New studio layout, help and suggestions please

Hey everyone, Just found John's boards for the very first time per suggestions from a lot of people I have been talking to about building a studio for some time now and thought I would check it out. I must say how much of a great resource this place is and what a great job you all have done in putting this together. I am currently in the process of working with a 30ft x 20ft space (square unfortunately, but that will all change) with an 18ft high ceiling at the peak (7ft where the ceiling meets the walls). Everything is currently built like a barn pretty much with just the structural beams and the outter boards, so I have a fair start to put up double walls..etc. I just started renovating this project today (after much previous consideration and research so far) and look forward to reviewing the concepts and layouts on the site in greater detail to work on my studio. I don't have access to my home cpu at the moment or I would post a sketch of the layout for some feedback, but will hopefully post a layout drawing and upload some pics of the space that were taken today (Day 1) on my website as I intend to fully document this journey (www.charlienaebeck.com). I am sure I will have many questions along the way and much more researching, so I look forward to chatting with everyone on the boards and learning the proper way to build the studio. Best Regards, Charlie

Here goes nothing, I drew up a rough sketch of a concept I have for this space today and scanned it and uploaded it to my site. Any suggestions for any other layouts or anything would be greatly appreciated. You can view my sketch and find out details further about the space at: www.ntertainmentgroup.com/charlie/studio My main concerns are if the layout looks acoustically decent and if I have enough isolation on the South side (left part of the sketch) for the walls being that is the side that the road is 30 ft away from roughly. I want to keep the car sounds out as much as possible. What do you guys think of my idea's otherwise? I am not new to building things, but am new to building things while keeping acoustics in mind and sound proofing. :) Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions. Best Charlie

In your ruff sketch could you add some ruff dimensions. To show us your use of space. Specifically size of control room and size of ISO booths It's interesting your loungs is larger than your control room. You should change that. Possibly cut a little space off your live room.

Thanks for the tips Bryan, I will draw up a revised layout sometime tommorow and post once again. The reason I actually left the lounge a little bit bigger is due to the fact that I was thinking of adding a rest room with facilities for clients that came through. At the moment it does not look like it is going to happen though due to the fact there is no indoor plumbing previously in the building and in order to put it in would add an un-forseen cost that I do not need initially (initially this studio is going to be for personal use, and use of the projects I perform in and maybe some light client work as I build a base). I agree with your idea of making the control room a bit larger. I do have possible other room in the building (on the lower floor if I can talk the owners who are my 'rents into allowing me to use it) to add onto later if things really "took off" so to speak (I know I am dreaming at the moment about things taking off lol) if I wanted to add facilities later down the road. As far as the Iso Booths, I was thinking along the lines of maybe 6x6 just as a comfort figure at the moment. Of course if I make them "square" I will have to add bass traps into them and treat them a bit more. Would you have any suggestions on a comfortable size for them? My goal is to make them so I don't cram a singer into a hole in the wall, but not take up too much space otherwise from the rest of the layout if that makes sense. :) The one thing I was pondering while looking at the sketch also is the visual contact range from the control room to the Iso booths...... I may even take out the storage closet from the scenerio all together if I am going to run into space issues. btw.. great to see someone on the boards who is not too far away. Which part of Detroit are you from? I am just West of Ann Arbor myself.

Ok, new layout posted. http://www.ntertainmentgroup.com/charlie/studio I have listed most of the size that I can do with a simple paint program on this one tonight. It is about midnight now, and I think its time to call it a night on the project. lol Please let me know what you all think of the layout and any suggestions when you get a chance. Thanks again Charlie

Much better look. With that space however, I'd be a bit more aggressive with the treatment side of things. Angled Slat resonator walls, Better bass trapping, etc.... ISO room is cool. that angled wall should have a window on her for viewing from the control room.

Morning Bryan, Thanks, you read my mind on the ISO booth window actually. lol Maybe like a 4/5ft one facing the control room possibly? As far as slat resonators, and bass trapping goes what did you have in mind? The only bass traps I am familiar with is the ones where you put up a couple of boards at a 45 degree angle from one another or however large you would want the trap to be in a corner, insulate in the space, put a cloth or nylon over the front and then put slats over the front for the sound to creep into. I did intend on putting some slat resonators on the East wall in the Live Room which are the angled lines in my drawing at the moment. I am not quite fully sure how to build them yet, but I am sure if I look through the boards a bit more I can find out pretty well. :) I may end up reversing the entire layout also and putting the control room on the South side of the building, live room on the north, ISO in the NW corner..etc..etc. to accomodate for a stair case coming upstairs from the lower level from the inside into the "lounge" area so I wouldn't have to construct one outside to draw too much attention if you know what I mean. With the same dimensions, I am assuming that I would just need more slats and bass traps yet also correct? Thanks for all the feedback so far. I greatly appreciate the suggestions. Best Charlie

Have you looked at the various plans in this Design forum?? To get an idea??? If not I have posted a couple for you to glean from. Note the angle of the walls in the 2nd plan. The drum room has slat resonators (indicated in brown.) Not the CR in the 1st plan.

Hey Bryan, ahh, I understand. So, pretty much incorporate a couple things like the original sketch that I had with the angles going on to make the sound move a bit better with the slat resonators in the room eh? I am also digging the idea of having the control room in the center like that actually in the 2nd design and doing a layout similar to that one, but the only downfall I see is if I do a live band all at once and want to put a guitarist in the ISO booth, the visual line to the other performers across the control room from the iso booth to the live room might be a difficulty. :) Just out of curiousity, where are the design layouts on the site also? I haven't been able to locate them just yet and would like to peruse them for ideas. I will re-vamp the drawing a bit more and post an additional one on my site in a little bit when I get home this evening with a few slat resonators and see how it turns out. :) Thanks again for the help. peace Charlie

alrighty.... I re-designed the studio layout this morning and posted a new one in addition to the old one I had to reflect the changes. :) please check it out at: http://www.ntertainmentgroup.com/charlie/studio I wasn't sure if you meant to treat the control room a bit more from the previous post, but if so I will do another layout and repost a bit later. Thanks Charlie

Live room looks good, now you need to treat that control room. Those designs i posted for you to vibe from are very good acoustically. Trust me you want a GREAT sounding control room as great as you can get it. My mixes are so much warming and so much better layered now. :)

For the door to the control room, would it be best to put it in the front of the control room to the left of the console where I have it, or put it in the center of the room like in the first layout that you had posted for me? The reason I ask is because a lot of studios that I have visited seem to have the door in front or to the side of the console and I wasn't sure if this would have much conflict with the acoustics or not? Thanks

IMO unless you are angling that wall (not the treatments, but the actual wall itself, it would be better to place the door towards the rear of the control room. My Door for example is located just after my slat resonator walls in my Control room.

ok, so lets say for example that I put angled walls maybe about 3/4 the way back from the front of the control room by the back of the room and then put slat resonators all across them sort of like the back of the control room (the brown treatement area) in the first design you posted only a little more angled on the sides. Would it be a good idea to put a couple of regular bass traps in the front 2 corners of the room with only that in place, or should I attempt to incorporate more angles into the room? I think there is going to be a couch in the back of the room as a variable also at the moment.... :)

My brain is tired, Draw it for me. :)

ok, will post in a bit when I get home. lol Thanks :D

ok, new drawing posted in the place of the old one with control room slat resonators in place. Please let me know if it looks cool like it would work for the acoustics. Thanks

Well you sorta did it backwards. No way do you want the rear of your room refelcting the sound back into your mix position. Reverse the layout leaving mix position where it is. :) Did you take a GOOD CLOSE look at the designs I posted???? Your live room is cool. Your CR is wrong, The brown area Should be Absorption and then you need to put up your angled Slat resonator walls in the front. Objective is to "push" the sound to the rear of the room where it will get absorbed. :) But at least you are thinking. :)

okie doke... back to the drawing board. :wink: I think I know what you are talking about, but I want to confirm that those back walls are to be angled or not like I currently have them drawn to absorb the most sound. Also, for the front of the room, should I do two 45 degree angle walls in the corner with the slats and then slat resonators all the way around my control room window that faces into the live room? :lol: The whole objective is to shove the sound from the front in one direction to the back and not have it come back at me from behind correct?

I am directing you to the BASIC room design I used. This is a basic design of how things might work :) You will notice the various angles, etc.....Slats up front. the rear is an angled false wall with insulation stuffed in it coverd in cloth. So forth and so on :)

here goes nothing. :D new one up. The only thing I wanted to add to this one for some extra slat resonators in the front of the room, was to put slat resonators in front of the desk in the control room around my control room window, but I cannot draw them in without destroying my window at the moment. lol The sides and back are meant to have treatment for absorbtion purposes on them this time. Not to mention the fact that I think having a couch might help absorb some sound back there also in the room. :) Let me know what you think. Thanks Charlie

Now we getting somewhere. Now remember what you read.... Your angled walls should extend just beyond the mix position. :)

Hey Bryan, well, the unfortunate news is that I just got the space for the studio pulled right out from underneath me so to speak and cannot use this space now for the studio layout. So I guess it is back to the drawing board for me in the mean time.... :roll: Thanks so much for all the suggestions so far though. I might post my current room that I am working out of on here in the mean time just to see how to work with the acoustics of it. I know I could use some in it. I will eventually be building a studio when I purchase a house in the next couple years or so though and will have tons of idea's otherwise then. lol Thanks again man. peace Charlie

Go for it. I managed to luck up and get recognition from mixing in an old 10x14 bedroom :)