Studio Design Help Needed - Thanks in advance

Hello, I'd like to get started by saying I may not be the best at getting things right on the first try. But, I am willing to fully answer any follow up questions you may have. It will only help me in the future. First: My location - I'm in Ewing Township, a suburb of Trenton, New Jersey, USA Second: It is my house, and I will be building in the basement. The house has existed for 50 years, and shows no signs of leaks from the walls or the floors. The basement does not have an odor or a feeling of dampness. No dehumidifiers are running. It has 5 windows, cinder block walls, a few poles for holding the structure up. Third: My needs - I need to build one room that will allow me to not annoy my neighbors with drum noise/Guitar amp noise. I do not think I need 100% isolation. Just a level of reason ability. The other room can be simple, I don't mix at levels that are very loud. so, isolation is not completely necessary. I am even open to the idea of keeping the cinderblock walls. Whatever works, and is cost effective, I am open to. Fourth: my sketch up skills are lacking. I've spent 3 hours, and barely have a box. When it comes to really building, I'm much more effective. I do have some very accurate measurements, and i've checked, and double checked them. I have also taken a number of pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49101238@N08/ Fifth: Dimensions North wall : 180" + 36"(closet area) West wall : 344.75" (Windows on the wall are 33" wide, and land 40" from the corners. South wall: 186" (window is 33" wide, and lands 104" from corner) East wall: 46.25" in closet area, 7.75" Cinderblock, 289.75" open space. Room is 82" to the sill, 85" to the bottom of the joists, and 92" to the sub-flooring. I tried to make a simple picture. it's in the flicker. I'd like the isolation room to be in near the north wall. Thanks, Len [removed] I forgot to measure where the poles land in relation to the outer walls, I will add that tonight.

welcome! what kind of proximity to your neighbors? do you currently perform in the basement? who will do the construction? what kind of equipment do you have/will have? workflow? do you plan on having the drummer sit in isolation and the rest of the band in the CR? or a mix of folks in the isolation room? (thinking the trade off between which room is larger) how about heat/cooling/fresh air?

welcome! ~Thanks! I've been here a while, but finally able to start using all the knowledge available. what kind of proximity to your neighbors? ~ Approx 20 feet on the West Wall, none in any other directions do you currently perform in the basement? ~ I do not, as I just purchased the house in December. I have used 2 bedrooms as a mix and simple isolation, but that is not ideal. who will do the construction? ~ I will be doing some of the construction, and I have a friend who runs a construction company to help me with the difficult stuff. what kind of equipment do you have/will have? ~ I currently have a full studio's worth of equipment. Control 24, w/ a ton of outboard equipment. a full drum kit, 5 or 6 half stacks, etc... workflow? ~ I typically do a lot of metal and hardcore records I like to start with the drums and work forward through the remaining instruments. do you plan on having the drummer sit in isolation and the rest of the band in the CR? ~ Yes, drummer in isolation, and then track the rest piece by piece. or a mix of folks in the isolation room? ~ Anyone in the isolation room, would be either scratch tracking or feeding to the live room, while final tracking. No vocal booth necessary (thinking the trade off between which room is larger) how about heat/cooling/fresh air? ~ Another friend is an HVAC installer, so I will need to design for that, and have him install what is needed.

Hi Len, and Welcome! What concerns me about your build is the available height: 85" before you even start isn't much, and form the photos it looks like you have some serious intrusions into that height. Especially considering that you want to isolate acoustic drums down to practically nothing 20 feet away: that's a tall order. You need something like 65 dB of isolation to do that. I can't see your finished ceiling being any higher than about 81", without even considering the treatment! That means that the overhead mics on your drums will be very close to the ceiling, and thus will suffer from all sorts of acoustical nasties, such as comb filtering, early reflections, and other stuff. I'm not saying that you can't do it: if that's the only space you have, then that's what you have! I'm just saying that you need to be realistic with your expectations: Yes, you can isolate your rooms well, and yes you probably can do a reasonable control room (CR) in that height, but it will be very hard to get good drum recordings in there, or most other instruments for that matter, due to the limited height. So is it a usable space? That depends on you! If you reckon you can live with the limitations, then go for it! Folks here will help you out as best they can, and you will get the best possible studio for that space, if you build it right. As long as you realize the limitations, then all is well. So if you are OK with all of that, then please post your SketchUp model of the space that you have, and others here will probably be able to take that and make some suggestions on how to optimize the use of your space. - Stuart -