Starting from Scratch

Hello everyone, glad to be part of the board. I noticed this site after getting some great input from John over at homerecording.com/bbs so I thought I would check out his site. I have to say so far, I have learned more than I expected thanks to John and the good people here. I am in the beginning stages of planning my studio. A little info for you: I am having a home built starting in a few months and will build myself a studio/rehearsal space in the basement. I don’t plan on making any money from this studio <most likely>, it’s mainly for band practices <if I can start up a band> and home recording for fun. I don’t have a budget per say, but I just need good reasons to spend money on something I’m not going to get anything out of. So if there are things I am not seeing that would make great sense, please let me know. I have posted two pictures of different directions I am going with the design. What you see is the basement of a home I am about to have built. It will have 9’ ceilings and I can use any or all of the space for the project. I am looking to have the largest rehearsal space I can muster, and fill in the gaps with other rooms. I.e. control rm, vocal or whatever. The designs you see are ones that I have came up with based on searches throughout Johns site and from what I have learned so far. If anyone has seen any obscure shaped designs or has any ideas from what I have to work with, that would be great. Thanks so much, SpaceBoy

No 2 - looks like the way to go. You can even have a relax lounge setup in the area at the bottom of the stairs. cheers John

Thanks John, I will run with that then. I was hoping to figure out a better way to get a wider rehearsal room but I can't make it work and still keep things practical. Thanks for the input! SpaceBoy

What do you think about something like this?? Your input is greatly appreciated.

oh - I see - you can move the HVAC around - so this space isn't built yet?? perhaps you could look at something like this - it gives a good sized control room that is 18' deep. cheers john

Hey I didn't know he could move the Heating/ac:) I thought maybe this :) Best, Dave

Thanks guys, looks great. I was hoping to stear away from having a long and slender room to play in though. It seems pretty clear from both of your ideas that the control room should be getting the priority over the live/rehearsal room. Right? Is the reason I would want a larger control for a much better sound quality versus a smaller one?? As you can plainly see I have no idea. I just know from prior experiance that jamming in a smaller area gets old. I will be spending most of the time in the control room though I guess. Space

Is the reason I would want a larger control for a much better sound quality versus a smaller one

Yes:) I'm dealing with a smaller control room, but it was really the only thing practical for my old farmhouse/basement. Knowing what I know, I am having fun pushing the envelope on this small room (11x15x6), but bigger would be a whole lot easier. Luckily I'm not concerned about sound leaking into the rest of the house, so that helps as the sound has somewhere to go. My live room is 30 x 15 x 7, but the low ceiling and other structural issues didn't make it reasonable for building a "proper" sized control room. I've invested very little in construction costs. If you have the space, and budget, I would get that control room nice and big. Realistically your basement will never have the ceiling height to create a <Insert famous studio here>"amazing live room." Not that you need one either, but if you really needed a large room sound, you could go to a church or something, bring some gobos, track some stuff, and bring it back home. At that point you would be very glad to have a well designed and accurate control room in which to make decisions. Plus with John's wide sliding glass doors, maybe things wouldn't feel very confining. Best, Dave

Dave, Based on your info, I am still trying to put this thing together to have the best of both worlds. As far as the basement, I will have 9' ceilings so that will help with the over sound and feel. I am pretty flexible with my budget, just don't want to go too overboard since this whole project is for hobby purposes only. I dont want to be kicking myself later either. Please tell me if I am heading in the right direction. Thanks, Space

SpaceBoy, I don't know whether you could fit the vocal booth under the stairs but here's an idea. It allows for a reasonably sized control room and live room. John? As usual John probably has something better up his sleeve. I think you want to allow for enough bass trapping in the rear of the control room. Having a storage/Heat/AC access door behind the couch could work --plus it's a place to store cables/mic locker etc. Seems awkward IMO to have a vocal booth behind the console. Best, Dave Snap some real pictures:)

Awesome, I didn't think of that. I'll plug that into what I have going. Thanks so much for the help!! Space ps. I'm not going to start construction for a few months, but I'll be sure to take pix as I go!

great work Dave - hey can I take a holiday now ?? ;);) cheers john

Great!! Since I now have Johns blessing I will focus on the above layout. I'll try and really do it correctly and use color like Johns lovely drawings. The biggest chore now will be spending lots of time with Johns manual learning about treatments and so forth to plan out for the ideal acoustic treament!! Thanks so much for the help Dave and John, I'm sure I'll bump into you in the construction forum!! :lol: Space

Space, Glad to be of any help. John, vacation, no way man, unless your coming through Atlanta..ha ha :D Dave

Ok, sorry to get back on this again. Someone remarked about not seeing the live room from the vocal room. Just to bounce this off you guys, do you think this one would be better or worse from before?? I also tried shading some places for the bass traps you remarked about. Thanks so much, SpaceBoy

Sorry I have no Smart Darw (beleagured MAC user), but how about a window under the stairs from the vox boot to the live room for visual communication and keep the live booth on the side like Dave said. Bryan Giles

Ok, I'm really liking this one :lol: Decent line of sight for musicians/engineer. Stairs deposit you into the smaller lounge -- doesn't need to be that big. You can stick a bass amp in the lounge or storage. Bigger Control room with room for effects rack and producers couch. Good room for treatments -- slats/traps etc. I think I can't do any more on this one :roll: Dave

Man Dave... you rule!! :D Those ideas just keep on coming!! My girlfriend liked your last one first off because of the larger vocal room.<Shes a singer>. The plan looks great to me!! I plug 'er in to the plan I have going. So what do I owe you for all this help? You a beer/wine drinker? SpaceBoy

Yo Space, Hey its a blast to help out. I hope you build this thing and post some pics. [quote]So what do I owe you for all this help? You a beer/wine drinker? /quote] Yes to all of the above, but I have plenty. :wink: If you want, make a contribution to the forum(I did); John has done such a cool job with this place -- the site is truly a great resource. Keep us updated. I think studio construction is the ultimate combination of two things I do allot of -- renovation and music..hehe Dave

renovation and music..hehe

Australia now has the 4 R's - reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic and Renovation :):) everyone is doing it - we have around 3 or 4 TV shows on the subject. cheers john

Ok, I have used your latest Dave and I think I definatly like this one the best! Take a look and let me know if I messed anything up. Now having said that... ~How do I know what angles to use everywhere? ~How do I go about deciding what kind of treatments to use on what walls? I do like Johns slot resonators, should I plan on using those everywhere? I transposed the treatments you showed but are those the recommended? For the ceiling I plan to angle the control room ceiling from front to back, but what would be best for the live room? Should I use those diffusors in a dropped, or just change the angles here and there. Sorry to bombard with questions but I just feel like I need a little direction. Thanks in advance, Space ps. would it just be better to post the smartdraw file, for quick treaking while your looking at it??

Take a look and let me know if I messed anything up. Now having said that... ~How do I know what angles to use everywhere? ~How do I go about deciding what kind of treatments to use on what walls?

I think it looks good, but time to get John's thoughts I think. I'm just re-gurgitating his basic concepts. In general I think the walls are usually splayed 6 or 12 degrees John? Obviously the rear wall of the control room can be a combination of allot of things i.e. Hangers/703 I'm having a pip figuring out my soffit construction detail and I may use John's services. You might want to consider his expertise as well. If this plan is a winner, I'd hate to see it not fully realized in the execution/construction stage. John obviously has allot of experience knowing which particular treatments would work for each of the seperate rooms. In general, I believe you want a nice combination of absorption, diffussion and reflection. Dave[/quote]

space and Dave - the splayed walls need only go are far as your listening position, after that you can angle back in, instead of splaying out. cheers john

John Sayers wrote:

Australia now has the 4 R's - reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic and Renovation :):) everyone is doing it - we have around 3 or 4 TV shows on the subject.

Even a show to fix up DIY Reno's :roll: Aghhhhhh!!! I've had enough.