New studio build - middle school classrooms

I've been renting space in the basement of a commercial building for my studio for the past 6 years or so. The space available has been less than ideal. The owners of the building (who I am related to) are in the process of purchasing a much larger building - it was formerly a middle school. With a modest increase in rent, I'll have roughly 3 times as much space available with 12' ceilings. I've been waiting a long time to have a proper space to work with. They expect to close on the building in the next 1-2 months, and I'll need to move quickly on the interior construction and wiring. I'll have 2 classrooms to use for the space, accessible via the typical middle-school hallway. I've included a picture of an adjacent classroom that shows a moveable divider, but mine will be separated by cinder-block. I'm told that it's a supporting wall, but I'm not sure that's accurate. In either case, I won't be able to completely remove the wall as shown in the picture, but I can put in a large window and possibly a door if needed. I'll be doing all the work myself with help from friends and family -- some of who are knowledgeable with interior construction. I'll be buying the supplies myself on a somewhat tight budget. I do have a friend who owns a window shop and will build windows for me at cost. In short, I'll spend what I need to build a respectable space, but I can't afford to go overboard, and I'll need to be very resourceful. I record a variety of artists and groups ..Jazz, Rock, World music, strings, horns, etc... Given the location and cinder-block construction, I'm not at all concerned about noise levels, internal or external. I am a bit concerned about RFI from the AM broadcast towers nearby, but I'm hoping that's not going to be an issue. If it is, I'll have to invest in a ton of metal screening for a makeshift Faraday cage.... I know very little about room geometry and acoustics, and after doing quite a bit of research, I've concluded that it's over my head and I need help. The depth of knowledge involved with room acoustics is staggering and daunting to me. If you could take a look at my first attempt at planning and give me some suggestions, I'd be extremely grateful. Thanks! Sean

Hi Sean, and welcome! :)

I record a variety of artists and groups ..Jazz, Rock, World music, strings, horns, etc... Given the location and cinder-block construction, I'm not at all concerned about noise levels, internal or external.

What else will be going in in the rest of this building? Recording rock implies drums, with levels exceeding 115 dB. A cinder block wall will get you maybe 50 dB of isolation, so your drums outside the room will be around 65 dB, which is roughly the same level as normal conversation. That's pretty loud. Are you SURE that isn't a problem? You also say that you will be recording in there: are you SURE that no other noises in the building could end up in your recordings, due to poor isolation?

I know very little about room geometry and acoustics, and after doing quite a bit of research, I've concluded that it's over my head and I need help. The depth of knowledge involved with room acoustics is staggering and daunting to me.

It is a big subject, to be sure! But attacking it in small bite-size pieces, one at a time, can get you there! :)

If you could take a look at my first attempt at planning and give me some suggestions, I'd be extremely grateful.

For a first attempt, that's not bad at all! I would suggest maybe moving the two iso booths to the front of the room, on the sides, so you can have good sight lines into then, and also from them into the live room. It is important for musicians to have visual contact among themselves, and with the iso booths at the far end of the control room, that would be difficult. It would also make space for the bass trapping you will need in the rear corners of the control room. Another thing I would do is to get the speakers off the console meter bridge and either onto stands behind the desk, or better still, flush mount them properly in the angled sections in either side of the front window. That solves so many problems, it is well worth considering. - Stuart -

Thanks for taking a look and posting suggestions - much appreciated. Since I posted, the circumstances (and room) have changed a bit. I'm going to be in a single classroom now - it's a bit over half the space I thought I'd have. I may be able to rent the adjacent room in the future, but finances are only going to allow for one room for the foreseeable future. However, this room comes with it's own bathroom and an existing 'locker area' that'll work for a vocal booth. I was able to get in, measure the space, and test some gear out to make sure the nearby radio towers weren't going to create a problem.

What else will be going in in the rest of this building? Recording rock implies drums, with levels exceeding 115 dB. A cinder block wall will get you maybe 50 dB of isolation, so your drums outside the room will be around 65 dB, which is roughly the same level as normal conversation. That's pretty loud. Are you SURE that isn't a problem? You also say that you will be recording in there: are you SURE that no other noises in the building could end up in your recordings, due to poor isolation?

Wow... I'd have thought cinder block would give more isolation. The room is in a fairly isolated wing of the building. Nearby rooms will be used occasionally as meeting rooms, so I'm not worried about noise bleeding in. Noise bleeding out (65db - yikes!) may require me to schedule tracking around other things going on. It's the same boat I'm in now, unfortunately.

Another thing I would do is to get the speakers off the console meter bridge and either onto stands behind the desk, or better still, flush mount them properly in the angled sections in either side of the front window. That solves so many problems, it is well worth considering.

I'm using Auralex Isolater pads now (Yamaha HS50m's with sub), but I think you're right... stands would be better. I also use Event 20/20's, and I'm thinking about building soffits for those - depends on where I land on wall angles. I tried my hand at Sketchup, and given the new situation, here's what I'm thinking: I'll need to build the desk, as my current one really won't work in the space I have. I'm okay with that - looks like the move-in date isn't going to be until late January or early February, so I'll have enough time. I designed it to accommodate most of my rack gear without needing to make room for sidecars, etc... Here's the Sketchup file: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10985855/Posts/Leblanc_Temp.skp Any thoughts or suggestions?

Wow... I'd have thought cinder block would give more isolation.

Yeah, you'd think so. But with just a single-leaf wall, you are subject to a fundamental law of physics called "mass law", which is very hopeful for studio isolation. It basically says that each time you double the mass of a wall, you only get 6 dB increase in isolation. And that's 6 dB in theory: in practice you don't even get that. More like 4 to 5 dB. So even very massive walls don't offer as much isolation as you'd think, if they are single leaf. On the other hand, if you have a two-leaf wall, things are very different! You can get much higher levels of isolation with much less mass.

Noise bleeding out (65db - yikes!) may require me to schedule tracking around other things going on. It's the same boat I'm in now, unfortunately.

Building a simple stud frame an inch or so away from that block wall and putting drywall on one side of it, can greatly increase the isolation.

I'm using Auralex Isolater pads now (Yamaha HS50m's with sub), but I think you're right... stands would be better.

Right! While foam pads under the speaker can help a bit to reduce coupling, they do nothing to deal with the other big problem of speakers on meter bridges: reflections of the console or desk getting straight into your ears, and messing up your perception of the sound.

I tried my hand at Sketchup, and given the new situation, here's what I'm thinking:

That should actually work quite well. The shape is fine (RFZ-like: keeps early reflections away form the mix position), the size looks good, the layout looks about right, and it is basically the same as a typical "corner control room". Loos like it would work OK. - Stuart -