound moving. You have the best helping you right now, my opinion is that a better understanding of this term symmetry is all that you need to better understand why it is these suggestions are being made. Although I do like the clean wall lines that "0 15 symmetr CR 2.jpg" produces if I had to deal with the column I would consider the way you have it in "0 16 OK big question 2.jpg". At the back of the room like it is, with bass traps, it works for me :) That's my 2

Alberto - I'd try something like this - I've changed your wall angles slightly also. cheers john

Posts in between have answered my remarks well, so I'll just write they are right. Andre

Thanks John, Andre and Xspace, you guys are very kind :) John's design is brilliant and similar to the one I was developing, but looks like he doesn't care too much about having the two side walls with different materials nor that the CR right wall is not slanted, but the resonator itself creates the symmetric shape of the room. Now we have two schools of tought :roll: I'd like to follow John's guidelies, since they use all available space for trapping. What's better? use all that space as John suggests or retain symmerty? thanks and all the best!

edit: double post

Hi!! I elaborated John design a little I have 2 questions: 1) is it better to have this wall slanted by the slot resonator , as it is in the drawing, or should I slant the actual wall and waste the space behind? (now used by the slot cavity) 2) I thought it would have been better to put the dor like this, so I could treat each corner with bass trapping. thanks and all the best!

Alberto - I added the slot to use the space behind - the front of the slot resonator creates the angle, the space behind gives the slot a decent cavity. The rear door I moved so you would have a decent space for the rear couch and riser, you can use your version if you like.

That's a great design John. Andre