Canadian small studio design help - can it be done?

Hi, I live in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, Canada. I've been hanging around this site for a few years and now I am at a point to get serious about building a home project studio. I have played keyboards in bands since I was 13. I am now 31. I have 3 kids and a great wife. I have a budget of $1000-$2000 CAN to get this room sounding good. I have access to friends who can build and even access to lumber at a great price. Like many I want to build a small home studio. Our house has a small addition and I am currently in negotiations with my wonderful wife to obtain a permit to renovate. Sound familiar? I am asking for help to layout a 2 room studio within this space. Small CR and Booth. I would like to be able to record live drums, guitar, bass, vocals,the usual (granted the booth will be small). Mainly for personal use. I am in the rural country although some level of isolation is necessary. The gear is based on a WinXP DAW. I currently own a lot of gear but I need good sounding rooms. With your help I want to develop a design and then I'll create a budget for the renovations to aid in ongoing negotiations. I saw a sketchup file for Scott's Studio that looks great, if it could be adapted to this space. Below are some photos to give you look at what I'm dealing with: The walls and ceiling are covered with plywood. The attic is a hip roof and the ceiling may be opened up to give more height. In the exterior photo you see the red line that defines the inside wall. In the simple floor plan I have described the laundry room, entry and then an arrow leading to the kitchen. The last photo is from the exterior door pointing at the interior door that opens to the entry. The deep freeze and cabinets will go. I hope to have better, clutter free photos soon. If you have any questions please ask. Thanks a lot for your help. Thanks again, Scott

So, is 11'4" x 12'6" your entire space, or just for the CR? Are you willing to remove the inner plywood and beef your outer walls, or at least put another layer of gypsum on the inside? Have you read through the REFERENCE section a few times yet, so you have the idea of what works best for isolation? Done something REALLY REALLY nice for your wife lately so she'll let you have the REST of the space? :wink: ... Steve

Scott - here's a direct cut'npaste of Scott Taylor's .skp into your building. As Steve said - If you can wangle some extra space and move the outer door,I notice the pathway goes that far, and tuck a laundry in the remaining space. cheers john

Thank you both. Just to be clear, I only have access to the small 11'4" x 12'6" space - total. I know that's not alot of room. I would be willing to beef up the walls for sure. I have read (and continue to) the REF section. I really appreciate you taking time to help. Any ideas for this small space? Scott. How about this for an idea? I know it's rough but I don't expect to just sit here, not try to give ideas and wait while you busy folks spend time on this. I know the scale is off and at this size accurate scale is important (at any size really.) Tonight I am going to go home, empty that room and set up some basic gear to help visualize the space. Maybe tape off the floor to simulate the partitions. thanks so much. So i'm thing about this. It's really small. I will have to build a custom desk that is tiny. Estimating that an average desk is 6'x3', it will be big. However I can build furniture to fit the CR space.

I just took some measurements of the kit. I have a small drum kit (Yamaha stage custom with a 20" kick). If I can squeeze 6 feet of depth out the the tracking booth I can fit the kit. It's tight however this is for personal use not commercial luxury. Honestly to have the CR a bit bigger that the tracking room would be nice seeing how most of the time will be spent in the CR. I also have a Roland RD700 digital piano and that piece is long, so to have room to fit it in the CR would be nice. Looking forward to your thoughts, Scott.

Here's another layout idea of mine, creating CR symmetry. Losing much of my floor space though. Don't mind the wonky perspective. (Corel Draw Extrude). Any other ideas?

How does one get into the room "above" the control room? :roll:

I have been working in a similar sized space for the last 4 years, and while I understand your desire to have 2 rooms, you will be much better off (in my opinion) with just leaving it as one room. You will be much more comfortable being in a larger space. While it certainly is possible to fit a drum kit in such a small space (if you divide the room), it is not comfortable at all, and that is before you put in the acoustic treatment. With the space you will lose because of the treatment, I don't think you are going to have enough space for a drum kit to fit. If you design your room as one control room as big as will fit, you will still have room to fit a drum kit in the back half of the room. This will sound much better, as you will have more than twice the space, which is a good thing for acoustics. Just get yourself a good set of isolation headphones and you should be good to go. I know that isn't what you want to hear, and you may go with the 2 room idea anyway, but please try to imagine working in such a cramped space for hours at a time. Also keep in mind the acoustic problems this is going to cause for you, and how much space the acoustic treatment is going to take up.

Thanks for the replies. The blue in the center is meant to be 2 sliding doors. I should have noted that. True about one big room being better. It is so cramped in there. I just went into the room and right now it's very cluttered with a kit in the corner and various PA gear. Down right maddening trying to maneuver in there. 2 questions: Can I successfully record a drum kit in a one room studio? Any suggestions for a layout. I know there are several one room layouts within this forum and those on HRec.com - just curious if Mr Sayers or someone else has any ideas (and possibly a sketchup file.) Thanks so much for all of your help. scott.

Recording a drumset in a one room studio takes a little practice, but if it is the same set every time, you just have to get all of your settings once, write them down, and then you are good to go every time. It does take a little more time with a new kit, because you have to record a sample and play it back to check your sounds, but the fact of the matter is that you are going to get a much better sound with a bigger room, so the tradeoff is worth it. Here is something to help you get a feel for the room size. Measure out how big you would want to divide it up if you were doing 2 rooms. Hang a sheet or blanket from the ceiling where the wall divide would be. Now, try to setup your kit, setup your mics, and get from one space to the other without touching the blanket (that is where your wall would be). Working in a 1 room studio is not as hard as you may believe. I have been doing it for years at my house, and have gotten some pretty good results. I highly suggest getting a pair of isolation headphones so you can hear what the mic is picking up. If you have the money, splurge and get a pair of in ear monitors - they work great for this (and are great for listening to your ipod as well) :D

Thanks for the advice. I started gutting the room yesterday and hope to have some pics up soon. I think that having a 2 room design is more of an ego thing, wanting to look (and feel) like a pro studio. The truth and desgin should be about the sound and I have to face facts that right now if I want the best sound I have to deny my ego. Any recommendations for isolation headphones under $150? Thanks again. Scott.

For isolation headphones, I would NOT reccomend the drummer ones with the built in metronome - I have a set, and while the isolation is good, the sound quality is not. They are good for drummers to hear what they are playing to without their headphones cranked up, but the sound quality is not great. If you can expand your budget, one solution is the westone um2. They are musicians monitors, but universal fit. They will give you the best isolation you can get because they seal off your ear canal just like earplugs. They are more than you said you wanted to spend, but you can also use them with in-ear monitors, or you can use them with an MP3 player as regular headphones. I am sure someone else will have a suggestion for isolation headphones. If no one here has any opinions you may try the forums at pro sound web or harmony central.

Thanks for the info. I checked them out on Ebay. About $300US. I will add that to my wish list for sure. For now it's about getting the room. I spoke with a builder friend tonight and showed him the "Scott's Studio" plans along with the Johns DIY panels and wall design. He is going to visit this week and consult me on the build (and he offered to help.) My lovely wife has surrendered the room to me for the studio. I love her. Now I am thinking about building a 4 foot addition out onto the cement at the end of the house. You can see that in the 3/4 exterior view above. This will give me a size of 11'4" wide by 16"6" long making the two room dream a closer reality. Talks continue.... all input is eagerly anticipated. Thank you. Scott.

11X16 makes it a lot easier to do a 2 room studio. Good luck!

I did some more measuring and I can get a max of 11.4 x 20 if I build an extension on the house. I am going to have a builder look at it this week and estimate the job. Last night I finished ripping the old shelving and cupboards out of the room. Now I have to remove a kitchen stove that is in there (the room was a summer kitchen previously) and find a way to move the deep freezer. Unfortunately it won't go down my staircase to the basement (too wide). I believe 11.4x20 will allow for a nice 2 room setup. Thanks