John Sayers, I'd appreciate your input on my new studio!

I'm about to begin construction of a new studio in my garage. Though I have had several (home) studios in the past (and have produced much music in these (simple) home studios ( http://kidzvids.com/nathan.htm ), I still really don't know too much about studio construction. I was referred to your forum (by the MixMasters) newsgroup. They suggested I draw up my current floor plan for my studio and submit it to you...that you might have some ideas for improving it. I drew up a basic idea last night of how I've been thinking of building it the studio...here's a picture: http://www.kidzvids.com/nathan/nathan_new.jpg Truth is, I'm thinking of filling the walls with sand. When I tell people this, they freak out and I get mixed reactions. But it seems that with 2x4's determining the width of the walls (I am operating on a budget), 3 and a half inches isn't that thick of a wall to get good soundproofing with. Sand seems like it could maybe help out? I'm not too sure what materials to use to put behind the (false) walls inside the studio. Should these walls be made with plywood (like the outer walls)?--Should there be some sort of bass trap-type materials put behind those walls? For the area behind the sofa (in the back of the room)...what kind of material shoudl that be? Should it be a wooden wall (angled)?--Or should it be something more absorbsive with bass trap-type materials used behind it? I am planning on floating the room. So far we're thinking of building a 2x2 frame around the flooor and using half inch plywood for the floor. And sitting all this on rubber pegs of some kind. You'll notice in the picture that I plan to create the console fixed to the wall of the studio. This is how I did it before ( http://kidzvids.com/nathan/studio_pics.htm ) and it seemed to work fine. But I noticed that in all your designs, there wasn't one console pushed up all the way against the wall (or window). I like doing it this way because when we build the console, it's much easier to build it sturdy right into the wall and it doesn't need legs that reach the floor. Since I will only have one room for mixing/tracking...I have no glass window. The plan so far is to put in 2 doors, each opening oposite to the other...to offer more sound proofing. One other area we are not sure about is the need for an air conditioner. I think we will most definitely need one...but what would be the best way to build that into the room without losing too much soundproofing? Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and offer your suggestions, I do really appreciate it! Nathan

Nathan - first - forget the sand idea. The strength of wall required to hold a vertical column of sand is beyond your budget and whilst it's sounds super cool to say I'm going to use sand, practically it's a silly idea. I suggest you go to this site and read up a bit as all your questions are dealt with there plus read through the posts on this site especially in Steve's construction forum. http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/index.html cheers john

Well, as for the sand idea, all I can say is that about 50% of the people at MixMasters thought it would work...and my carpenters have been calculating the strength needed (of the walls) to hold it in. But, as for the design and angles in the room...please let me know if there are any mistakes there! I was hoping for some corrections or improvements to the basic design. Thanks, Nathan

I've seen sand used in a ceiling and it worked fine - I'm not sure about walls and as you say - it's 50/50 chance eh? I've built consoles up to the font wall as you've described. It works fine To me your design looks fine - use the corners for bass trapping and make sure you have a dead rear wall. The side splays could be slot resonators for the low mids. cheers john