SONGCAVE (SideShow) Studios - Design and Construct

Started by Sideshow on 2 September 2006. 37 replies, 2006–2009. In the Library under Build diaries. Key posts in this thread.

Originally posted at johnlsayers.com, topic 6968.

and a few more...
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more to come of the near finished product! Lots more aesthetics to do plus another 3rd paint of desk so big mixer etc must wait another week :( MOre pics next week - thanks for all your input and help everybody.
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Sideshow, That 4 chanel mixer is unbelievable. I adds so mch to your design :shock: :wink: Looking good. Liking the colors Tom
what's with the cloth over the front speaker area?? cheers john
Yes the 4 channel mixer was a lot easier to lug in and set up for quick testing as opposed to the 24channel desk I have upstairs...... ;) The big one goes in next week after a third coat of paint for the desk - nice touch Tom ;) The colour - well my wife and another singer from Shadowfax said if it were sort of blue (like many other studios) they would refuse to sing in there...so we agreed on a deep cherry so to keep from angry RED and also from MOR blues. They wanted warm colours for the mountains not ocean...glad you like...:) John, the soffits were built as per your drawings with thick ply around top half of soffits with vent ports at top - I didn't have a photo of finished soffits prior to covering with cloth - the cloth is more for "look" to back the "dummy" resonator finish around them later (so it fits the vibe of the rest of the main walls.) Not sure whether the ply/timber finish suits aesthetically - Sound OK/make sense? - or if you have a suggestion I am all ears :) The front centre speaker has it's soffit ready to go - I will cut cloth and place speaker when I am ready and setup for 5.1 later in the year. All 5.1 cabling is done I just don't have the speakers yet - still umming and ahhhing whether to grab the Truth passives for CF, RL, RR or alternatives....I can't find brackets to sit the rear speakers up high as most don't hold 16kg...so passives are lighter.
Hey all, SongCave Studios We finished the last door off the back of CR last week so it is all done and dusted now. Sorry I have been so quiet - I have been upgrading and reading and reading and configuring and finally recording again - I upgraded to the new Tascam DM-4800 (64 channel digital console/controller) - it is a beautiful sound and quality knobs and steel (unlike the M word desk with sloppy knobs/pots and plastic everywhere...) - but poorly written manual like so many other equipment from the Far East.., Neumanns/Rode mics, Sebatron/SMPro Pres, UAD-1 and Event near fields (some snobby clients refuse to work on anything Behringer :roll: - so I now have upgraded my gear and have also kept the old trusty stuff, which simply allows me to cover more ground quicker and get more sounds - and have a backup!). I run a 28ch multicore to the old large rooms in the house for larger tracking dates when required. Sadly the poor old 24 channel 8 bus Behringer desk and Soundcraft are now backups (oh yes the little 4 channel Behringer/test system you saw in the photos is safely restored as a quality door stop - sorry Scotty R - if you want it back you can have it now) ..I actually liked the Behringer desk a lot as it was very transparent but the new Tascam console gives so much more flexibility and hands on which the clients like a lot. (They hang around longer if they can play with the faders too ha ha) ;) We used a nice sandstone style paint on the solid walls which really adds to the feel of the place as "SongCave Studios" All jokes aside - we have some new photos which I promise I will upload in the next week for you. In the meantime you can check the semi new photos - old desk and some scary instruments in use etc at http://www.myspace.com/songcavestudios It is so nice to be back recording - I enjoyed the build and it was an AMAZING experience - thanks to John and the team - and also to those eithe rplanning or are currently covered in sawdust and caulk/goo and have cuts and bruises and an empty wallet - smile and enjoy because we are all very lucky to be right here right now doing what we are doing :)
Sideshow wrote:
My father (who is very ill) sent some cutouts to me in the post from a HVAC mag - he so wants to be involved on the job God love him! He found this interesting link http://www.silenceair.com Check out the "Silencecair Brickvent" - award winning ventilator.
Hi Sideshow, my name is Bobby from Silenceair and I noticed you made a reference/post about our product. I was generally curious about which HVAC magazine did you see our product in? Also our product has changed a bit since you last saw it I believe, you can revisit http://www.silenceair.com. We have had Silenceair installed in quite a few recording studios now and also a nightclub. Thanks.
Sideshow wrote:
some snobby clients refuse to work on anything Behringer :roll:
The only client I've ever had (I'm not a professional, this was done as a favour) practically refused to work on anything NOT Behringer. Good old Behringer.
I had a faulty Behringer Truth monitor (had a slight ring at 250hz)- the local repair agent/guy said it was a 3 month lead time to repair it ....... I let Behringer Australia know and they shipped me a replacement pair overnight at their own cost......that kind of service is hard to beat! I also bought a new Behringer mixer for live as well - it rocks - it replaced my old Soundcraft (approx 2500 gigs) so nicely I didn't miss it..... I think there is a lot of great gear out there that doesn't need to cost a fortune. :wink: Finished the architraves and painting this week, wired up the rear 5.1 speakers and put in the new power amp - well overdue for some pics. Sorry about the delay - new baby girl and studio locked out with bookings - I hope you understand :)
Yeah, I saw the Eurodesk in one of your pictures. I have almost never used anything but Behringer live. I also have some Behringer mics, preamps, compressors, monitor switch etc. It's simply amazing for the price. And some of it, while it may not last forever, actually sounds phenominal. Case in point is the ADA8000 ADAT preamp, which is dirt cheap and sounds wicked. A friend of mine who has a professional voice over/post production studio used it a lot, but swiched to M-Audio because theirs seems more durable (and costs about three times more). Any way, good luck with the studio build (coming along nicely, isn't it?).
Heh Guys- Nice to some some fellow New South Welshmen.... Newcastle here.. Nice to find your post - looks like you've done a great job...Its very close to what I have in mind for my place. Due to my lack of space, I'm also interested in using glass sliding doors between C/room and iso-room- so I was wondering how you find them as far as soundproofing etc. Are they regular doors from typical supplier? Or special order? i.e. thicker glass/ improved sealing? Also - how are you finding the soundproofing in general? Is it as effective as you hoped? cheers Rob
Sideshow! Sideshow! You still around buddy. I've decided that you build is my bible. But I need some more technical info? Q- Did you build the frame upright than lay it down to plasterboard? How did you steady the frame while building it. Q- How did you get access to the outer roof to layout the plasterboard? lil
Lillith I PM'd you. In short the frames were all done on the ground. We stood on them to hold in place then re worked with square and hammer as needed. Plasterboard was done the same then we lifted into place a day later (takes 3-4 persons) The roof was done in sections small enough to lift through the gaps. Re: The doors worked great - not 100% soundproofed but just what I needed. Cheers Eliot