Basement Studio Help 3D layout Included

I posted here a while back about building a seperate structure in my backyard to house my studio. Due to city bylaws, budget and old neighbours it doesn't look like it will happen. So I've decided to build the studio in two empty basement rooms. I'm going to be recording, producing and mixing rock/punk rock bands in my studio and will need a decent controlroom and tracking room. The tracking room will have to be able to handle drums, bass, guitar, and vocals due to my limited space. The tracking room will have to be soundproof due to close by neighbours. I've attached some 3D drawings of the space that I have to work with and it is all to scale. Feel free to fill in how you think a studio should be built in this space. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jason

I forgot to include the width dimensions of the small room's far wall. It was suppose to say 3180mm.

I posted the SketchUp file if it makes it easier. I could really use some help. Anyone?

Aloha Jason, Say, any chance you could crop and then resize your pics? (600 pixels wide works real good) It's going to get real difficult having to scroll back and forth in few posts when the responses start coming in. Thanks :wink: Aloha 8)

kendale wrote:

Aloha Jason, Say, any chance you could crop and then resize your pics? (600 pixels wide works real good) It's gong to get real difficult having to scroll back and forth in few posts when the responses start coming in. Thanks :wink: Aloha 8)

Hi Kendale Once again to my aid. I've been trying to figure how to crop and resize the pics since I posted. I haven't had much luck as you can see. How do I go about doing so? Thanx again Jason

Let me know if I'm missing some information or what I could do to get the ball rolling here. I'd like to start building the studio in May but really have no idea how to fit the control room and tracking room in the space that I have. So any help would be appreciated. Thanx Jason

Aloha Jason, Would something like this work? Aloha 8)

Hi Kendale That setup would work for me and is currently how I have it. The only thing different is that my studio is mixerless and all my gear is racked in a homemade desk that is 85 x 32 x 42 inches large. It resembles the Omnirax Force 40 without the angled sides. My two flat screen monitors sit in between my speakers on the top self of the desk, just above the racked gear. I hope that paints a clear picture because I haven't taken one of it yet. Below is the control room I'd like to build in my basement...I just don't know how to modify it to fit in my space? Do I measure the dimension of the mock-up and break it down into a ratio or is there more to it than that?

Aloha Jason,

Below is the control room I'd like to build in my basement

Ok, I gotcha there. So would I. :wink: Before we tackle that, may I ask if this wall (in green circle) is a bearing wall, and if not, can it be moved/altered? Aloha 8)

kendale wrote:

may I ask if this wall (in green circle) is a bearing wall, and if not, can it be moved/altered?

that's exactly what I was thinking. That wall makes the whole space awkward.

Before we tackle that, may I ask if this wall (in green circle) is a bearing wall, and if not, can it be moved/altered?

Hi Kendale That wall isn't a load bearing wall...so yes it can be knocked down/moved/altered. I was actually gonna mention that in my first post but thought I'd see if I could get away with my current setup. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Jason

Aloha Jason, Okay, here's some preliminary ramblings on my part :wink: Overall available space: L x W x H 8500mm x 3180mm x 1969mm 8500.000 millimetre [mm] equivalent to: 27.88708 foot [ft] 3180.000 millimetre [mm] equivalent to: 10.43305 foot [ft] 1969.000 millimetre [mm] equivalent to: 6.45996 foot [ft] Room Ratios - In Rod Gervais’ book “Build it Like the Pros,” he points out both L.W.Sepmeyer’s & M.M. Louden’s formulas most widely used in professional studios worldwide. He also notes that the orders listed are (top to bottom) the first to third best ratios in both cases. L.W. Sepmeyer Height Width Length 1.00 1.14 1.39 1.00 1.28 1.54 1.00 1.60 2.33 M.M. Louden Height Width Length 1.00 1.40 1.90 1.00 1.30 1.90 1.00 1.50 2.10 If one was to use the "best case" ratios for this formula, beginning with a predetermined height of 6’ 4”, your room proportions would look something like this: H x W x L (Sepmeyer) 1.00 1.14 1.39 6’4” x 7’2” x 8’8” or H x W x L (Louden) 1.00 1.40 1.90 6’4” x 8’8” x 12’ This would/could be a good starting place for your control room. Which of the two is your choice, although Mr. Louden's ratios gives you a bigger room to start with. Here's a few more bits of information that I've collected that also pertain to the control room: Setting up the Mix Position - roughly 38% (of total length of the room) from the front wall - avoid peaks/nulls (refer to Axial Waves calculations) - equilateral triangle formed by left, right/just behind mix position - monitor angles @ 60 degrees (30 degrees each) - Monitor height - center of woofer at ear level (avoid mid point of floor to ceiling measurement – either sit higher or lower if necessary) - absorption panels – left/right/over mix position - If monitors are more than 3’ in height off the floor, they must be angled down. Side walls 6-12 degrees (12 is better) Ceiling 12 degree slope to avoid "pinging" (not possible in your case) That's alot to chew on. As always, read, verify info, keep what's useful, file the rest. Hope this helps, Aloha 8)

Aloha Jason, Out of curiosity, what are your perimeter walls made out of? Aloha 8)

Aloha Jason, Hey, I found this design by John thats close to your room measurements. With a few adjustments, would something like this work? Aloha 8)

Jason - as you are wanting to record a 4 piece band you'll have to divide up your area to allow some recording areas. This layout gives you a drum room and a booth - that way you can separate the guitars from the drums and have the singer in the control room :) I hope this helps - the plan is not totally complete as it's just a quick cut and paste but note the use of groups to control the parts. cheers john

Aloha, Awesome (again!) Thank you, John. Aloha 8)

kendale wrote:

Aloha Jason, Out of curiosity, what are your perimeter walls made out of? Aloha 8)

Hi Kendale The perimeter walls consist of wood studs and drywall followed by concrete. Thanx for all the information above by the way. There's enough there to keep me busy for a couple of days. I'll keep you posted on which room size I decide to go with.

John Sayers wrote:

Jason - as you are wanting to record a 4 piece band you'll have to divide up your area to allow some recording areas. This layout gives you a drum room and a booth - that way you can separate the guitars from the drums and have the singer in the control room :) I hope this helps - the plan is not totally complete as it's just a quick cut and paste but note the use of groups to control the parts. cheers john

Hi John Amazing design. Never would have come close to what you just wipped up. Thanx for taking the time to help me out. I realize in my original post I said that I've been doing some production and yes seperate rooms for guitars and drums would allow me to record the band off the floor. But to be honest, I always end up recording instruments seperate from each other anyways. So a two room studio would be more than enough seperation in my case. I'm not totally against the idea of an extra booth for guitars, I just think the extra space in the control room might be more valuable in my situation. Plus right now a gas fireplace is sitting inside the guitar booth and I don't think I'll get the clearance to move it. So with that being said...is there another configuration that would incorporate the fireplace into the control room or would I be better off removing it and going with you're original design? Jason

Here's a scale drawing of the desk I built to hold my rack gear. As of now I'm using two sets of speakers, Genelec 1029A's and NS-10's, which sit on the top shelf of my desk. Would I be better off putting these speakers in the wall like the way you have it or are they fine where they are?

well the only other way is this way. cheers john

Unless you flip it all - this way you can use the bathroom and entrance as booths?? cheers john

Hi John Design #2 is exactly what I had in mind for the layout. I thank you very much for taking the time to help me do this right. I have a couple of questions concerning the measurements of the walls that you've added though. How do I figure out the angles and lengths of these walls? Do I measure the sketchup with a ruler and break it down to a ratio? I tried using the measuring tool in sketchup but it wouldn't allow me to pull the dimensions up. Jason

use the dimension tool for the dimensions and the protractor to get the angles. cheers john

John Sayers wrote:

use the dimension tool for the dimensions and the protractor to get the angles. cheers john

Hi John Unfortunetly my Sketch Up trial version has expired. Would you be able to post a jpeg with the dimensions and angles of the first and second designs? Would appreciate it if you could. Thanx Jason

If possible, could someone with access to Sketchup post the dimensions and angles of studios 1 and 2 that John posted for me? It would be a big help to me if you could. Thanx Jason