"Best" size for control room + studio?

Tomorrow night I have a meeting with an architecht. I'm building a new house in the northern summer and I'm biting the bullet and building a studio as well. Here are my first two questions: 1. Should I build the studio as/in the basement or should I build a separate building next to the house for the studio? 2. What is the optimal size for the floor plan - I simply want a control room + a recording room/area Cheers in advance for your suggestions, Dingo

What would you be recording? The needs for a single person singing are drastically different than a brass quartet, rock band, orchestra, etc. -lee-

Hello! I can't give much construction advice as I am just getting involved in a new project but can tell you I have made many mistakes in my current set up/ Basement setting studio. So with that said I can tell you I worked hard at the sound proofing of this project studio noise IN/OUT creating a dead room & live room for recording drums and related issues of having children running around the house, heat/air conditioner on & off, pipes, heating ducts & a wife that has had interrupted TV viewing for the past 3-years & always dealing with sound related issues etc. you get the picture. I have decided the way to go is a separate room that I am currently building on the side of my kitchen/great room which is 20X26 with 16' ceilings to get away from all the disturbances and have a separate entrance into my studio which was a major issue when bands were tracking through my house to get to the studio. I have been recording hard driving Rock bands, which are LOUD so I feel the sound proofing to be important from the start and +good design. I have been told 90% planning 10% construction. I may need to consult a pro for some designs and help so this is done corectly from the start so will watch your replies and can say a forum like this would have made a big difference in the outcome of my first project. I do not know if any of this helps but thought I would post because your answers will be helpful to me in my new construction. Good Luck! Timothy J Bartoszek Cleveland, Ohio http://www.rocksyde.com

To be honest, most of the stuff I'm recording at the moment is rock bands. I need to ensure that I can set up and record rhythm tracks without it becoming too tight - both from an acoustic AND player comfort viewpoint. I have downloaded some great studio floor plans for some initial ideas, but none of them include ceiling height for example, and of course none specify if they are in a basement or a separate building. That's where I'm hoping this forum - you guys - could give some opinions and direction. Thanx again, Dingo

OK, thanks - that gives a bit more to start. First, I'd really consider if you want only a single recording area. Even in a basement, you can often partition off two spaces - and that can be VERY helpful -- because of drums. Drums are so loud that unless your room is very very large, you get a lot of bleed into the other microphones. This will drastically cut down on your editing and processing options later. There's a ton of difference in cost between basement and seperate building. How is the area? Do you have close neighbors? How much sound do you need to contain within the recording studio, and how much can leak out?(i.e. bass, kick, etc.) The biggest question - what is your budget? What is the "best" is typically only able to be answered in the context of a budget. Building a great sounding studio can be more expensive than most folks want to think about. Ceilings - as high as possible. If its in the basement, its worth the extra money to get them to put in 10' or higher ceilings. The problem is that the ceiling and the floor form two parallel surfaces (unless its a seperate building with a sloped ceiling). You need space to put in the acoustic treatments to keep the sound from bouncing back and forth between these surfaces. In a darn good scenario, I'd want a drum room, a live room, a control room, and a closet or two where I could stuff amps or screaming vocals for more isolation. This can all fit in a basement if you plan carefully. -lee-

laptoppop wrote:

In a darn good scenario, I'd want a drum room, a live room, a control room, and a closet or two where I could stuff amps or screaming vocals for more isolation. This can all fit in a basement if you plan carefully. -lee-

I'm keen on more info about this "darn good scenario". Do you have any links or plans for something like this that I could look at and get ideas from? 10' ceilings should be no problem for a basement, and obviously no worries if I build a separate building, we could go higher if need be. We are buying/building this summer and my better half is also a musician (lucky me - really) and we both want the focus/priority of the property to be the studio...the house/living area comes second. The budget is not infinite, but it's there if we decide to build a separate building say, 20' x 30' (I'm picking numbers out of the air here). We will do what's necesarry to get our new studio built, up & running to record clients (mostly rock & pop bands) and ourselves too. Leakage to neighbors will be a problem, so isolation is critical. Cheers again, Dingo

Where are you located? I can guess, but it makes a difference for costs. What is your budget? That will make a huge difference. 20x30 at $200./sq ft american works out to 120,000 american, and thats on the way way way low end with you doing a lot of the work yourself. Building a studio is more similar to building a boat than to building a house. -lee-

I'm located in Europe - Germany. Building costs are not so expensive over here (but land is!) I can get a 20 x 30 brick building built for around USD20,000 (with a lot of help from friends in the biz) But the main costs will be the interior. I'd expect to drop around USD30,000 on the fitting out the inside but these are very early ballpark figures. Cheers, Dingo

Building a studio is more similar to building a boat than to building a house.

YUP!! right on Lee :):) you've built one and you sure know what's involved cheers John :)