constructing a studio in Spain

Hi everybody, it's my first post here and I am looking for some advice before an upcoming trip to Spain, in the region of Malaga/Cordoba, to scout out a studio location, while looking for a house as well. It's a space I aim to record myself mainly in the beginning (live instruments including violin, drums, piano), but maybe eventually take it semi- commercial. I have been reading through the information here and in other places both about acoustics and construction techniques, as well as having read through Rod Gervais' book several times. All this has been tremendously helpful, and I guess I am now looking for more specific advice relevant to my situation. My budget would reach up to US$20,000, and I want to make the best of the budget - whilst neither I nor my partner have experience in studio building, he has some experience of general house construction, and I hope to get the most professional result I can with what I have available, and a lot more research and help from friends. I am still thinking on whether to go for the one-room approach or separate rooms; whether to build inside an existing outbuilding/storehouse and possibly extend, or start from scratch - some answers I receive here might be very helpful when we're looking. So here are a few basic questions, I'm not terribly experienced at all this yet so please bear with me: 1. Many of the existing older buildings, which we will be looking at, are basically made of two stone layers, with rubble/cement in the middle, and whitewashed on the inside. On average, these would be rectangular but with slightly uneven walls, with a sloping tiled roof and wooden beams, and around 200-250sq feet. If I want a natural sounding live room, would it be a good idea to use these existing spaces as the actual walls of a live room? I guess then I would have to do a separate control room add on, with room in a room etc., for more controlled acoustics. Isolation would not be much of a problem I think - this would be out in the countryside in olive groves, with the nearest neighbours a few kilometres away. It rains about once a year for a few days. 2. If I was going for a one-room design, which would be easier since I would often be recording alone, could I have somewhat of a dedicated 'control room' treatment at one end and still a lively sounding 'live room' (stone/wood etc.) at the other? I know compromise must be involved to an extent, but is there a minimum size you can recommend for such a configuration to work decently enough, or very well? 3. And a more general one now, looking for possible ideas/suggestions from those with more experience.. If I started from scratch on a plot, isolation not being too much of an important factor like mentioned earlier, but rather really going for a live room with great natural ambience (on top of the usual requirements for a tame control room whether separate or included), what are some of the materials you might use for inner or outer walls/ceiling? I know that is a very open-ended question indeed, but any suggestions or preferences would add to my general knowledge base! Any suggestions for further reading too would be useful, I have some time yet to plan and learn more! Thanks a lot in advance for all your help, Shirley

Hi Shirley, 1. on paper the houses sound great! How much room will be dedicated to the studio? 2.Easier-Yes Cheaper-Yes Live end dead end-one room studios work well. The use of clouds over the mix position also. I think you need to find the place 1st, cause no matter how much you plan now, things will change. lil

Thanks for your response. I will dedicate as much space as I can according to the budget, space won't be an issue. I was asking question no.3 to get some sort of idea of the work/money involved for a good sounding space, which would ultimately affect the type of place we would choose, as the current possibilities range from stone ruins to houses just needing a lick of paint or new roof tiles. Also, there seems to be a lot of information out there on getting a well isolated place and a well treated place (neutral acoustics for control room etc.), but not necessarily so much on getting a great sounding place to play in and record in. Being a classically trained musician, I am interested in capturing some nice 'room ambience' with minimalist techniques, for which the character of the room matters more I would think! I've just ordered 'Master Handbook of Acoustics' by Everest and 'Recording Studio Design' by Newell, which seems to have a bit about stone rooms coincidentally; hopefully these might help me get on the right track.

You´ll love Newells book(s) in my world he´s a guru, he´ll cover many aspects of studio design and it´s filled with additional tips and stories regarding to recording. Like the importance of big cubic volume in great recording rooms "Studios are like boxers a big one will almost always beat a little one" My main advice would be to keep things rigid, as anything that can vibrate will create ghost notes, like having only one layer of thin gypsym on a wall... I´m a big fan of "one" rooms and i think there are many dusty big live rooms and overcrowded small control rooms.. especially in this age & it´s methods. /Best of luck and it would be great to continue hearing about your project! / Toby