Long and low in Paris

Great forum! I've learned a lot already, and have a ways to go. I'm just about ready to start a project studio renovation, so this happened at a good time. Let me know what changes I need to existing design: Usage: Two room (control room+tracking room) Project studio used for composition, practise, probably 1-2 albums/year, sound-for-video, narration. TR will be used as practise room for events, also we would like to have a home cinema in there. CR also used as my office. Type of music is mostly pop and rock, electric and acoustic. For about four years I’ve used a 6 foot x 6 foot wooden iso booth for everything including drums and have managed to do about five albums and lots of narration and video dubbing projects with this, but I really want something more workable/flexible. Location: Suburb of Paris, France in garage of 1961 brick+mortar three story house about 12kms from a major airport. Walls and ceiling are 20-22cm brick, mortar and plaster. Floor is concrete slab with slight slope towards a drain in the middle. Here is floor plan for this floor:  Interior dimensions of the room are: 10.55m long, 3.85m wide, 2.2m high (1cm less at the garage door entrance 2cm more just in front of gray wall in diagram due to some floor sloping to drain). The gray line in the top part of the long, narrow garage is the existing non-insulated wood-framed plasterboard dividing wall. The neighbouring house to the right is only about 30cm away (no access), the property continues in the back with a garden, and the street is about 10m away from the front (bottom in diagram). Limitations/problems: I need to preserve the functionality of the garage even if I won’t often be using it. This means being able to store our van (Renault Trafic, exterior dimensions including mirrors: 5.18m x 2.2m x 1.94m high) and motorcycle. There is a sewer drainage pipe 6.05m from the front wall (shown as small circle in design pic below), also a sewer trap access across from this same point in the floor. Here’s my first crack at a new design: Basically I brick up a doorway which becomes part of the back wall of a seven-sided (but small) CR. I would like to keep the existing exterior window (will be replaced with good quality 4-16-4 double pane) and add a CR to TR window about the same size in about the same place. I know the biggest problem will be the garage door. It’s shown in my design as a two-leaf instead of the four-leaf that it is now because even a two leaf is going to be hard to soundproof; a four-leaf would be too hard. But before getting to the construction part, can anyone see anything that should be changed with the design? I’m trying to pack a lot of functionality in here (CR, TR, practise space, home theater, garage) which is probably right on the edge of what’s possible, so any constructive advice/comments welcome. Thanks! Russ

In a shameless bump, what if I went to 90 degree speaker angles to save front space in the control room, and to give more space behind? Like this: Also, before I knew about this forum :( I contacted Auralex and asked what I should get and I have a whole stack of boxes from them. Here's what I have: 4 max stands 5 boxes 12 pieces 2" wedges 60cm x 121cm = 43.2 m2 2 boxes/8 LENRDS 30cm x 30cm x 1.2 24 pieces platfoam insulation 3" 8 pieces wedges 60 x 121 = 5.76 So I have a lot of absorbtion. :) I realize these garage studios are not as much fun to comment on as the purpose-built unlimited space high budget studios, but I'm just trying to do the best with what I have to work with. Thanks for any design suggestions and/or comments!! Russ

Hm, anyway I can also somehow get surround sound mixing in the CR? Just to leave the possibility open anyway. I tried with the 60 degree speaker positioning, but can't get equal distance: Russ

I'd go with the 90 degree speaker layout you proposed before cheers John

Hm, what if I abandon the idea of ever keeping a van in there, and try to use the whole space? Would this be my best bet? This way I have 11ft behind the mix positiong and the back wall, and a larger space to mix in. I could have a pull down screen in front of the glass window to the tracking room to show movies, although it would be a little less "home theater"-ish with the console and racks in there all the time. The surround speakers in the back and the center would have to be on stands, and just set up when needed. Would this be a WAY easier room to mix in, or just a little more comfortable one? Is there any layout ideas I'm missing? Russ

RussinParis wrote:

Hm, what if I abandon the idea of ever keeping a van in there, and try to use the whole space?...... Is there any layout ideas I'm missing?

Yes. Your van will get stolen. :lol: But seriously.... I would think the more room the better, not just for comfort but to reduce reflection problems/comb filtering. I just learned about that today. :)

John Sayers wrote:

I'd go with the 90 degree speaker layout you proposed before cheers John

I really would like to know why that's better for this room than the 60 degrees layout. I'm sure you have a very good reason :D.

I suggested that when you were using the smaller sideways room layout - I think your latest version is by far the best. Check out the 3D plan in this forum as it's similar to yours. cheers john