My first studio.... any help would be much appreciated!

Hello, I am setting my first project studio that is not just a computer/interface in my bedroom and I have several questions... I would love any and all help. I am looking for answers that are really cheap but can make a difference. Diy/homemade solutions welcome. (I don't have a big budget) My space is two rooms. Big room: 22'x17' = 374 Sqft Small room: 17'x11' = 187 Sqft The ceiling on both rooms starts off at 8' and slopes up to 12' Questions: 1. The big room has a pretty bad sound to it (slapback echo ish). What would be an a somewhat easy/cheap way to treat the room? I don't want a dead room, just a decent sounding room with a nice ambience. 2. The floors are solid concrete. What would be the best cheap method to absorb some of the sound? Carpet, area rugs, woodfloor, etc?? 3. There are 3 windows, that I would like to seal up so that sound is less likely to escape. Any suggestions? 4. The small room has a roll up metal warehouse door. Is there anyway to put something on the metal to absorb sound? 5. Any tips on putting in a cheap double window between the two rooms? Thanks in advance for any and all help! This is an awesome forum! b

Hi wundershunmusic. Welcome. I'd suggest you start here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7572

1. The big room has a pretty bad sound to it (slapback echo ish). What would be an a somewhat easy/cheap way to treat the room?

Search the forum for things like "acoustic treatment", "ceiling cloud", "bass trap", "panel trap", "slot resonator", "first reflection points", and read everything you find there. There is tons of stuff on room treatment.

2. The floors are solid concrete. What would be the best cheap method to absorb some of the sound? Carpet, area rugs, woodfloor, etc??

Either leave it as concrete, or if it looks ugly then lay laminate floor. Not carpet. Hard reflective floor, absorptive ceiling is the general recommendation for good room sounds. You normally do not want to absorb sound on your floor. It seems that the human ear relies on floor reflections for clues about space. Absorption normally goes on the ceiling and walls, but leave the floor hard.

3. There are 3 windows, that I would like to seal up so that sound is less likely to escape. Any suggestions?

Search the forum for terms like "window plug" and "sealing windows". Many folks have done that, and documented how to do it successfully. Basically, you need lots of mass in a frame, and a totally airtight seal, but it's more than that. In any event, treating just your windows will probably not help to isolate your room very much. You normally need to isolate the entire room to "stop sound escaping". Window plugs might help, but they probably won't be enough, depending on how loud yo are and how quite you need to be.

4. The small room has a roll up metal warehouse door. Is there anyway to put something on the metal to absorb sound?

Best bet on a low budget? Build a gobo on wheels. Search the forum for "gobo".

5. Any tips on putting in a cheap double window between the two rooms?

The terms "cheap" and "acoustic double window" don't actually go together. You can have a cheap window, or a good acoustic double window, but not both. If it is cheap, it won't isolate. To isolate, it needs to be thick laminate glass, which isn't cheap. Once again, take a look around the forum for threads where folks have built windows between two rooms, to see how they did it.

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Best advice any of us can give you is: Buy Rod's book, and read that plus the entire forum. - Stuart -