long skinny 1 room studio help!

first off, i just donated! GREAT SITE!! second, i ordered Rod's book, can't wait. i've been reading here for like 1.5 years, and i'm finally ready to get to work. i've attached a sketchup file of my room now. and i'll try to post a pic of it here too. my ceilings are 8' high. this is an end room, only another room to the left (west). the north, south, and east lead outside. neighbors are NOT a concern. i'd just like some suggestions as to a layout. i have a FEW grand to spend, naturally i'd like to keep it as low as possible. the LEFT wall and CEILING are down to the studs right now. they are both getting RC with clips, then 2 layers of 5/8 rock. the ceiling is getting Green Glue. my main noise concerns are the room to the left, and very importantly my kids room directly above me. this is a ground floor room. i was just going to finish the room rectangle and build bass traps, but now i'm thinking, since the rock is down already i can build some angles in the corners, and slope the ceiling (12degrees i think?) i can have my electrician friend put the breaker right in the new wall if know one sees any problems with doin so. SUGGESTIONS? all instruments will be recorded at separate times. i'd like to get the best drum sound possible. it's almost all rock and hip-hop. no vocal booth as i am just going to build gobos that i can set up right in front of my desk so i can turn around and record vox and still be in reach of my keyboard/screen. i was thinking about using those same gobos in an arch at the back wall, since the window and door stop me from putting nearly any absorbtion there. also, the FRONT wall and RIGHT wall are hard attached to the block with skinny wood strips, lightly insulated, then 1/2" sheetrock. i was hoping to leave this as is for $$$ reasons. is it okay for the left wall and right wall to be different like this? i'm sure i'll have more questions, but this is a good start, i'm anxious to see the suggestions and get back to work. [/url:3pok9fu4]

i'm in new jersey, i read the "before you post" thread, but still forgot that. back to front http://img417.imageshack.us/img417/2228/img1166tf2.jpg front to back http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/7440/img1167zv9.jpg i guess i'll narrow my questions down. are there any specific angles for walls and ceilings? i'm trying to decide if it is better to leave the room rectangle or angle the walls/ceiling. if i should angle these, how far back should i start the angles, at the listening point? or the entire room length? if i do build walls, i'm considering flush mounting my monitors, is it pointless to do so with Mackie HR824's? if i leave it rectangle, where are the best places for absortion, besides the first reflections, also keeping in mind the drum placement. should i put absorbers, or diffusors above and to the sides of the drums? or a combination? anyone? thanks, mike

okay, i found out that soffit mounting my HR-824's is a bad idea. and i finally found some angles for the walls 6 degrees the soffit/wall angle is 30 degrees i also read something about uploading pictures to THIS site, but i searched all over and couldn't figure out how to do it, i gladly will if someone directs me as to how to do it. i took a guess as to enhance the drum/live area of the room. i'll put big gobos behind the drums when recording, and where the drums are when mixing. i left out the obvious 1st reflection absortion on the front walls and ceiling. . which still leaves me stuck as to the ceiling. i really feel that it would be beneficial to angle the ceiling down, i but all the posts i can find are about rooms that ALREADY have angles, i want to know about a new construction. i know how to actually build all the walls, i just need CONFIRMATION that my design is the best i can get for a "one room". my main questions: Are my walls good as they are proposed? Can I slope my ceiling down 12 degrees starting the same place as the other angles do - about 8' 5 3/8" back? I know my first post seemed like a newbie that didn't read anything, there is just so much info here, and a lot seems to go back and forth. In my own mind, this is what I took from all of the posts i've been reading for so long, and felt would be the most fitting for my situation. can someone let me know if i am at least headed in the right direction?

Looks like you're on the right track - although you CAN soffit your mackies, just use John's vented soffit plan http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=66 Scroll down a ways on the first page Sloping your ceiling is a good idea if you have the headroom, otherwise a 2" or thicker MW or rigid fiberglass cloud, centered between speakers and mix position, and hung (without backing) a few inches off the ceiling will take care of early reflections from the ceiling. IF you slope, you'll want 12 degrees - this is roughly 2 feet in 10, and you'd want this back to at least a couple feet PAST the mix position. You will likely STILL need a "cloud", but the slope will kill any flutter and the cloud could probably be smaller this way. IF you soffit, you'll want to keep the flat surfaces around your speakers as large as practical to avoid "horn loading" which would narrow your sweet spot somewhat - see this for more http://www.quarter-wave.com/General/BSC_Sizing.pdf page 3 has the formula you want to use to see optimum baffle sizing - don't be alarmed if you can't get there, this is mainly to illustrate why NOT to build your extended baffles only a foot wide if there's 2 or 3 feet each side you COULD have used :? This http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2441 can help you figure out good locations/widths, etc, for speakers and your head - when using soffits, you can ignore the bevels created by soffits and consider your woofer center-to-center distance the same as if the speakers were free-standing - you'll still want to maintain close to an equilateral triangle between head and speakers, with your head just forward of the point of the triangle - and you can adjust speaker positioning along the baffle until you get the speakers NOT in a 1/3 2/3 location (see the link above for why) Hopefully this will cause you to think, plan, and ask MORE questions :wink: ... Steve

thanks for the reply! wow, that link was a tough read for me. as far as the actual soffits are concerned, i read a ton of posts on it. including Giles mounts. .. Is there a more detailed picture, maybe a front view of John's vented soffits? Instructions even? I'm just nervous that i'm going to miss some key 'rules' when it comes to doing this. i decided to strip it all the way. i'll keep updating as i go. this week i took the water baseboard heaters out (too noisy). i had to continue with copper pipe because the room next to this still needs the heat. i'm just going to use a plug in electric space heater. it's a small enough room, i'll make sure i turn it on a little bit before i intend on recording. [/url:rn5kv7gq] i'm planning RC w/ clips on the ceiling, and now a 'room within a room' for 3 of the 4 walls. the south wall has an exterior door and big window that i need to leave. 2 layers 5/8 gypsum and green glue in between for the ceiling and west wall that connects to the other room.

i think i'm driving myself nuts with all this reading. i just read something now that changed my plan back to the original. True of False? When you build a two leaf double wall, BOTH sides need to be air tight. if this is true, which i believe it is, i'm only going to RC/clip all walls and ceiling. it will save me space and money. with the outer wall being block, and the meeting of the ceiling and walls not being sealed, and the covering of window and an old AC cutout- i don't think its reality that i'll be able to seal both sides properly. well, this should be easier for me, and cheaper. now i'll do a single 2 leaf hollow core door as well. i hope my wife and kids don't hear me when they're upstairs!!

Yes, pretty much true - moreso for bass frequencies. Caulking fixes small holes, mortar/drywall mud/fixall fixes medium holes, and drywall/mdf/lumber fixes larger ones. If you use a hollow core door, you may as well leave it OPEN. If this is the approach you plan to use, please prepare to be disapponted (and bitched at by your family) We're here to help you SOLVE this type of problem - but you have to WANT to... Steve

as far as hollow core door, if i go that route, i'm still going to beef it up like this: http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1662 If i have a single stud wall with RC/clips is beefing up a hollow core overboard? will a solid core sealed properly be more comparable with the wall? okay, here is my newest dilemma before i start any construction. my circuit breaker. it's up near the corner of the room on the gear end. i was planning angled walls via slot resonators on the left and right of the gear (see my proposed plan). i had my electrician over last night to see about MOVING my circuit breaker. the money it would cost to do so is WAY out of my budget. here's my question. Can i make a broadband slot resonator and put the whole set of slats, or a section of them on a hinge/hinges???? i would still have 703/roxul tocuhing the slats and a bunch of inches thick, but be able to open it the few times i need to get to the breaker. check out my sketch in my first post, and the pic in my most recent before this one. you'll see where the box is.

Either the beefed hollow core or a full slab (not raised panel) solid core will give similar results, in this case I'd go with the easier of the two. Understand, when I say "solid core" I mean an exterior, 1-3/4" thick, solid slab door of MDF with veneer skin - essentially, a constant-thickness, nearly 2" thick slab of wood/wood products, typically weighing around 125-140 pounds for a 36" wide (3/0) door WITHOUT the frame. Without a correct seal kit, it won't make much difference WHAT door you use. Circuit breaker - IIRC, any covered access door needs to be clearly labeled to be code-legal (wrong computer, no codes installed on this one, sorry) Acoustically, sure - just build the inside with a constant depth for that section so there's air space behind it... Steve