Basement Studio Ideas (pics inside)

Hey everybody, first time poster. I've been reading through this forum for the past few weeks and decided to join. I've read the rules and will attempt to provide as much info as I can. I don't have a sketch ( I fiddled with the sketch tool but got frustrated) though I am essentially working with a rectangle. I'm ready to put up walls where I need to because my basement shares it's space with a small kitchen and laundry area. The space I have to work with is essentially 30 x 9 feet. The back wall with the guitar amps on it i am thinking of taking down so i have the full 30 foot length. You will see the entrance to the basement from the stairs on the left side of the 2nd pic. When you go down the stairs into the basement, you look on to pic 3 where the drum kit is. (currently not setup as i just gigged this weekend) to the right of that is the kitchen and laundry. If I put walls up, I would be left with a corridor to the kitchen/laundry area and i am cool with that if need be. I'm going to be doing a laminate floor throughout this spring and redoing the bathroom in the far corner(not in view but right in front of stairs), so my plan is to plan for carpets where required and acoustic treatment as needed. Restrictions.. I have none. My neighbors already don't hear anything in the basement. My style of music is mainly hard rock and metal but I would like to be able to record vocals and other stringed instruments in the studio because i also drum in a celtic band and we have fiddles and bagpipes etc..obviously mic'ing amps is huge. For drums, I plan to use drum replacement in conjunction with live mics so I am not as picky there. Acoustically, I do find there is some slap back, but it is primarily from my cymbals when they are up and the workbench/other clutter. I should have cleaned up before taking the pics but to be honest, it is always quite busy down there with all the gear. Right now i just record in open space and that limits me. From what I have been able to understand from reading here and doing searches on studio tips, I would need a treated area for mixing, and might want a separate performance area for instruments and vocals. You will notice that the ceiling tiles are all insulated (pic 1) and i find this really kills a lot of natural reverb in the room. They are also low ceilings. I'm thinking this works in my favour but i am not entirely sure. Bass wise, I've noticed before when recording that a lot of my recordings are bass heavy. Clearly the lack of bass traps is killing me there. I thought it would be beneficial to create at the very least, a room that had sound treatment and a small window into the mixing area so the performer can take direction and see into the mixing room. So I was wondering, having a look at the pictures and understanding my needs a bit, can I get by with something like portable DIY acoustic baffles that can be placed around the drum kit, amps, stringed instruments, or is there a need to separate things by putting up walls? I was thinking of an equipment room in order to keep anything that might deflect sound OUT of the areas where i am recording or monitoring. Any advice would be helpful. I don't have central heating/ventilation so not sure about going air tight/sound proof would be in my best interest or safe for that matter. Thanks in advance and please excuse me if i have missed something that i should have posted in order for this to be answered. I have a brother who is an engineer but his forte is mechanical and structural. He's happy building but said it is up to me to know exactly what I want and need from the finished product. Guessing is therefore probably not the best idea 8) If you'd like more pics or even a basic floor plan, I can provide that. Thanks

Alright, I played around with some free software in an attempt to sketch something out. Kept the measurements more or less faithful in terms of the entire basement. I'm hoping this will give you guys an idea of the layout.. That is a water heater in a closet under stairs, bathroom and bottom of stairs. Pretty much a giant rectangle to work with and need to think of what I might do with the kitchen.. ideas would be helpful. An EDIT: re-read the sticky on posting and I thought I should add a budget. I figure I'll be spending 1-2k on flooring and redoing a small bathroom already so Ideally I would like to keep this around 2k (and preferably under) for construction and then add on later for anything else i absolutely need.I might in fact just leave the bathroom roughed in and not work on it this year in favour of a studio :roll:

welcome! one option, since it sounds like isolation isn't the concern, would be to replace some of the ceiling tiles with space couplers and panels with slots cut in them (alternating) and add absorption above that. this could extend the "space" and work to remove the echoes and still provide enough absorption where needed. consider polys on the walls to keep things diffusive and add some bass absorption. perhaps some deep cloth cover absorbers between the polys. you might need some panel traps as well depending on what the acoustic measurements tell us. if you're not going to encase the "control room", you might consider some free-standing treatment cabinets to form a symmetrical area on the floor for your desk. use gobos to separate the instruments and adjust the mix space when needed.

Thanks for the response! space couplers and polys I am going to have to do some research on through the refrence material on this site as I am not too familar with what they consist of but I think that is manageable. When you mention panels with slots, are you referrinf to slats over panels? If i understand correctly, what you have described consists of acoustically treating the area i plan to use on the ceiling and walls but then also creating partition acoustic panels that i can place around instruments as required correct? So now the flip side question, If I did decide to create a two room design that consisted of a control room and a recording/isolation room, with 2' space between walls and double solid core doors, is there a preferred design for the following: - angled corners in those rooms? Or can I hang DIY bass traps for absorption and to deflect sound waves so they aren't running and bouncing into/off 90 degree corners? - air flow/ventilation. Is there any danger to making something sound tight if I don't have central heating/air? - I've seen a few diff sketches that would probably work well in my basement. Are there specific angles for corners that are best? I also suppose that subsequent acoustic "tuning" of the room in terms of what you put up is largely preference to how live or dead you would like the room? Thanks for the help soo far and getting me started. I know it is up to me to do a lot of the leg work but a guiding hand around the theoretics is always great help. :)

if you were going to create a separate CR, make the CR symmetrical. then treat corners etc. i don't know you need 2' of separation. the bigger concerns would be the ceiling as a flanking path and the floor. Sepmeyer 1:1.14:1.39 works.

Thanks for the design.. I was having a look at it downstairs and I thought i would float the idea of movable gobo's. I could close of the laundry/kitchen area and leave an opening which i could slide a gobo to cover when recording. I have indicated the two gobos in brown lines on the document. Other than that, I see what you are saying about the low ceiling and floor being a concern. Will i find solutions for this by searching the forum or is there a tutorial or other you can point me in the direction of that will assist me in designing my way around this? I have two support iron beams encased in bulk heads down there as well and i think that is probably also an acoustic disaster waiting to happen is it not?

I could close of the laundry/kitchen area and leave an opening which i could slide a gobo to cover when recording.

For what purpose? If you are planning to use them to isolate your room, then that won't work at all. Isolation requires abundant mass and totally hermetic, airtight seals. That's practically impossible to get with mobile gobos. But if your plan is to use them for treatment inside the room, then that's a possibility. On the other hand, if they are only for treatment (not isolation), then you probably don't need them anyway, or at least not in those positions.

Will i find solutions for this by searching the forum ...

You bet! :) This forum is a gold mine of very solid, sound (excuse the pun) detailed and correct information on acoustics. It's one of the best places on the internet, in fact. The only problem is that it is not really organized in a manner that allows you to find things easily. The search function helps you there, or you can do what many of us do: just jump in and wade around, reading through the threads of some of the many builds here, following the links, etc. That could keep you occupied for years, but when you finish, you'll be an expert.

or other you can point me in the direction of that will assist me in designing my way around this?

The two best books that are often recommended here are "Master Handbook of Acoustics" by F. Alton Everest, and "Home Recording Studio: Build it Like the Pros", by Rod Gervais. Between those two, you'll learn all you need to know to understand the basics of acoustics and studio design. Or you can just start posting your own designs, based on what you already know, and asking questions about them. That kind of is how things work here. This is sort of a "self service" forum, where you learn what you can until you get stuck, then post your design so far and explain why you are stuck, so someone can help you get over that, and you can carry on until you get stuck again.

I have two support iron beams encased in bulk heads down there as well and i think that is probably also an acoustic disaster waiting to happen is it not?

Not necessarily. It depends on where they are, how they are enclosed, and what they are doing. Most likely they wont cause you too much trouble, unless they are in particularly troublesome places. By the way, what part of Ottawa are you in? I have family there... - Stuart -

I think isolation is probably out of the equation then from what I take from most of your comments... that is, it could be done but not with major overhauls. What I planned to do with the GOBO's was essentially treat the room for acoustics and control of sound frequencies rather than isolate. A control room would just make it more comfortable to do the mixing after all the recording is done. I'll continue reading.. right now i am still not clear on whether or not i just go with one open concept type of studio or divide it up. I think the biggest problems as mentioned, are the ceilings. That and the kitchen area because of the way sound bounces off fridges, stoves, washer and dryer etc.. I think what I will do is sketch up to possible scenarios and then have you guys comment back. As you suggested, that might be the best approach.

By the way, what part of Ottawa are you in? I have family there...

Close to downtown, near the train station off of Riverside. Love the location, close to everything for me :)

Ok, seeing as pictures speak a thousand words, I have reworked my diagram. I've been reading about basement studios and open concept studios and I have seen suggested that in small places, I might benefit more from just having one large space. However, in doing so, I would have to make sure that the mixing area is set up properly. See the attached picture.. I figured that if i put a mixing station along the bottom wall and either: A. build the walls in the shape as i have indicated by the red marks (which really at that point I might as well just have the mixing room as suggested a few posts up.) B. Use Gobos for acoustic purposes (on wheels so can be placed behind mixing area when i mix or for reflection in the live room when I track. I would have an equipment room at the top of the diagram, close off the kitchen area again not for sound proofing, but purely for acoustics and look (keeping waves from bouncing all over that kitchen area. Have double french doors open into kitchen so i can let light in from the only window in the basement. On the back of those doors i could put acoustic paneling if needed. The green lines on the diagram are possible bass traps/ acoustic panels. The red would be movable Gobos. Not sure what their height would have to be but i am guessing 6 feet anyway as my ceiling would be between 7.5 and 8 feet depending on how it is finished. Ceiling. I can take down ceiling tiles right now and have access to open joists. The previous owner stuffed them with pink insulation to help cut down on sound as well so they are pretty dead. Taking down the tracks that hole the tiles would probably buy me a bit more height/clearance and i could finish it with drywall and maybe hang some type of diffuser over the center of the tracking area. With the walls and doors as i have drawn them, i'd end up with something that is not a square for recording and i think this is likely a good idea is it not?

you would want the control shape to be the other way around with the red gobos out similar to the CR shape in my previous diagram.

Got it.. as they would be movable, my idea was to use them as they are in the diagram when live recording because essentially as you mentioned, there is no "isolation" unless you've built permanent structures with soundproofing in mind. When I would be mixing, I would flip the Gobos around so that i end up with the following attached diagram. This would make sense would it not? Note the horrible drawing of a desk and speakers. I'm at work and doing this between calls. :) My only other question then, would be whether or not i should take down those ceiling tiles in order to gain a bit of height and mount finished drywall there instead? That would be more of a look and feel thing because there are already tiles there which are deadening the sound..

much betterer!

Thanks! Ok last question for the road before I really start to plan this out and prepare a plan of action. Say I removed the gobos as indicated by the red and i moved the mixing station out from the wall so that I was actually sitting at the red lines mixing. Would there be issues with the rest of my room or would this be even better for mixing? Again there are no issues with isolation, I realize i will be tracking in the same room i mix in. I will simply do the two isolation headphones on/ off depending what i am doing.I've read different opinions on how far off the wall one should mix from.

One possible concern would be the impact of the speakers far enough out from the walls to cause a lose of symmetry unless you mean to turn the mix position around so the front "wall" is the red gobos.

I think that answers my question.. regardless of where i orient the mixing desk, I still need to have a symmetrical space or room to mix in. The gobos need to be there or a seperate control room wall needs to be built as in the sepmeyer pic. At this point I almost think a seperate control room would be better for me given that my tracking area is an irregular shape. It is either spend a bunch on these gobos or built a flat wall and put angled traps/panels into the corners. It is making more sense. Almost there i know .. :horse: