Laying out and treating an unusual barn shaped studio

Hi My names Dave, I have been using this forum for a while now and i really respect the service you provide for everyone starting out that needs help with acoustics... With all the people you've helped in the past on forums and all the guides posted for free on your websites, i have access to a wealth of information... The only problem is my room is not typical , its barns style with angled walls and very low ceiling, i have a basic understanding of acoustic principals but seeing how strange my room shape is i really could use some expert opinions on the layout, monitor placement and treatment. I have a decent measurement mic and room eq wizard so i can do the fine tuning but i just need a good starting point and some fresh ideas. The studio is a one room for recording and mixing all kinds of music from acoustic to hard rock but it will be mostly for recording jam sessions on full live bands so it will need to be versatile. Its constructed with fluffy fiberglass insulation behind 1/2 Sheetrock with a floating laminate floor. Its located in a quiet neighborhood so isolation from the outside isn't too much of a problem. However we do get an angry phone calls from the neighbors on occasion. I'm not interested in building any double walls of loosing any space so its not really a priority, however the windows are single pane so i was thinking of making some panels i can place over them while tracking... im open to ideas.. LAYOUT .. I need advice on the best way to setup my room, not only for acoustics and speaker positioning but also workflow. the room is an all in one live/control room so it needs to have treatment for a critical mix environment as well as drums, guitar and bass. i illustrated in the attached pics where everything is with my current setup but i intend to move whatever pending your suggestions. Its a Nuendo DAW setup so the large mixing board in the pic is for monitor mixes only so it doesn't need to be within the speakers sweet spot .My biggest concern is that the room is not symmetrical , one wall is 63 degrees and the other has had a closet build onto it making it 90 degrees. I cannot remove the wall that makes up the closet so im not sure what to do. Should i build a fake wall on the other side? or just heavily treat both?. My other concern is my monitor placement , i have 2 sets of monitors , focal cms 65s for my near fields on the desk and a pair of Yamaha hs80ms on stands for reference near/mid fields. In my current setup i got as close as i could the 38% "guideline" but its impossible because of the stairs. My only two ideas are to either turn everything around and put the drums near the stairs ...or hang the speakers over the stairs with wire or stands. im up for any suggestions. TREATMENT....Currently i have a whole bunch of auralex 1inch foam, 20 or so OC 703 2" rigid fiberglass all wrapped in fabric as well as (2) 4" thick 2' x 6' rock wool and (5) 4" thick 4'x4' rock wool, im not sure the density or brand but it came out of pro studio so it probably decent stuff. i understand the idea of the reflection free zone and im assuming i need clouds due to the low ceiling. My concerns are what type/thickness of treatment to use for what and not making the room too dead for drums. Im also curious as to how i can use the empty closets and small useless angled corners of the room for some serious bass trapping. Finally is my room is big enough to benefit from a skyline type diffuser and if so what frequencies should it diffuse? ROOM SIZE 15'5"x 19'4" and is 7' 6" H ....the large wall is angled at 62 degrees and the other is a right angle, the ceiling angles are both 28 degrees. the large empty space in the sketch is the stairs coming up witch are 3' 7" wide I would greatly appreciate any help or ideas anyone can contribute. And Please feel free to edit/rearrange my sketchup file if you have the time. thank you http://www.mediafire.com/?kk1y5yqxvy385vz - dplambe

welcome! you should first and foremost do some level measurements to see where you are leaking the most sound. put some 3/4" plywood over the windows after the first test run to see if that make a difference. run sine sweeps and bass-drum music at 110db inside and use a sound level meter outside. it's very likely your roof is the main culprit. in which case, consider pulling down the drywall and adding isolation clips and hat channel with 2x (or 3x if your structure can support it - get a structural engineer on-site) 5/8" drywall. next - the floor you didn't document what's under it but that will also be a big emitter and sound leaking down the stairs and through the floor will be a problem. a big one. if you've read some of the other threads here on 2nd floor studios in wood structures, you will find it is not trivial to get very good isolation. beefing up the floor will also require your structural engineer to assess there as well.

Thanks so much Glenn for the info and ill be sure to run some tests on the leakage and isolation... although this is not my biggest concern and as for the floor, my studio is over my garage so leakage hasn't been a problem there...but fyi its a laminate floating floor with 2 layers of 3/4" plywood as well as fluffy fiberglass. ... I'm more worried about room layout/monitor placement regarding my symmetry issue. My other big concern is absorption and diffusion placement within the room. Any ideas would be much appreciated thanks again

i would put the desk by the window and the practice area by the stairs. this way you can control the symmetry on that end better and if its a bit constrained it doesn't interfere with the band moving in and out etc. you will need the usual treatments on your first reflection points - side, ceiling and on the angled ceiling parts. behind you, think gobos to block off some portion of the room during mix down. if you had the option to turn it all sideways and perhaps make a wall then you may end up with the isolation for the control room and better visibility but at the cost of less open space.

Thanks again Glenn, I'm going to take your advice and turn the entire room around so the drum set in near the stairs. I'm starting construction on the wall to make the mix position symmetrical. I have few concerns - How long does the new wall have to be? Ive read that symmetry is most critical in front of and next to your ears but how far back? -How should i treat the front and should i put any treatment behind it? - What can it be made out of ? sheet-rock, plywood ect. - whats the best way to treat the front wall with the window? - whats the best way to treat the rear wall with the drum set? diffusion or absorption? I Was also wondering how to treat the closet and the opposite large angled wall - Can the closet be used as a bass trap? -should i fill the useless floor/wall corner of the angled wall with fluffy fiberglass and cover it with fabric? - or just place rigid fiberglass in front or it and leave empty space behind it? sorry im asking alot of questions but these are my big concerns and i want to get it right the first time around...Any ideas or suggestions would be very helpful. thank you -Dave

a few feet behind your listening position should do it.