Hourglass Shaped Mixing Area and Layout Feedback

Hi all, am in the middle of building my studio, and could use a little feedback on my design. Please go easy, as it's under construction, and most changes would probably need to be filed away under "future improvements" unless the need is dire. The main reason for my post: I have ended up with this slight hourglass-shaped mixing area, I believe this to be the opposite of good, however I ended up there due to some idiosyncratic building elements I'd rather not dwell on which forces the shape of the upper wall. I decided to make the lower 18' wall match the angles 'cause hel, at least it is symmetrical and won't have flutter :-) However, I could use some ideas on what to do with that shape, I know I can build out an RFZ shape but I'd lose alot of sqr footage. Originally I was going to face the mix position towards the backyard/drum rooms, but decided that would make for too many little rooms, so I decided to include the drum area into the large room, and use the rear wall irregularity as a very large diffusor or bass trap. The positions of other elements are also infuenced by a variety of real world constraints-appeasing neigbors and getting some natural light in to my work space. Any thoughts?

I don't think the hourglass shaped room is going to hurt you if those 'peaks' in the side walls are behind the mix position. It doesn't look to me like the walls are angled enough to really kill off flutter, tho, so I wouldn't count on that. Hope this helps! Kase www.minemusic.net

Hi, the deflection is 3.25 inches and 3.75 inches, measured from each end of the 18' length of wall to the peak in the middle. And is symmetrical. i remember readin 1 inch in 10 feet kills flutter so I imagine I'm covered. I'm not SO stressed about that either way ... I hope you're right about the angle not being enough to wreak havok at the mix position, I'd hate to be setting myslef up for disaster. I guess anothe option would be to set up my mix position crosswise in that room. ( assuming I isolated that drum area) That was suggested to me by a pro, but I didn't feel so drawn to that. There's less tradition in that design and it seems like it would take extra wrangling to get it to work. And plus, wouldn't all the gear sort of end up in the middle of the room that way?

Are the rooms you have in your drawing exisiting rooms? Your drum room looks like its part of the control room. If the rooms exist, then you're probably better off putting the drums in the tracking/office. You'll want to make the best room for drums to isolate it from your mix position. Another thing you'll have to figure out is how you plan to be able to view the performance/performers and make eye contact. If your rooms bleed into the mix room, whats the sense of having separate rooms?

I am going to be located in the tracking room when I'm tracking drums. The office will basically double as a non-mixing control room. My original plan did call for walling off the drum room from the mix room, and entering that from the office, but it seems like I end up with too many small rooms. And it makes the office contain 3 doorways, making it as much a vestibule as anything. I'm still open to thoughts on that subject tho.

How about something like this ? Thomas

I like that use of splayed wall, where you make the main room top wall match the party wall, yet still have the shape of splayed walls, by angling the bottom wall more ... like taking the "normal" orientation and rotating it a couple of degrees.

that's a little better. at least you took care of the important function of a studio and that is isolation, mix position(whatever is on the left should be on the right) and visual contact. use of doors and anti-rooms help keep noise from getting in and out of your studio. your neighbors may be sleeping and oblivious, but its better to be on the safe side in case your neighbors change to nosey and cantankerous. use of splayed walls may be a good idea if you have lots of room. if you don't you might want to stick to a simpler design that gives you the most room without getting into a cube or rectangle-ish room. then counter standing waves with traps and diffusers. use of safety glass for your view windows is worth 6db in isolation help and is safer than single pane.