Feb 15 ---
Today was a monumentus day for Meow Mix... The Ramp/Chill Room got its ceiling installed! The speaker boxes are all hung and the CR walls are set with drywall ready for painting.
On the downside though, I still don't have heat and the building owner and my HVAC contractor are at odd about who is responsible for my not having heat. Has anyone ever heard of a heating system that works on 100 degree water temp? It's 54-57 degrees in the space, so I don't expect anyone will want to bring in their drum kits, guitars, etc... and record with a winter jacket and gloves on...
Anyhow, I digress... I am just trying to breathe through each day at this point, knowing that the end is in sight, I had a couple of guys in last night and recorded their psychadelic musings... Now I have a 'house band'. I play a mean kick drum when prompted!
Here are a few pics of the speaker fly. Back at it in the morning to finish painting the drum booth and my Acoustic Panels for the Amp Booth.
Namaste,
Jon
Hey Jon
You're progressing right along and things look GREAT! Congrats on the progress and what looks like will be a top-designed studio.
I had a question for you...
It looks as if your speakers are angled downward towards the mixing position. I was wondering if you did it that way because of...
-The size of your control room
-The size of your speakers
-Something else?
How was the downward sloping angle of the speakers calculated? Was there a rule of thumb to doing that? I was thinking about slightly angling my speakers in a downward sloping manner but conventional wisdom on here is to have the speakers flat (90 degrees) with no downward sloping angles and the equilateral triangle sweet spot slightly behind your head.
BTW-Those constuction pics of the angled speakers are worth their weight in gold! Thanx for posting them... :)
Thanx
Yes - Jon is doing a marvelous job of his studio - those speakers mounts were very complex and he's done a wonderful job.
The speakers are literally suspended over the glass window which allows full view into the studio.
The speakers are angled because they would be aimed over the head of the engineer otherwise as their base is over 6' from the floor. They lean forward so they are directed to the engineer's seated position.
Hi,
Just read thru the whole post.
You had to do some serious demo'ing before you even got stater......and that was just with your marrage!
I noticed on the post calling your ex a bitch that you did not end with Namaste. :lol:
Your project is an inspiration. It's also great to see what John S has done with the space. He lives here in my town and I'll be using him for my studio design and build.
Can you tell me why you decided to lease and not buy?
Thanks
Feb 17 ---
Thanks for the comments about the speaker fly. That had me tossing and turning late at night in recent weeks. How was this going to be engineered? It turned out quite nicely thanks to John's design and Tim my lead framer's tireless pursuit of perfection...
Yesterday, I received the redesigned steel base for my equipment rack to hold power conditioners, Sync, Converters, MAC Pro, UAD 1e card rack, networking and other goodies that don't need to be readily accessible. The Card Rack is quite loud actually... As you may (or may not) remember, there is a manhole I had to keep accessible 24/7 and this has worked out well. Basically a trap door that pulls out and I left 18" of clearance off the finished floor so some skinny bloke can shimmy under the rack if needed. Monday I hope to have the rack in place and begin loading it with equipment.
I spent today painting the Drum Booth and the Live Room; cleaning up after everyone who has been working the last 3 days and pondering things financial. It seems that all the planning in the world, isn't worth piss without the wearwithall to stick with the plan, find places to make compromises and most of all, breathe when things get out of control!
It's been a full year since I took lease of the space. Many people have questioned why on Earth would I want to pay rent after putting all the $$$ into the renovations... simple, location, location, location. If I were to build this facility from the ground up, it would probably cost me about $1m. I don't have that much... so I compromised. Making the facility convertible from rehearsal space to digital recording studio to video post production suite made the most sense to maximize use and income. I have 4 rooms I can rent out for single instrument rehearsal, depending on the instruments being played. Obviously I can't have someone wailing on a Marshall stack, while another is playing flute in the next room. So anyone renting space has to be considerate of the others present.
All the recent issues (no heat, loud hum, water running down the back door ramp) can be worked out in time. I am at the point where I just take a deep breath, close my eyes and envision the place filled with creative people making music, recording it, and having a CD/DVD of their finished product. Same goes for video post. It's been decades since I last edited videotape. Now everything is digital nonlinear... learning curve? Yes. Motivated to learn? Yes.
With each day, the space and the buzz grows... people are calling and visiting the studio and the response has been positive. No one can believe that such a place exists... but it does. My plan is to have my occupancy permit for March 1st (3rd actually). I figure that things will be rough and tumble for a month while I get things wired, tested, tuned, etc. My entrance doors are going to take two months to come in... so I compromise... use the Amp Booth, Drum Booth, Vocal Booth and Control Room for recording until the doors can be mounted.
In the meantime, I am casing the openings with pine/plywood for a 'finished' appearance. The cloth ceilings won't be done until sometime in late March/early April... but the rooms are painted, the ceilings insulated and covered with 2mil plastic. The hardwood floors will be laid, sanded and finished by Feb 29th. The Control Room cork floor gets installed next Saturday. This coming week, the electricians will be completing their rough work in the control Room and installing fixtures through out. It's nice to have lights to dim instead of rope work lights.
The doors will be cased/finished this week as well. I hope to have the acoustic panels painted (by yours truly) & installed in the Amp Booth. Next comes the completion of the Vocal Booth from top to bottom with cloth panels, corner diffuser panel and 5 acoustic panels hung on the walls. Right now, the room sounds great as it is. The pic of the two guys playing from Thursday night captures John Landini tooting his horn. This horn sounds so rich recorded. My hat's off to John S. for designing a great room.
I was reflecting on the space this afternoon after cleaning, vacuuming and removing the scaffolding so the flooring installer will have unfettered access tomorrow morning. Between the lighting, the paint color and the Ash flooring (not yet installed) the Live Room seems very peaceful. My hope is that when the ceiling acoustic panel is in place and the lights are dimmed, that whatever style of music is being recorded will have a life of its own... and that the musicians can relax, create and record without watching the clock!
The punch list get shorter every day. The stress level increases each day... the vibe of the facility get stronger each day... and my bank account dwindles ever further each day...
... and each day I look forward with love to the time when I can open the doors, turn on the power and sit back at the console recording the next great ...
More pix coming later this week. right now I need some sleep, a percocet for my knees and a hot shower to get all the paint out of my hair...
Namaste,
Feb 25th ---
Ahhhh! Another week gone by and things continue to move closer to opening day.
Last weekend was spent installing the cork floor in the Control Room the lasst of the lights for the CR and installation of receptacles, switches, etc. There are those pesky details like Exit and Emergency lighting, smoke detectors, outlets for the 2 rolling racks.
Still don't have heat and the cost is going to rise by another $2k (I don't have) to put in a boost pump to move the 95 degree 'hot' water around my heating coil faster and a 3-way valve which 'should' improve the heat issue.
The other issue is the water coming in the back door and down the ramp... into the chill room floor. The building owner has his ideas about how to solve the problem... and I have mine. Seems like the best overall solution is to saw cut the cement and install a grate drain wider than the door and run a PVC pipe into the existing drain. He doesn't want to spend the money on that, so he's going to put on a 4' deep roof above the door, 5" gutters and a 1 birck course 'moat' around the door. I say trip hazard...
Today the floors were sanded and the first coat (of 5) water-based polyurethane applied. The whole week will consist of opening the studio and waiting for the poly to be applied and then returning home. Catching up on bookkeeping, sales taxes, taxes and organizing all the piles of paperwork for the studio build, equipment inventory and crafting my "policies" page for the studio brochure.
The current plan is to spend the weekend insulating/2 mil plastic the ceiling in the CR. Once that is complete, installing the 5.1 Surround speaker system, DM2000 Console on temporary table, begin installing EDACs for the patchbays and run the toslink cables for the console/converter I/Os. Hope to have the cables for the console/speaker AES card and for the System 6000 Reverb as well.
CR glass to be installed on or about 3/7, after the space between the CR walls is insulated and the OC 703 frames installed between the walls. I am going with 1/2" laminated glass for the CR side and 3/8" laminated glass for the Live Room side.
Take care, be well and remember to count your blessings when things go sideways...
Halo frostgfx!
Would like to ask for a construction tip which you have done in this pic img_1549web_470.jpg is about the wooden framing over the wall.
I want to make wooden framing over existing dry-wall walls so i can base my ceiling and also the frames make cavities for absorption (the framing will be scrued on floated floor) but i am not sure if the framing has to be scrued to the walls without anything in between 2) put some kind of 3mm rubber in between and then scrue it or not scrue it and glue it or leave 5mm of space and caulk it.
Thanks in advance
peace
steve
the place is cool man.
whish i had that much space. (renting somthing like that in london crazy money forget buying).
the control room is going to be the dogs.
i would install a drain at the top of the ramp. its not hard to do just get a diamond bit blade keep it wet. break it up drop in the drain fixed.
im sure im just telling you what you already know mate.
Feb 29 ---
Today the floor was sealed for the last time and I had a chance to set up my drum kit for some jamming tomorrow afternoon. Spent most of this afternoon cleaning mic stands/booms, etc., putting Aviom mixers together and getting things ready to finish insulating the CR ceiling tomorrow after the electricians finish their wiring. By late tomorrow, I will be installing the 5.1 speakers in their boxes and running optical cables to the console. Plan to have some folks from the building over to jam so I can get something on disk to play with next week.
The Amp Booth should be completed once and for all tomorrow as well. Then the CR will get cloth panels, more light bulbs, and carpeting next week. Hope to be officially open for business by next Friday.
Pics coming mid week next... It's going to snow big time tonite and tomorrow so will pack for a weekend in the studio.
Namaste,
I noticed Jon hasn't posted the latest pics, I think he's worn out :D
so here they are.
Jon, and his crew are doing a wonderful job of this - It's very complex.
The rear wall of the control room and the front speaker installation.
cheers
john
Greetings!
I had a few questions on those last pics...
1.) Is the rear wall a "diffusor" type build?
2.) It looks as if the speaker box baffle is not flush with the soffit face.
(Looking at the wood, it looks as if the soffit face is finished). Are the
speakers simply not pushed back to their final home position or is
there another "face to be added to be flush with the speaker baffle?
3.) How was the speaker secured in the soffit box?
4.) Was there anything specifically done to secure the speaker due to
it's sloping angle?
Thanx!
the rear wall is a vertical slot resonator design I've developed for corner studios. I first tried it in Guruland Studios and was pleased with the result.
Below it is superchunk filled.
The speakers aren't fully in place as Jon is waiting on the correct interface for the speakers.
Ah... if only I could take credit for those carpentry skills... Those belong to Tim and "X".
As of today, I have the AIR20s working in stereo w/ Sub. Still working on Digital 5.1.
Ongoing Issues
For some reason the patchbays don't want to pass phantom power, so if anyone is familiar with ADC brand EDAC model of 96 pt. TT patchbays, PM me.
Also need to get the Aviom system working. Seems like this system wants to use the Direct Outs which I am currently using for output to my A/D converters through ADAT.
Last but not the least, I need to get my System 6000 up and running out of one AES 8 channel I/O Card. Something about the patching from the Yamaha DM2000 console to the System 6000 is funky.
So there you have it. Progess but not quite ready to charge clients. Fortunately I have some local folks providing sound sources to debug things in the CR.
Have a wonderful day.
Namaste,
May 10 ---
Finally got up some energy to tackle the phantom power problem. Seems two panels were wired correctly and two were wired backwards... Go figure. Sent an e-mail to Redco Audio about this QC issue.
Next thing to tackle is the Aviom Headphone system. Once I have this working I'll be open for buinsess and boy do I need the $$$!
Namaste,
May 15 ---
Sometimes things just work in your favor.... like the epiphany I had while some friends were rehearsing this afternoon. Now I can make up two more cables and have the Aviom cue system up and running shortly.
Still pulling what little hair I have left out trying to get the AIR 20s to work as the manual describes for a Digital 5.1 Surround system.
It's so nice when a plan comes together like the phantom power working without having to think about it! And thanks to AKG for putting those pretty LEDs on the C414XLS that can be seen from 30' away in the CR.
Finished insulating the Live Room ceiling this afternoon. Next step is 2mil plastic and then finish the insulation/Plastic in the CR.
BTW... since I am not quite 'open for business' if anyone wants to come by to check out the studio, or perhaps jam with some of your friends, drop me a note or call [removed]. I hope to be fully open by months end, but certainly willing to entertain visitors.
Namaste,
October 11 ---
Greetings from Western MA. I've been away for the summer and made no progress from June to September 30...
Now that I've rewired my brain, I'm working on the finishing touches to the patchbays and outboard stuff. The Aviom monitor system is working as planned using the Send portion of the Channel Inserts. The Aviom system interface has both Input and Through so I can still connect Compressors or what have you to an individual channel.
The AIR 20 5.1 speaker system is working as designed. Boy was this a frustrating piece of kit to get working. Seems it worked all along... I just didn't have the Surround volume and Bus switch engaged!!!! Duh Oh!!!! Once the painters have finished the speaker fly, I will have them installed and look forward to really hearing what is being recorded.
The TC Electronics System 6000 Reverb system is almost ready. I am waiting for the License Codes for Multi-Channel Reverbs. In addition, I have a Lexicon PCM 91 and an MX400 Multi-channel Reverb.
I've been fortunate to have some local musicians drop by for jam sessions and testing of individual instruments like Cello, Viola, Acoustic Guitar, etc. Today it was an A-B-C mic shootout on a cello and Viola. What a difference a particular mic can make.
I have my carpenter scheduled to put together (7) Gobo frames for Amplifier and Drum isolation in the Live Room. After that, he'll be finishing off the Drum Booth and then on to the Vocal Booth. The Control Room is going to have to wait a while since the money has dried up.
On the 'dealing with the landlord' front... it seems that I am being charged for the electricity drawn by the transformer that supplied power to my studio. The landlord will have to have the meter magnets moved to my power panel, since this is the normal location for metering. This another reason I haven't been working much. It's costing me over $100/Mo. to have the studio shut down! WTF.
I will try to get more pics uploaded once I get another battery charger for my digital camera.
Wishing everyone on the forum the best of luck and if you are in the Northampton, MA area, drop me a line at [removed] to schedule a tour.
Namaste,
Jon Frost
October 26 ---
Things are back in motion at Meow Mix. The carpenters are hard at work having completed construction of 7 - 4x4' Gobo frames which I am finishing tomorrow and will be ready for use.
They are about 1/2 way through fabricating cloth covered OC 703 panels for the back and side walls. Then they'll be working on the slat resonator/cloth panels for the three corners of the Drum Booth. Hoping to have the drum booth mostly finished by Friday so I can do some test recordings to evaluate the changes in tonality of the room. Hope to deaden it a bit from where it is now.
Once the Drum Booth is completed, the doors on either side of the Live Room will be installed.
Still struggling with the AIR 20 speakers... seems my soffits swelled with the change in environment from the shop where they were made and my Control Room. Lots of sanding going on I'm afraid!
All the outboard goodies are wired in and working with the slight exception of my 2-LA-2 which has one bad side...
The balance of the Live Room has been painted and the Control Room woodwork has been finished. It will be awhile until I can get to work on finishing the cosmetics of the Control Room (i..e. ceiling panels and speaker box panels.
Keep the prayers coming that the weather holds and the carpenters can continue at their ferverish pace.
Namaste,
Jon
Nov 1 ---
OK... The Drum Booth is completed and I had my first paying customer in to track two songs on Friday. After some tuning and muffling of the toms, had the kit mic'd up with kick, snare, hat, rack and floor toms and two overheads. Quite pleased with the results.
Bass was DI'd and the guitar was placed in the vocal booth for isolation. Guitarist wanted a very trebly sound which was OK, but not what I would have chosen. Given that the acoustic panels have not been placed in the Vocal Booth and that it was quite dead, the result was OK.
We also did the vocals in the vocal booth and they were good as well. I think having a slat resonator in the corner will make a difference when tracking VOs and some vocals. Used a Neuman TLM 103 for the Vox.
My carpenters will be back on Tuesday to get started on the Vocal Booth and that should take about 3 days to complete.
The CR has been painted and the cloth frames around the surround speaker enclosures will get done next week as well I hope. Money is very tight... read way over budget... but the results are as expected. I figure the CR will need some fine tuning once the AIR 20s are all working... the right side needs another cable run I suspect.
The little things like a couch to crash on between takes and the water dispenser/mini-fridge are crucial to a studio hang.
Will get some pics tonite and some wav files of the drums for those who might be interested.
Hope you all had a nice Halloween. Thanksgiving is just around the corner!
Namaste,
Jon
