Hello - and my studio setup

Hi Everyone - Just found this site and have been looking around all day. Thanks for all the info. I hope that I do not ask any questions that could have been searched. But I wanted to say hello and ask a couple of things (sorry for the long post, hopefully I have covered all my bases): Music: I am a professional musician/composer working mostly on tv/media placements. Mostly smooth/contemporary jazz work, but getting into more mock-orchestral and soundtrack work. I do not mix loud, or have to worry about neighbors. Most of my work is done In-The-Box, but do occasionally record Vocals/guitar and would like to have more options, perhaps with Gobos. Setup (I also included some drawings): Room is a former bedroom with carpet, 2 walls are drywall, 2 are wood paneling, ceiling is drywall. Dimensions: W: 11' 3" (one little bit longer wall - see drawing) L: 15' 7.5" H: 9" (ceilings are flat) My current setup is shown in the "short" diagram, which works pretty well, other than firing the speakers the "wrong way". But it does make it easy to push record and turn to the piano and play. Treatment: None currently, other than furniture. There is a lot of glass framed artwork on walls - and I like the vibe the room has. I am planning on building some panels and traps. I could switch the room to the design shown in the "long" diagram. Do you think this would make a big difference (along with treatment, of course)? My questions are: 1) How does the Piano affect the sound/reflections, especially in the "long" layout? 2) Although not ideal, can I leave the room as is (short) and treat the walls? I am new to thinking about acoustics and layout and would love your suggestions. I sent this to Auralex and they suggested 4 traps, 4 panels and a cloud. My budget is around $200 for treatment - which is why i am thinking of DIY to start and once I get a bigger budget, start replacing/adding more pro treatment. Thanks for your thoughts.

Hi Kayle, Just a couple of quick comments. If this was me, the first thing I would do is take some actual acoustical measurements of what is going on in the room. Get a feel for what's happening at your listening position. Secondly I would absolutely prioritize what I want to use the room for. If primarily this is a room for creation, and your most creative with the piano at your fingertips and looking out the window as you work, then leave the room set up as is, treat what you can, live with the remaining issues. If it is most important to you to have mixes that translate well and a fairly accurate room, some major compromises will have to be made. $200 will not a great room make, but it will make it sound better. For the most part, the regulars here want to build the best rooms they can. They want what they mix to translate well, they want to take the room out of the equation as much as possible. Decide how high a priority this is to you. Now some actual advice. Treat your first reflection points with absorption (703) including your ceiling. Turn the closet into a bass trap and change out your flooring to something more reflective. The elephant in your room (piano) is going to be an issue for mixing no matter what you do (unless you want to pull it out of the room every time you want to mix :D ). Regards, Steve

Thanks for your thought Steve - I am planning on doing some measurements this week and see where it sits. I had a friend come in how does home theater setup, and he scoped it out with his 1/3 octave gear, but I read that this isn't fine enough resolution to really see what is going on. So, I will try and do better with EQ Wizard and see what I can come up with. The biggest issue is I haven't got a testing mic, so I will use what I have and see what I get. Maybe I can get an idea of what is going on. As for what I need to room to do - I think it needs to walk the line between being creative and translating well. At least as best I can. If I had to break it down, I would say the room is 55-60% creative and 35-40% mixing. So I need to balance each one as best as possible. I plan on hitting the first reflection points and some bass traps first and then hit the ceiling and add more bass traps as money and time allows. I know this isn't the best practice, but it is what it is. Thanks for your advice. kc