My Studio Design & Features (Design edited)

Hello and Happy Holidays Ya'll!! I finally got around to this part of planning for my studio. Below is my Smartdraw layout of how I'd like to build the Control Room and Vocal Booth. The deminsions are pretty close for the outside frame (which has already been constructed), but the angled inner frame has not been constructed yet. I need to know if this design is possible the way I have it layed out. I was going to angle the walls 6 degrees (starting at the rear of the control room in the corner behind the couch) all the way up to the console in the front. (Is this the correct way to do this?) One thing that's important for me to know about this layout is the fact that I have speakers on my console (near field) and larger speakers (I plan on soffit mounting) somewhat near the middle of the control room pointing towards the couch "sweet spot". I plan to use the near fields mainly when I'm tracking and doing vocals in the vocal booth along with doing "some" mixing occasionally. Through the years, I have found I need "a break" to get away from the same position and listening to the same speakers. When I get ready to mix, I will primarily be using the rear speakers. (I do not plan on having BOTH sets of speakers on during any type of recording or mixing) I plan to have a USB hookup at the couch position to plug my Laptop into and make adjustments to the mix. I guess there will be sound absorbing/reflecting concerns, but hey, that's why I need the input from this forum. In the rear speaker mixing position I will have a second Laptop primarily to stay in the "coffee table" area. This Laptop will have the capeabilty to select 1 of 3 cameras (1 in the control room and 2 in the vocal booth). A client or guest that cannot see inside the Vocal booth can see what's happening via the 2 cameras in there, but they will NOT have the capeability to talk to the person in the Vocal booth, they can only view.(Don't need too many "Chief's" or multiple "Producers" all talking to the Singers or Instrumentalist). The rear speaker mixing area will also have a midi in and a midi out, headphone inputs, XLR female jack, 1/4" jacks, 2-USB ports and a mic/line audio in to to the Laptop, along with a mic/line audio out from the Laptop. Another reason for all this stuff is that I have friends that I work with in other parts of the country, and it makes it easier to work on material via the internet whether it's live or in mp3 format via email. It also enables a client to do the same even while a session is going on without disturbing the work in progress by simply using a mic/headphone headset. (Did I forget anything else for convience purposes??) I guess that's basically it. Let me know any suggestions you may have, even if in your opinions are contrary to what I'm wanting to do with this studio setup. (I may be overlooking something, or need to reconsider some things!) Thanx Stan

My comments would be: 1) 6 degrees of angle on the walls is a little shallow. I think 15 degrees is the recommended angle. 2) It seems like you don't have any room left for treatment. Considering the length you have available, if it were me (and it's not :-) ), I'd use some of that space at the back for treatment (diffusors, bass traps, Helmholtz resonators, etc), to make the sound in the room "even" so it doesn't matter where you sit. 3) If you are dead set on the idea of one person working in the back while you are doing something at the mixing desk, I'd consider putting up a wall between the two areas and making a good listening room. I would think it's much easier to make two good rooms than something like what you have designed. 4) Your mixing console seems awfully close to the front wall. Summary, if it were me, I'd put BOTH sets of speakers up front (one soffit mounted, and the near fields up close (but NOT on the console)), and then treat the room so you can sit where ever you want in the room and hear the same thing. Just my 2 cents worth. len

Thanx for the honest opinions. (I went ahead and re-drew the design below to illustrate having absorbers etc etc) When I looked on the SAE Institute for studio design, the closest that came to my studio "size" was the "Garage Studio 2". Unfortunately for me, I have a "L" shape Control room/Vocal booth, and I won't be able to change the "outer frame" of either room. (Control room/Vocal booth) However, as I stated earlier, the inner frame has not been made yet. Hopefully, I'll get other input (along with yours) and I can possibly take the suggestions/opinions and come up with a consensus of all the good stuff I get. Anyway, on to some of your comments...

1) 6 degrees of angle on the walls is a little shallow. I think 15 degrees is the recommended angle.

I'll have to research on that 15 degree angle. I could have sworn I saw 6 degrees to be the minimum number for the wall angles. If you're right, I won't have very much room at the console area by the time the walls angle to that point.

2) It seems like you don't have any room left for treatment. Considering the length you have available, if it were me (and it's not ), I'd use some of that space at the back for treatment (diffusors, bass traps, Helmholtz resonators, etc), to make the sound in the room "even" so it doesn't matter where you sit.

As far as the room treatments, I was planning on doing that anyway, I just didn't "draw" it in.

3) If you are dead set on the idea of one person working in the back while you are doing something at the mixing desk, I'd consider putting up a wall between the two areas and making a good listening room. I would think it's much easier to make two good rooms than something like what you have designed.

Hmmm...put up a wall you say? Interesting idea. I'll have to look at the overall room size to see if that's feasable. Thanx for the thought.

4) Your mixing console seems awfully close to the front wall.

What would you say is the proper distance the console should be from the wall? I don't recall reading or seeing any info about that on this site Once again, thanx for the input Stan

Console Placement: I'm not sure there IS a magic number. What you want to do is make sure you don't have any early reflections from the back of the speakers to the wall behind them, then back to your ears (slightly delayed from the sound coming out the front). It will tend to "muddy" the sound up. I'd suggest you Google something like "soffit mounting speakers" to get more (accurate information). I'm not suggesting that you have to soffit mount yours but I think you will find a lot of good information about WHY you would want to do it (more than "It looks cool") and from that you can see how it affects YOUR situation. Hope that helps. len

Sorry I didn't get to this earlier, the 'gators have been hungrier than usual lately - 6 degrees per side will keep flutter echo from being a problem, but even 15 degrees per side won't be likely to accomplish the OTHER main reason for splayed walls - Reflection Free Zone mix position. This has to be drawn geometrically for each situation in order to work. In that small a space, I would NOT try to build a RFZ room by splaying walls. Instead, I'd stick to the 6 degree (1 foot in 10 works) splay, then do your soffit mounts (this alone will drastically improve the sound in the room) and use part of that deep rear for a good full-wall trap with bass hangers. Absorption at all first reflection points (each side wall and a ceiling cloud) Another reason to use absorption instead of wall angles - if/when you move to surround mixes, your RFZ won't work anymore. Instead, you'll be putting more absorption up on ALL surfaces to catch first reflections from the other three speakers, and (typically) adding digital ambience instead of relying on the CR's natural ambience... Steve

Thanx for the info Steve I did a search on here for a "Ceiling Cloud" but did not find any direct info on how to construct one, although I did get a few pics from some posts I checked out. (Are the pics below what you're talking about?) Here are some other questions I have... 1.) Does the "Cloud" mainly have to be absorbent for highs and Mids? 2.) Are there any places that manufacture pre-made clouds you would recommend? 3.) From reading some of your comments on other posts, it seems that the "Cloud" should extend from the speaker to the listening position. After putting in my laminated flooring and 2-5/8" sheets of drywall on RC on my ceiling, I should come in right at or just under 8ft. Is this ceiling height still considered too low where I will still need a "Cloud" on the ceiling? 4.) Based on the fact that I will be doing "some" mixing on my near- fields at my console, but the MAJORITY of my mixing at the couch area, is it correct to assume I would need to put in 2 "Clouds"?... (one at the nearfield listening position, and one at the couch...with EACH "Cloud" extending from the listening position to the speakers?) 5.) When framing my walls, is it recommended for me to float them? 6.) Should I get a sound level meter (along with downloading the studiotips acoustic software) and do some checking into my control room BEFORE I put up the frame/walls, or is this something I should check AFTER the walls are put up for room treatment? Thanx! Stan

I did a search on here for a "Ceiling Cloud" but did not find any direct info on how to construct one, although I did get a few pics from some posts I checked out. (Are the pics below what you're talking about?) Yes - the second pic shows the idea. Also http://www.recording.org/ftopict-26889.html Here are some other questions I have... 1.) Does the "Cloud" mainly have to be absorbent for highs and Mids? Yes. A total thickness, including the air behind the absorber, of 4-6" works well. 2.) Are there any places that manufacture pre-made clouds you would recommend? Anything you buy will cost you at least double what you can make it for; I believe Auralex now offers some mineral wool panels that could be hung, if you don't want to DIY. 3.) From reading some of your comments on other posts, it seems that the "Cloud" should extend from the speaker to the listening position. After putting in my laminated flooring and 2-5/8" sheets of drywall on RC on my ceiling, I should come in right at or just under 8ft. Is this ceiling height still considered too low where I will still need a "Cloud" on the ceiling? Yes. Any reflected sound path that's not at LEAST 20 feet longer than the direct path to your ears needs to be treated. 4.) Based on the fact that I will be doing "some" mixing on my near- fields at my console, but the MAJORITY of my mixing at the couch area, is it correct to assume I would need to put in 2 "Clouds"?... (one at the nearfield listening position, and one at the couch...with EACH "Cloud" extending from the listening position to the speakers?) Yes; also, when mixing from the rear of the room be aware that it's pretty likely you'll hear more "perceived" bass - this depends on your head position relative to walls/floor/ceiling, but you'll need to experiment quite a bit to get similar results at both locations/speakers, if you can at all. 5.) When framing my walls, is it recommended for me to float them? Not unless the rest of your space has no weaknesses - beyong equalling out the isolation qualities of each component of the studio, anything more needs to be either done to everything or NOTHING. 6.) Should I get a sound level meter (along with downloading the studiotips acoustic software) and do some checking into my control room BEFORE I put up the frame/walls, or is this something I should check AFTER the walls are put up for room treatment? A sound level meter will keep your mixes more consistent (I keep one up at all times, and keep mix levels at 85 dB (C weighted, slow) - if I change the mix, I re-check level and adjust master levels to maintain this) An SLM will NOT do much for room analysis, until you spend about $2000 for it. Better to get ETF software and their calibrated measurement mic. An inexpensive SLM (like the Radio Shack ones) can also be useful to check isolation - it's not sensitive enough to use at the quiet side, but you can crank things up in the room and check the SPL, then see how loud it has to be in the room before it's noticeable outside. This is easier with two people and cell phones... Steve